Dongshan Island, Fujian, China

5Daria Ishchuk 5:00 PM Mar 21, 2019

My experience from Dongshan Half-marathon 我的东山岛国际半马拉松赛的经验
I started as a hobby runner during my university studies. A few years ago, during my studies in Chongqing I decided to run my first half-marathon, back then I remember the biggest challenge for me was just to finish the race. I managed quite well and that encouraged me to join other competitions. It gave me not only the self-confidence I was missing but also a feeling I am not aware enough where my limits are. I chose for myself a new goal with joining the Dongshan Half-marathon. It is an annual race organized in a coastal province called Fujian in China on an island called Dongshan. This destination is often chosen as a holiday destination since there is beautiful scenery of mountains, sea and sandy beach. Thanks to the good quality of the waters surrounding this region, the local cuisine boasts with a great amount of delicious seafood which is also very cheap and fresh there. For racing, it is a perfect place since the air here is amazingly fresh. After these few years of running half-marathons as a competitor, I had the opportunity to join the race as a pacer and be a part of the organizing team. Half-marathons always keep me nervous and excited because I know it is not easy to run them. To ensure the smooth and reliable process of the half-marathon, the pacers chosen for the race are selected based on their personal records and running habits. Thus, pacers usually run faster than during the race itself. However ridiculous it may sound, it is harder to run at a slower pace for me. I was facing a challenge in a different way than I usually do. It was definitely not easy but once I saw the view, especially when running on the bridge which is a part of the route, I knew it was worth all the effort. The place has an unforgettable atmosphere not only because of the breathtaking views but also because of the enthusiasm all the runners share. I learned to work a lot on the self-control and also cooperated with other two pacers of my team. This time it was also a feeling of responsibility that I had to deal with before and mainly during the run. It was the first and very interesting experience. It felt like I am not only running for myself but also for the runners that relied on me and put their trust on me. I am definitely grateful for having this experience that I will recall for the rest of my life. 我在上大学时喜欢上了跑步，几年前我在重庆决定第一次跑半程马拉松，当时最大的挑战就是完成比赛。但我做得很好，这也促使我参加更多的比赛。这个经历让我找回了自信，也突破了自己的极限。 参加东山岛半程马拉松是我一个新的目标，这是福建东山岛举办的年度赛事。东山岛美丽的山景和海景使当地成为度假胜地，良好的水质也令当地盛产新鲜实惠的海鲜。 那里新鲜的空气造就了良好的跑步环境。此次也是我跑马拉松多年来，首次以领跑者和组织者的身份参加赛事。 我知道跑半程马拉松并不容易，因此我每次参赛都感到紧张和兴奋。为了保证比赛的顺利进行，领跑员都是根据他们以往的参赛记录和跑步习惯选出来的。但是领跑员在比赛中需要比他们往常跑得慢，这对我来说倒是另一种挑战。虽然不容易，但当我在比赛中跑过那座大桥，所有努力都值了。让我难忘的不仅仅是美景，还有选手们的热情。 此次参赛过程中，我要学会控制速度，并与另外两名领跑员合作，我第一次有这样的经历，这对我来说更是一种责任，因为我不是为了自己在跑，而是肩负选手们的信任。能有这样一次难忘的经历，我很感激。

4Tallaussie 5:00 PM Jan 19, 2017

what a wonderful place to spend some time by the sea
this island is a beautiful place to visit the city has a lot of restaurants with fish straight from the sea there is an enormous port where fishing trawlers are stationed - there are over 1000 there and is a sight to see. there is also a beautiful park right on the sea side with lots of great places to sit and enjoy the gardens that will take at least half a day to just walk through I spent 10 days there last New Year and loved it so much I am going back again