Sunday November 26th 2023 I ran the Shanghai Marathon in China, the last international marathon for me this year. Find below my full race coverage from this marathon and many (!) tourist impressions from Shanghai.
Shanghai
Shanghai in two words: fucking wauuu!! OMG, this is an incredible megacity, metropole, display of construction power balancing infrastructure with green areas and new modern world with the historic. I just LOVED Shanghai and was happy to visit landmarks such as the 5 km long Pedestrian street Nanjing Road, The Bund, The Fairmont Peace Hotel (where I had 1 night overlay), the Buddhist Jing’an Temple, The Peoples Park and more. However, the main attraction remains: the incredible skyline, cf. below, with the Oriental Pearl Tower (at left) and the Shanghai Tower (at right, 3rd tallest builing in the world) dominating the scene. This view cannot be watched and enjoyed enough, simply world-class stuff!
Shanghai Marathon 2023
The race took of at The Bund 07.00 hours and twisted around many areas, places and tall buildings in and near the historical center of Shanghai (I believe). The organisation of the race on race day was nothing less than flawless, e.g. the drink stations each featured two sections for sport drinks and water, respectively, each section typically comprised of +30 tables (!) and, thus, no fuzz or waiting time anytime during the race, very impressive indeed. The route was very scenic – to my taste – and had it’s Finish Line outside a soccer stadion. Here, a small improvement could perhaps be made: why not finish INSIDE the stadion, allowing spectators to sit and for a nicer finish? Anyways, I highly recommend the Shanghai Marathon, it is nothing short of a world class event on race day!
See or relive the Shanghai Marathon 2023 here: