＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49）さん / X
Marathons are currently enjoying an unprecedented boom in China. Many large-scale events like the Tokyo Marathon and Osaka Marathon in Japan are being held.
At the same time, there is a growing concern about the prevalence of cheating, such as taking shortcuts in groups or riding bicycles in the middle sections.
１．Background of China’s Marathon Boom
（1） Current status of the marathon boom
China’s State General Administration of Sports has announced that “in 2018, marathons with more than 800 participants were held in 1,581 locations, with a total of 5.83 million participants and 285 cities hosting marathons. In fact, more than four marathons are held every day in more than four locations. In 2017, there were 1,102 marathons with a total of 4.98 million participants, a 43% increase in events and a 17% increase in participants, a significant increase.
With the flood of applicants and the difficulty of entering events in top-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, it appears that the venues are gradually shifting to medium and small cities.
Marathons have become an enormously popular sport online, and the number of runners continues to increase. Marathon-related posts and postings on social networking sites such as WeChat and Weibo are also gaining popularity, and have become synonymous with a healthy body and improved quality of life.
（2）History
China’s marathon boom is now said to be a “2 trillion yen market.” When did this boom start and against what background?
I think one of the reasons is that the Xi Jinping administration, which took office in 2012, has set a goal of “developing China from a ‘sports superpower’ to a ‘sports powerhouse.
And, in addition to contributing to “improving the health of citizens” in both large cities and regional cities, “a marathon event bearing the name of a city is a great source of publicity and has a large economic effect.
When a marathon is held, related industries such as food and beverage, tourism, retail, and transportation develop accordingly. 2018 marathon-related consumption in China was about 285 billion yen, and the economic impact of holding a marathon was about 460 billion yen, for a total output of about 1.19 trillion yen.
This is somewhat reminiscent of the Chinese “Bakuhai” in Japan.
２．Actual Conditions and Causes of Rampant Fraud
(1) The reality of rampant fraud
Various images of cheating have been broadcast on TV, and we would like to take a closer look at them this time.
① Group cheating by 258 people in the half marathon (16,000 participants) in Shenzhen in November 2018
∙ Shortcut through bushes 1km before the “turnaround point”: 237 participants
Participants who used substitute runners: 21 people
The cheaters were banned from participating in the event for two years.
②Female athlete cheats by riding a “bicycle” during the international marathon in Xuzhou in March 2019
She was stopped for cycling from 15km to 20km, but cycled again after 40km.
The female runner received a “record cancellation” and a “permanent ban” from the event.
(2) Causes of Rampant Cheating
①The “spirit of fair play” has not taken root
I think this is because the “spirit of fair play,” which means “playing fair and complying with the rules,” has not yet taken root in China. There are still players who are willing to use any means to win.
②Sportsmanship” has not yet taken root
I think this is because “sportsmanship,” which means “doing one’s best in a fair and just manner,” has not yet taken root. As with the “spirit of fair play,” there are still players who are willing to use any means necessary to win.
To digress from the main point, this current situation also reminds me of the allegations of illegal doping by Sun Yang, a swimmer, and doping violations by female weightlifters under President Xi Jinping’s “Sports Powerhouse Initiative,” which aims for supremacy in sports at any cost. Russian President Vladimir Putin is also similar to President Xi Jinping.
３．Challenges Pile Up Behind Rapid Marathon Boom
At a marathon held in Shaoxing City in November 2018, a runner who had collapsed twice during the race and received CPR was stopped by medical staff when he regained consciousness and tried to run again.
Also in May 2019, a mistake was made at the Qingdao Marathon in Qingdao City, where the lead runner was led in the wrong direction.
The runners’ own lack of awareness of the dangers and safety of the “marathon race” and the inexperience of the event organizers and management staff in “marathon event management” are probably contributing factors, but there seem to be a number of other problems as well.
(1) Lack of medical personnel
(2) Lack of marathon-related medical training programs
(3) Loss of revenue and expenditures by marathon organizers
(4) Continued occurrence of fraudulent activities such as doping, substitutions, shortcuts, etc.
(5) Nuisances (e.g., forcibly handing the Chinese flag to the top runner)
(6) Incidents of bad manners (e.g., spectators and staff drinking or eating water or food from water stations)