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November 19, 2018

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Running rings around volunteer work

About 4,000 volunteers helped out at the Shanghai International Marathon this year, Feng Shuo among them. 

The 28-year-old Shanghai native has two hats to wear this year — he was also one of the 6,000 runners in the 10-kilometer race.

A veteran volunteer, Feng has supported the marathon seven times. He started as a member of the food and drink supply team and became team leader of a food station last year.

“I got lucky this year and was selected for the 10km race, but I didn’t want to put my voluntary duties aside. In fact, running in the race helped me to evaluate volunteers’ work from a different angle, which will improve our future work,” Feng told Shanghai Daily.

Together with all the other runners, Feng started his race from the Bund at 7am yesterday.

The finish line of the 10km race at Fuxing Park. After completing the race in an excellent time of one hour and 15 minutes, like the Superman he is, Feng swapped identities and put on his volunteering hat, giving out medals at the finish line.

“I arrived at 6am and helped runners find their start zones,” he said. “Some 10km and 5.5km runners were not aware that bag deposits were only for full marathon runners. This is something we need to improve, and I will raise it with the organizers at our next meeting.”

Feng is a designer at Zhenhua Port Machinery Company. Before joining the company, he did two years of military service, which made him fit, as well as instilling within him enthusiasm for public service.

“I retired from the army in 2015, which was the year the marathon started recruiting volunteers from the general public. Before that, it was only university students, but due to the number of applicants, it was not until the following year that I was selected.”

At the food supply station, he manages a 30-strong team.

“We arrive at the course at 4am and start our preparations. The work is not difficult, but requires patience, care and consideration, especially because it’s about food safety,” said Feng. “We wear gloves and keep the tables clean. Drink is usually served in half cups.”

Feng is very committed to his service, good at spotting problems in his work and coming up with solutions.

“I noticed an imbalance between male and female volunteers at the station — far more girls than boys at first. But it is actually quite heavy work. A 35kg box of bananas is not a light thing to lug around. I pointed out the problem and we have more physically strong members of the team now.”

Feng’s most rewarding moments are when runners smile or give a thumb-ups in recognition and gratitude for his team’s work.

As the organizers keep improving services for runners and the watching public, the number of volunteers has risen.

Foreign students joined in at the start line and food stations this year to help runners from overseas.

“I’m able to interact with Shanghainese people at the event and make some new friends,” said Jay Veronique from Trinidad and Tobago, a student at New York University Shanghai. Some 40 students from the university volunteered this year, 12 of them from overseas.




 

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