Kenyas Michael Chemchir won a very wet Jingyuetan Forest Marathon in Changchun last Sunday in a time of 2:54, six minutes ahead of Chinas Jing Liang. Both of the them were a class apart on a course that due to rainfall had become muddy and slow in several parts. Chemchir was in the lead by himself early on and never looked back, even though Jing Liang did not give up chasing him back down. The 40-year-old Kenyan is a regular competitor in China with a marathon personal best of 2:12:52, which he ran in Verona, Italy, in 2011. More recently he won a few road marathons in China as well in times consistently around the 2:14 mark. It is therefore no coincidence that Chemchir came out on top in the forest marathon in Changchun. Zhen Jia completed the podium in third place in 3:29. The womens marathon race was won by Xiuyuan Li in 3:45. She was 20 minutes ahead of Swedish runner Lisa Svensson, who is better known as a skier. Svensson is a double winner of the China Tour de Ski tournament in winter. Wen Meng took the final step on the womens podium.
The half marathon race was won by Shuliang Gao in 1:19:42, with Simon Andersson (Sweden) in second place in 1:21:01 and Yungui Li in third place in 1:23:21. Best woman was Yawen Sun in 1:42:40. She was clearly ahead of Norways Hilde Eide (1:56:35) and Guangshuang Sun (1:56:52).
The Jingyuetan Forest Marathon is a mix between road running and trail running, with several sections on natural trails and paths. Total elevation gain is approx 700 hm.
