Fisherman-turned-athlete inspires people to run
Print Edition
CHEN Penbin, 37, had one major objective in his life: to run. And to run in places most people wouldn’t even think of. Or at least in ways most people wouldn’t even think of.
Recently, the ultra-marathon runner born in east China’s Zhejiang Province ran a marathon every day for 100 days in a row.
Chen was now named the new Fitness Ambassador for Peninsula Shanghai.
His dream, he said, is to bring the joy of running to other people. “I hope that through the cooperation, I can call for more people to join me and enjoy the happiness and health running brings about,” he said.
As the son of a fisherman, Chen said he led a “wild” life growing up. After elementary school, he wasn’t able to continue his education as his father had fallen seriously ill and although tuition was free, books and other school supplies became too expensive for the family.
It’s a tragic fate that many rural children face, but in Chen’s case, starting to work as a fisherman at a very young age might have given him just the right advantage. He said that the arduous work turned him into the strongest and, more importantly, fastest child in his community.
But it wasn’t until 2000 that his career in sports started. His hometown in Yushan County held a push-up contest, and although most of the contestants were policemen and soldiers, Chen won by doing 438 push-ups in a row. He only stopped when he was asked to, stood up and — to his surprise — found that all other contestants had given up already.
After that, Chen participated in small-scale competitions and soon advanced to a professional level.
For the next nine years, he won the majority of ultra-marathon championships in China. In 2009, he decided to take his talent to an international level.
His first international competition was The Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc in France where he came in 27th.
“Just being eligible to participate was hard enough,” said Chen. “And this event opened my eyes and broadened my mind. It gave me a new direction.”
Chen hired a new coach and adopted a new training program. His results were getting better.
He has since competed in ultra marathons traversing some of the toughest terrains on the planet, including the 251 kilometer Marathon of the Sand across the Sahara, where he became the first Chinese athlete to complete the race, and the 254km Jungle Marathon in the Amazon, where he claimed second place.
In 2014, Chen won the 100km South Pole Marathon, making him the first Chinese runner to join an elite group of less than 100 athletes who have competed in ultra marathons on all seven continents.
In July, he ran 100 marathons in 100 days. The extraordinary, about 4,230km journey began in Guangzhou, continued through Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shandong and Hebei provinces, as well as the cities of Shanghai and Tianjin, before it reached the finishing line in Beijing.
Every day Chen was joined by a new companion. The list included many big names, such as former NBA star Yao Ming and Internet tycoon Zhang Zhaoyang.
Novelist Feng Tang, one of his companions, said he always believed that he would stop writing after 10 novels, but running with Chen gave him a new perspective.
“If a common man can run 100 marathons in 100 days, I think maybe I should just adhere to writing until the last day of my life,” Feng said.
Chen said seeing how happy people were after running with him was overwhelming.
“I think the 100 marathons got me a step closer to my dream,” of inspiring others to find joy in running, he said.
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