As the 2017 Nanjing Lishui International Mountain Half Marathon kicked off on March 26 at Wuxiangshan National Forest Park, the 77-year-old Wan Jinzhang lining up for the race caught everyone’s attention.
Wan Jinzhang, from Haimen, Nantong, began running in 1997 and he runs 15 kilometers almost every day. In 2007, Wan took part in his first half marathon in Shanghai, finishing the race in two hours and 47 minutes. Since then, running half marathons has become an annual routine.
He has been to numerous cities for the races, including Shanghai, Yangzhou, Zhenjiang, Suzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou, Hangzhou, Lanzhou, Dandong, Tianjin, Taiyuan, Beijing, Chongqing, Dongying and Guilin. Over the course of 10 years, Wan has participated in over 40 half marathons across China.
When asked how long he will continue running, Wan smiled and said: “I will keep running until the day I cannot run. If I have to set an age, I wish it were 100 years old.”
