Wuxi international marathon

Just after Carla was born, my friends here in Wuxi were talking about participating in an upcoming marathon held in Wuxi. After looking into it a bit, I found out there were a few options for participation--a full marathon, a half marathon and a mini marathon. I threw the idea of doing a mini out there to NZ, since we often walk more than 5/6k on the weekends with the kids. He agreed that it sounded fun.

      

With the help of fellow expat, Diana and her husband Justin, we signed up for the mini. All of the registration and website info was in mandarin, so we really have to thank Diana for her help with it all. This is one of the things I do love about living here--our expat community--and the fact that we all lend a hand to one another when we can. 

NZ rented a van for the day and I'm glad he did, as it was drizzling this morning and the busses would have been a nightmare with our double stroller & two kids packed in with the masses. As soon as we parked and headed towards the starting line, the paparazzi caught wind of the laowai couple pushing their two kids in the race. Remember, China still practices the one child per couple rule ( with some exceptions), so it wasn't just that we were white people pushing a cute kid during the race--but two cute white kids. As far as we know we were the only participants pushing a stroller. Back in the states it's quite common for families to run together. Here, not so much. Heck, I haven't really seen any Chinese here actually jog outdoors-like, ever. Whenever I see someone running, it's a foreigner. 

All in all, we had a good time, despite a "not enough juice" meltdown and a bit of rain. 

I look forward to doing more races withy family. It's a great way to get outdoors and model an active lifestyle.