Generally speaking, running, for me, is something to be done when being chased by something higher on the food chain than I am. But from time to time, I will recognize that my body could benefit from some fresh air and exercise all the same, and even if I don’t enjoy running, I will enjoy having run.
Still, I’m a long way off from becoming a serious long distance runner, and stories like this aren’t about to change that, even though it is, in its own way, a bit inspirational.
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Running even half of a marathon is a huge accomplishment — doing it like Wu Xiangdong did is absolutely bonkers.
As the South China Morning Post reported, Wu completed the first 10km of the Shanghai Half-Marathon without any issues, but after that point, he started to feel some pressure building up.
He still made it another 4km before realizing he wasn’t going to make it to the finish line before he’d need some relief.
He was, after all, still 7km away, very much in the race, and so with nature calling very insistently, he didn’t see much choice in the matter. Yes, this runner had the runs, and it wasn’t a pretty situation.
What was he going to do, just leave the race course and dash to the nearest porta-potty?
No, like a champion, he was going to try to win. Still on his feet, he let go. “I kept running and didn’t stop [to go to the toilet because there weren’t any] and I wanted to beat the African runner at the finish,” he explained after the race.
Wu wasn’t quite clear on whether his unfortunate episode provided a boost for him, but he must have felt better afterwards.
“I was really relieved when I crossed the finish line. It seemed I had more power after I excreted everything [during the race]. I definitely would have run faster if I didn’t have this [episode].”
Still, he kept his eye on his goal despite his unfortunate distraction, and it paid off.
“Even I couldn’t stand the smell,” he said. Nevertheless, his persistence showed and he ended up finishing at the top of his category and the fastest entry from China in the race.
So that’s an incredibly impressive accomplishment.
However, it’s also an experience that Wu would prefer to, um, put behind him. “I don’t want to remember this race,” he admitted.
As for how he came down with his case of the runs, Wu could only speculate.
He said he thought it might have been due to wearing wet clothes, “Or it was because I only had a piece of bread and drank mineral water. I don’t think it was because of what I ate. It was a mighty relief to have had the toilet in the end.”
This isn’t the first time something like this has happened in a high-profile race.
Back in 2005, the same thing happened to marathon world record-holder Paula Radcliffe at the London Marathon , which she did as the race leader in front of tens of thousands of onlookers. She finished in first, five minutes ahead of the runner-up.
