On a cool morning on November 15th, around 1500 runners hit the trails along Tai Lake in Suzhou, China, for the XTERRA Taihu Trail Runs.
Last September, XTERRA introduced its off-road concept and outdoor lifestyle to China, holding the first triathlon event in Qunming. This year, in Suzhou, XTERRA organized the first trail run challenge along the imposing Tai Lake.
With nearly 1500 runners from every corner of the nation, the event drew together some top athletes in China, from Wang Jiachao, the para-Olympic champion to leading female runner Tang Jingyan.
Even under Covid-19 restrictions, while many foreign participants could not attend, there were still over 50 international runners from 18 different countries taking part in the race; among them were athletes from France, Japan, Brazil and Germany.
There were four racing categories in the event, 50km, 30km, 10km and 5km. The event also holds sustainable development as a guiding principle. The Suzhou event had a strict no-littering policy. Disposable water bottles were replaced with reusable folding bottles. The event organizing team also discouraged the use of trekking poles during the race aiming to protect vegetation along the route.
A notable amount of equipment used during the event was reusable. For example, t-shirts were made from 100% recycled materials with bio-degradable packaging.
‘XTERRA hopes by leading by example, those who love outdoor activities in China would be more aware of the importance of environmental protection.’
Since June 2020, XTERRA has also initiated X-plogging – a non-profit initiative that combines sports activity & litter pick-up. In a short 5-month period, 21 cities and 61 events have been organized… ‘tons of garbage were cleaned up, literally.’
The XTERRA Taihu Trail event in Suzhou was not only the first trail run race organized by XTERRA in China but is also its first X-plogging conference. Running alongside this, and collaborating with the China Green Foundation, XTERRA donated 1500 trees on behalf of all participating runners.
