On the street at the starting point, a thick starting line was painted with blue paint, and a huge blue banner was hung high above the head with the words "Lancheng Marathon" written on it.
Nearly twenty black Filipino athletes lined up in a row and stood on the blue starting line.
There was nothing all around them, and the view in front of them was wide and the road was smooth.
There were no obstacles except for the staff and spectators standing on both sides of the street.
There is no doubt that this is the best first starting track. There will be no crowding for black elite runners at the start, and they will have a greater advantage in running good results.
And behind them, about fifty meters apart, was the second group of starting people.
This wave of people was much larger, tens of thousands of them, crowded together in rows, shoulder to shoulder, elbow to elbow, front to back.
Xue Shen and Xiao Liu were squeezed at the end of the crowd, covered in sweat and unable to move.
After waiting for a long time, both of them were exhausted.
Xue Shen stood on tiptoes, glanced far ahead, and suddenly felt a little angry.
"Why can those black people stand comfortably at the front, with the best distance, the broadest view, no one crowded, no noise, and they can run 50 meters before us?"
Xiao Liu said listlessly: "Hey, they are VIPs, but if you run away first, you may have misunderstood them."
"Although others will start a certain distance first, everyone starts timing from the blue starting line, and we do the same."
"If they run first, we will time it first. If we run later, we will time it again when we reach the starting line."
Xue Shen looked at him like a fool and said speechlessly: "Then we have to run 50 meters more than them? Doesn't it cost more energy?"
"Besides, the person who runs first can lead the way. There is no need to squeeze in when running, and there is no interference when running."
"We are running behind. There are so many people in front of us. We are all crowded together, so we can't speed up at all. They are already stronger and have a first-mover advantage than you. How is this different from walking the championship?"
"And if you want to catch up, don't you have to overtake someone? Have you ever driven a car? How difficult is it to overtake someone from behind? If someone squeezes you just a little bit, you can't get past them."
He shook his head and couldn't help but sigh.
"What the hell. I thought all sports events were fair, but then I realized that unfairness is everywhere."
When Xiao Liu heard what he said, he came back to his senses.
His previous results were too poor, and he was directly at the bottom of the wave. He didn't need to surpass others at all, so he naturally didn't think there was any problem if others ran first.
After reacting now, he was furious in an instant: "Damn it, I'm not good at running, and I almost couldn't finish the race, but you asked me to run an extra 50 meters. It's really too much. Is there such a thing as fairness in this world?" !”
When I was angry, the surroundings suddenly became noisy.
A staff member ran over with a loudspeaker and shouted: "Quiet, the game has begun!"
The two of them couldn't help but cheer up, and the anger they had accumulated for a long time turned into a powerful force and poured into every part of their bodies.
Soon, there was a bang.
The starting gun was fired, the crowds on the track were surging, and flags were flying.
All the emotions in Xue Shen's mind were instantly cleared, leaving only one thought.
Must win!
However, the next second, just when he was about to shoot the arrow as usual.
But I found that I had overlooked an important issue.
In front of him, there are tens of thousands of contestants at this moment, stretching for hundreds of meters.
He simply couldn't run as fast as he should in the dense crowd.
Not to mention taking the lead and catching up with those black players.
"Oops! How could I forget this?"
Xue Shen slapped his forehead in annoyance and could only catch up with the maximum speed and the most flexible posture, taking advantage of every opportunity.
But in this way, the speed inevitably slows down.
It was completely unable to reach the pace he expected.
He was like a needle threading a thread through the crowd, moving forward at a rapid pace.
In this way, he kept surpassing the competitors one after another.
After running for a full kilometer, he finally saw a group of 300 rabbits in the distance.
These pacers, both male and female, wore yellow vests and long pink ears on their heads. While moving forward at a constant speed, they waved to the spectators outside the railings on the roadside.
Xue Shen looked around and found that there were fewer people around him and his field of vision became wider.
At this moment, he had completely left behind the large team behind him.
Finally I can move forward at the pace I set before the race.
He exerted force with the soles of his feet, accelerated and rushed forward, quickly surpassing the group of 300 rabbits, leaving them far behind.
This also means that if you run at a constant speed at the current speed, you will not be caught up by 300 rabbits.
He will finish the race in 3 hours.
Such results are good enough for a pure newcomer.
But for Xue Shen, it was far from enough.
His goal is to run under 2 hours!
The current world record for the marathon is 2 hours, 1 minute and 9 seconds.
He must run faster and in less time!
Regardless of whether he can break 2 or not, even if he is only 1 second faster, he can still set a new world record, and it is a world record unique to Chinese runners.
In this case, the current speed of 300 is not enough. The pace must reach 3 minutes per kilometer to hope to achieve the goal.
Thinking of this, Xue Shen immediately opened his legs and spun like a top, running quickly on the track.
Running, running, the familiar pink bunny ears appeared in front of me again.
This is a rabbit of the highest grade, with the time plate on its body reading 230.
This shows that I have entered the first echelon and become an elite competitor.
He didn't speed up, but maintained a fixed pace.
Soon, he overtook the 230-meter rabbit and ran farther and farther under the surprised eyes of the other party.
At this point, there are no rabbits ahead.
I could only vaguely see the black players.
Xue Shen suddenly felt reassured. He looked at his watch and found that he had run 5 kilometers.
Next, there are 37 kilometers.
This will be an extremely difficult and protracted battle.
And there was no one else around him, so he could only move forward alone.
In the long journey of 42 kilometers, the road ahead is the easiest but also the most confusing.
Inexperienced beginners often take it lightly and keep speeding.
By the time I reach the second half of the journey, about 30 kilometers, I will soon hit the wall physically and cannot run anymore.
Not only are you exhausted, but you may also experience muscle cramps, stiff legs, accelerated heart rate, and out of breath.
It's that feeling that I can't run even one step, I really don't want to run, my legs and feet don't even obey me, and there is only one thought running through my mind - quit the race!
This is often caused by excessive physical energy consumption and accumulation of metabolic waste. In the final analysis, it is caused by insufficient oxygen supply in the body.
Therefore, he must not take it lightly and consume too much in the first half of the schedule, which will lead to failure in the second half.
You must run at a stable pace in the beginning, even if it is a little slower, it doesn't matter.
Wait until the second half, then increase the speed and sprint to the end in one breath.
In this way, you can minimize the body's adverse reactions and complete the race smoothly.
With this mentality, Xue Shen only has one word when running, steady!
Unconsciously, he was getting closer and closer to the black team in front.
When he was about ten meters away, a black man looked back at him with a surprised expression.
These people are the first batch of specially invited elite players to start.
They didn't expect that a Chinese would catch up so quickly.
The black people turned back one after another, seemingly curious about this outstanding Chinese player.
When their eyes fell on the number plate on Xue Shen's chest and saw the big D, they all showed shocked expressions.
Everyone who participates in the competition knows that the contestants in District D are basically newbies and first-timers, and many of them cannot even finish the full marathon.
Anyone who participates in a few more marathons and can run under 4 hours will be placed in Zone C.
However, right now, a Chinese runner from Zone D actually surpassed a group of outstanding runners and ran behind the top 100 super elite runners in the global athletics federation with a unique appearance.
This is as shocking as if a novice during the qi training period and the Jindan Patriarch were evenly matched and inseparable.
Almost instantly, a chirping sound came over.
It sounded like black people were talking about him.
However, Xue Shen didn't care because he was entirely focused on another matter.
He was about to finish running 10 kilometers and he had to replenish energy.
Since water is not allowed during the competition, food and water can only be provided by officials.
He quickly looked around, looking for the official supply station.
Sure enough, after turning a corner, a blue pergola appeared ten meters away, with sports drinks and mineral water neatly placed on the long table below.
Xue Shen was overjoyed, and without caring about speed control, he accelerated and rushed over.
While breathing heavily, he picked up a bottle of water from the table, unscrewed the cap and drank.
Then he wiped his sweat, picked up a bag of energy gel, tore it open and took a big gulp into his mouth.
Energy gel looks a lot like transparent jelly and tastes like jelly, with a sweet and sour taste.
It is essentially concentrated fructose and glucose, which is easy to digest and absorb. It can provide a large amount of energy in a short period of time and is very popular among athletes.
Xue Shen started running again with a bottle of mineral water in his left hand and a bag of energy gel in his right hand.
While eating and running, I would occasionally drink a sip of water to help with swallowing and quickly replenish energy.
Sure enough, after completing the supplies, his physical strength was quickly restored.
Next, it is still a 3-minute run at a constant speed.
Xue Shen was immersed in the world of running, somewhat forgetful of himself.
In addition to replenishing food and water every 5 kilometers, he is almost like a rigid robot, strictly executing his running program.
When he ran 30 kilometers, he stopped at the supply station again.
A black man suddenly walked over from the roadside, smiled at him, showed his white teeth, and asked in fluent Chinese.
"Hi, who is your agent?"
Xue Shen was stunned for a moment: "What agent?"
"It's your boss. Or to put it another way, who asked you to participate in the competition?" The black man waved his hands and strengthened his tone.
Xue Shen shook his head: "I am a running enthusiast. This is my first time competing. I don't quite understand what you are talking about."
He could see that this man was not wearing a uniform, he was neither a staff member nor a contestant. He had appeared out of nowhere, and there was no need for him to pay attention to him.
After saying that, he quickly walked away and continued running on the track.
After he walked away, the black man took out a mobile phone and made a call with a serious expression.
"Boss, I asked. It's not another team. It's a rookie in the preliminary round. It seems to be quite talented, but that's it."
"I know, I'll keep an eye on him."
After 30 kilometers, Xue Shen’s running was no longer as easy and comfortable as before.
He felt faintly tired, his heart was beating hard, his breath was a little messy, and his steps began to become heavy.
"There are still 12 kilometers left, hold on." He clenched his fists and encouraged himself secretly.
At this moment, the group of black people kept a distance of about 10 meters from him.
Suddenly the group changed their formation, from a compact triangle to a loose mass.
The track is actually quite spacious, but after a dozen people spread out, the gaps between everyone became a little narrow.
It is no longer possible to pass through the gap easily.
Xue Shen's heart suddenly sank. He looked back and found that there was no one behind him.
Suddenly, I felt keenly that the other party seemed to be targeting me.
He kept his distance calmly, thinking quickly about countermeasures in his mind.
The opponent obviously didn't intend to let him pass, so he adopted group tactics, hoping to rely on the number of people to hold him back.
Behaviors such as pushing, squeezing, and bumping people are obviously against the rules. If the staff next to you find out, the game will be canceled directly.
How to respond?
All of a sudden, all kinds of thoughts, such as 36 Stratagems, Sun Tzu's Art of War, etc., came to him and flowed through his mind at the speed of light.
However, after much deliberation, there seems to be no good way to deal with the current predicament.
Until he glanced at the number plate on his chest with the corner of his eye and saw the big D, he suddenly had an idea.
"That can only show the enemy's weakness. The only information the opponent knows about me is that it was my first time participating in the competition. They know nothing about my strength and can only speculate from what I revealed."
"Maybe I ran too easily and didn't look as tired as others, so they became wary and were on guard against me overtaking."
"As long as I show that I'm exhausted and can't run anymore, that I'm trying to keep running, or even fall a little behind, they will definitely not think of me as a threat anymore."
"But I can't fall too far behind, otherwise I won't have room to explode, and I won't be able to leave them behind in an instant."
"Hey, I have thought of a solution, but I can't run at a constant speed anymore. The next step will be a test of my explosive power and acting skills. I don't know if I can hold on."
Xue Shen smiled bitterly in his heart, feeling as if he was being forced into danger and his reputation would be ruined in one fell swoop.
However, the next second, he became excited again.
"This means that soldiers never tire of deceit. How can we, the Chinese people, lag behind others?"
"The arena is like a battlefield. Who else would win glory for the country than me?"
After thinking about this at once, Xue Shen immediately started his performance.
First, he let out several screams with a ferocious expression, and then gasped for air, looking like he was about to die.
The speed also suddenly slowed down.
Wait until the black man in front looks back.
He immediately accelerated and ran two steps quickly, his expression twisted, his mouth wide open, like a fish that landed on the beach, panting and howling at the top of his lungs.
In this way, he no longer ran at a constant speed, but ran fast for a while, and then jogged again.
It feels like you are about to run out of breath, but you are holding on stubbornly. From time to time, you will sit up in a dying illness, accelerate and sprint for a certain distance, and highlight a flashback.
Every marathon runner knows that such a run is undoubtedly a huge drain on physical strength, and it is impossible for anyone to persist.
The effect was immediate. The black man in front looked back from time to time and observed for a while that he didn't look like a faker.
She looked at the number plate on his chest again, her eyes paused on the letter D for a long time, and finally let down her guard completely.
After repeated internal exchanges, they quickly returned to their original compact triangle formation.
At this time, there were only 5 kilometers away from the finish line.
The black people's expressions became solemn, and they no longer looked back, but ran forward with concentration.
And just ten seconds after they resumed their formation.
The corners of Xue Shen's mouth turned up, showing a proud smile.
He clenched his fists, took a deep breath, and all the accumulated strength exploded in an instant at the soles of his feet.
The whole person shot out like a bolt of lightning.
Past the last black man.
Go over the middle black man again.
Finally cross the front black man.
Like a rocket launcher, it flew on the wide track.
At this moment, he finally experienced the feeling of getting a head start.
So damn cool!
There was no one in front of me, and the field of vision was so wide that everyone was far behind.
He just needs to run and keep running towards the finish line.
Keep running towards the end of the universe, the temple of physics, and the ultimate of life.
Winning the most dazzling crown on the top of the palace...
Wait, this is nothing.
I'm obviously doing it for the million dollar prize, no, it's to bring glory to the country.
What does it have to do with physics, the universe, and life?
Xue Shen shook his head violently, feeling that his mind was in a mess, and all kinds of strange thoughts popped up.
The next second, there seemed to be a fire burning in his chest.
All the nanoparticles in the body are rushing through the blood at an alarming speed at this moment, consuming a huge amount of oxygen and sending energy to every cell in the body at high speed.
Just when Xue Shen suddenly changed his face and ran into a bolt of lightning.
Not far behind, all the black players couldn't help but stop.
Everyone opened their mouths and stared dumbly at his figure disappearing into the distance.
He didn't come back to his senses for a long time.
Until someone else caught up from behind.
The black runners woke up one after another and continued running.
The last black man left had a look of shock on his face. He exclaimed repeatedly and crossed himself fiercely on his chest.
"Oh my god, what do I see?"
"There is actually someone who can run faster than a cheetah!"
"It's incredible how he can run so fast."
"I must have been dazzled because I actually saw a lion behind his butt!"
****
At the final station, reporters aimed their guns and cannons at the track, waiting for the birth of the champion.
The staff also looked at the timer nervously.
Finally, a speeding figure appeared in the distance.
Rushing towards the finish line like a whirlwind.
The speed was so fast that everyone present was instantly shocked.
what happened?
In previous competitions, the champions seemed to have stumbled over slowly.
Some even lay on the ground and crawled across the finish line step by step.
They have never seen a player with such good physical strength.
When we reached the finish line, we were still able to run so fast!
In the silence of the scene.
Xue Shen crossed the finish line like a bullet hitting the water.
After running forward for another five or six meters, he slowly slowed down and stopped.
As soon as he stopped, he sat down on the ground, stretched out one leg, lifted it up, and performed static pull-ups.
This rapid burst of 5 kilometers is really exhausting.
His whole body was soaked as if he had been fished out of water.
Shortness of breath, pounding heartbeat, stiff legs, and muscle aches were all symptoms he had.
Therefore, we must take advantage of the favorable opportunity when the body temperature is high to complete static lifting and relax the elasticity of the muscles.
Otherwise, I would definitely not be able to get out of bed the next day.
At this moment, bursts of exclamations suddenly came from behind.
The staff shouted with excitement, and thunderous sounds erupted from the speakers.
"Oh my God, another new world record has been set!"
"1 hour, 58 minutes and 46 seconds!"
"This is a world record that belongs to China." (End of chapter)
