One: Departure
If I were to use one word to describe a person’s passion, then I think it must be: “departure”, proving that I am still on the road and can go anywhere. In this place, you can become whoever you want to be...
For the second match of the TNF100 10th Anniversary Tournament in Qinling Mountains, Xi'an, we are a group of eight people, known as the Roujiamo Team, gathering in Chengdu to run as early as possible Two groups of people, the Youth League and the Pony Running Group, set out from all directions (Chengdu, Deyang, Mianyang) to the ancient city of Xi'an.
TNF100 has awakened the "cross-country" gene in countless people's hearts. Just like some people like to tattoo the LOGO on their bodies, the TNF100 logo has long been separated from the event itself, but a totem that allows everyone to Go wild and experience a lifetime of madness. There are always many good stories happening on the track: stories about love, friendship, persistence and challenges.
My relationship with TNF100 started in April last year when I saw a message forwarded by my marathon goddess Fenny. It showed a photo of a 71-year-old man who had completed a 100-kilometer race. He had gray hair and a strong body. The bright-eyed uncle made me aware of the TNF100 event for the first time. For the first time, I have the urge to challenge a 100-kilometer cross-country race in my lifetime.
I really hope that many years later, I can become a vigorous and powerful old woman, with a forever young mentality and tears in my eyes forever. You can also be like an uncle who "walks through half of his life and returns as a young man."
So, when I heard that the second stop of the 10th anniversary of TNF100 was in Xi’an Qinling Mountains, I signed up for the preliminary 28-kilometer race without hesitation, and even fooled the core members of the Pony Running Group. A group of four people went crazy together.
In order to cooperate with the Qinling Nature Reserve to carry out ecological and environmental protection inspections, the organizer of this event temporarily launched Plan B in the first five days of the competition, adjusting it from the original 28 kilometers to 26 kilometers. At the same time, it also changed A brand new route, I no longer have the chance to see the rhododendrons all over the Qinling Mountains in May.
The starting point of the competition was changed from the original watershed of National Highway 210 to Qinling Ziwu Valley - Baolong Valley - Xiaosanwan - Shixiagou - Huangyu Temple - Xiyamenkou - and finally returned to Ziwu Valley.
Ziwu Valley is one of the seventy-two valleys in the Qinling Mountains. The valley is 660 miles long, with thousands of green peaks and distant mountains.
"The concubine riding in the world of mortals laughed, but no one knew it was lychee coming" is one of the most famous historical stories here. As an important transportation route from Chang'an to the south in ancient times, Ziwu Valley is full of historical sites and has a profound historical heritage. Many historical heritages are still preserved today. The track and landscape also change with altitude.
Cross-country running has always been a game for the brave. The battle is no longer about physical strength, but about willpower. The route of this event also includes a mixture of roads, mountain roads, dirt roads, and river trails.
I think it may be "Run the wildest road in your life" and "TNF100 is not just 100 kilometers, but also 100% dedication." These two slogans encouraged me to accept this challenge willingly. In the eyes of ordinary people, off-roading is really the behavior of a madman, especially for a master who runs 100 kilometers and has to go through a long night of suffering. This kind of experience is really indescribable to outsiders!
But often, how much pain life gives you can achieve how much life you have.
The Pony Running Group is such a group of lunatics. Under my deception, they decided to go on this crazy trip a month ago.
This group of lunatics are: the leader of the group known as Duan Yihong of Deyang, who yearns for freedom in his heart and has done countless crazy things: for example: he resigned in 2017 and drove 18,500 kilometers around the western line for 60 days, just to fulfill his dreams. Photography dream; warm male god, veteran hiking driver Taotao, active in work, reliable and super mobile. In order to surprise his wife, he dragged me along and used his lunch break to visit the entire shopping mall. Just to surprise his wife on her birthday, he carefully selected a pair of earrings that she liked; a Buddhist technical otaku, the people's policeman Dayu Brother - Tuan My hair is small, and I said on the way here that I haven’t done any homework, but in fact I know better than anyone else: When should I replenish energy gels, acid-removing pills, and salt pills? How many pills should I take? Just ask him.
As for the race route, I know it by heart. Which slope should I climb after passing the Ziwu Valley? Which ridge should I climb? How many meters should I climb and how many meters should I descend? What's the altitude? He was so knowledgeable that I even suspected that he had studied CAD drawing design. He memorized the route very firmly, which made me admire him; Yaoyao, the young and energetic bank account manager; Xiaowei, the beautiful and self-disciplined siege lion; gentle and loving, The cute little cat-loving male is a lucky cat; the little Sichuan brothers are full of energy and have unlimited physical strength. Compared with other running group partners: I only have a lot of enthusiasm and am a complete cross-country novice. But just like that, I was driven by everyone's enthusiasm and my hormones remained high.
Among the Roujiamo team, Yaoyao is the only one who has participated in the cross-country race. Her previous competition experience told us that she only spent 5 hours on a 25-kilometer cross-country trip in Yunnan, and she also added in the group that she had to finish the run early that day to catch the 6:30 pm train home on time, no Missed work the next day.
So the state of our group before the competition was loose, especially Yaoyao’s misjudgment of the entire competition, which made everyone relax their vigilance, thinking that the organizer had reserved eight hours for us. , and it was temporarily reduced by two kilometers. Even with my eyes closed, I felt that I would definitely be able to finish the race ahead of schedule this time, and I would be able to chat and take beautiful photos in the extra time. Just thinking about it makes me feel happy.
So one month before the competition, Brother Dayu has been debating whether to bring a SLR, and I have been debating whether to bring various snacks, such as shredded beef jerky and the like. In the wild, you can replenish energy and enjoy delicious food. Taotao, who often participated in hiking in the past, relaxed his vigilance. He did almost no deliberate training before the competition and did not prepare special competition equipment. I only bought a trail bag and trail shoes for a nominal fee.
Among the members of the pony running group, only the leader honestly insists on high-intensity training every day. He also bought a series of equipment such as special waterproof cross-country running shoes and professional hiking poles.
The Second Tragic Moment: The Group Leader Was Closed
"Many years from now, when I stand on the top of the Qinling Mountains, I will definitely think of that distant dawn when the crowd was boiling under the arch. At that time, the TNF100 Qinling was a cross-country race with only a thousand people. A number of athletes stood on the track. The sky was dark and wild, spreading into the distance along the road. Different roads and tracks were intertwined and deep, stretching towards the sky. Like the backbone of a dragon.”
On May 20, 2018, we crazy people did not choose to spread dog food on WeChat, but chose to put down our mobile phones and run to nature in our unique way. , talk to your body, and show your love to the mountains and wildness.
At 6:30, we set off from the Shaanxi Provincial Stadium and took a bus to the foot of Ziwu Valley Mountain, an hour's drive away from the city. The air in the mountains and forests was moist and fresh, and the light rain began to beat on the car. Window, everyone couldn't help but sigh, "It's going to be a rain battle, right?" I didn't expect Murphy's Law to happen just right. Sure enough, the game was held in light rain. It rained slightly throughout the journey and the roads were muddy and slippery, which was the biggest problem. Later, I communicated with many experts, and it was generally reported that the TNF100 Qinling Race was the wildest and most brutal track. It was much more difficult than Changbai Mountain/Mogan Mountain, which directly caused many people in the 48-kilometer group to be banned.
After everyone was ready, there was still about half an hour before the competition time. We took a group photo and chose a quiet place on the second floor of the farmhouse. Under the leadership of the group leader, everyone started to do some simple pulls. I was very happy and excited during the stretching exercise. In the state of a newborn calf not afraid of tigers, I didn't realize that the pain was coming soon.
When Haruki Murakami wrote "What I Talk About When I Run", he quoted Somerset Maugham's words: "Every razor has its own philosophy." To the effect: , no matter how trivial the action is, as long as you persist every day, something similar to a concept will always emerge from it. I also wholeheartedly agree with Maugham's point of view. Indeed, after running for a long time, I will naturally develop some of my own philosophies and insights. The people I meet along the way, the love I convey, and the scenery I see all tell me that life is beautiful and that I must love it fiercely.
Partners who are willing to challenge cross-country are a group of people who are willing to constantly challenge their own limits. They hone their will through physical suffering and pain, allowing the body to consume more, so as to re-recognize themselves. They are weak humans with limited abilities. Every time they surpass, the distance they run is longer than the last time, and the difficulty is greater than the previous time, they strengthen their bodies, even just a little bit.
I think it is this way of life that binds us together. Before setting off, the boys also ate the meat buns, the mascot that symbolized our team’s safe completion.
At 9 o'clock, accompanied by the exciting music and the long starting whistle, the 500 runners in the 28km group took their places and officially set off towards the depths of the Qinling Mountains. Although the scale is not as large as a large marathon with tens of thousands of people, standing in the team is equivalent to the blood spurting caused by soaking in adrenaline. 28KM*** There are 2 supply stations + check-in points: CP1 and CP2. (both have strict closing times). In layman's terms: CP1, CP2, and CP3 are equivalent to climbing three mountains.
At the beginning, there were crowds of people. As we kept running, the road came to an end. Less than one kilometer away, we started to enter a dirt road. My body got hot, so I took off my clothes and stuffed them into the backpack of Little Sichuan Children’s Shoes. Here, little Sichuan is a warm and helpful little friend. The 24-year-old little fresh meat carries the girls' coats on his back and carries the load forward. Before the competition, I posted my last post on WeChat Moments: "It's raining all the time, put on your thickest clothes and get ready to go." As a result, I received a comment: "The boy wearing jeans is so eye-catching." And this boy wearing jeans It's exactly the little Sichuan, but they don't know what the shorts look like after taking off the jeans.
The cat-lover, Lucky Cat Shoes, brought a panda-brand transparent water bottle for primary school students on their spring outing, but was ridiculed by the staff along the way. Fortunately, she was strong enough in her heart.
At first, there was heavy fog, and we seemed to have walked into a misty forest. The heavy fog made everything mysterious and beautiful. In the crowd, I suddenly met a woman in black. Looking at her back, I was still thinking that this girl has such a good figure and is so coolly dressed! When she turned around, I was so surprised that she turned out to be the goddess Fenny whom I had gone to the hotel to "try my best to meet" the day before. A burst of joy. He quickly went up to say hello to her, took a photo with her, and even jogged for a while together. I introduced the group leader to her as my marathon hero, and introduced her to the group leader as my cross-country goddess. Then Taotao joked from the side that the goddesses of goddesses and the gods of male gods are all merging together in Qinling today! The atmosphere of the conversation suddenly became lively and cheerful.
Since I started running, I have found that the distance between people seems to have become closer. Even if we don’t know each other, when we talk, we feel like we have known each other for a long time. It’s all kinds of pleasant. Feeling happy from the heart. I remember that my family and I traveled to Guangdong during the Spring Festival this year and met a local triathlon running group. When we left, the triathlon group leader sent me a message that moved me: "Sister, those who know how to run are happy. I wish you happiness." Just keep running.” Be grateful for the people you meet on the road. I find that people who love sports are the same everywhere: they are energetic and full of sunshine. I lamented that after a person's energy field is opened, it will become stronger and stronger like a snowball, always see positive things, and become more positive and optimistic when encountering problems.
When we first started going up the mountain, it was quite crowded and we stopped and stopped, which didn’t consume much energy. Excited and surprised all the way. At five kilometers, the strict Brother Dayu also reminded me to swallow three salt pills.
After a period of climbing, everyone’s blood is ignited. What comes into view is the cloud forest all over the mountain. During the descent, the lush green branches gently scratch your cheek. Look up. As soon as I looked at it, I could see the bright red TNF100 competition logo, and I felt like I was seeing a rainbow through the clouds. I was guided by it all the way, telling myself that I was no longer confused. Of course, beauty is beauty, and if you are not careful, you will be slapped in the face by the entangled vines and branches, cut on the arm, knocked on the head, or tripped.
When we arrived at CP1, there were still 10 minutes before closing time. I didn’t feel pressed for time at all. I was still studying what delicious food the organizer provided: instant noodles, bananas, kohlrabi with rice porridge, and salad. Qima... In line with the purpose of defeating the host committee, our team opened our stomachs and had a wild meal. When I was eating happily, the leader gave an order for everyone to hurry up and get on the road.
Fortunately, there is a soul figure like the leader in the team, which makes me not feel lonely at all. In the few marathons I have participated in, I have to fight to the finish line alone. Perhaps this is the biggest difference between cross-country and marathon. , you can always find the same kind to accompany you all the way.
Before CP1, I was quite relaxed and happy.
Three Phoenix Nirvana, a long road to completion
After entering CP2, the road began to become more and more difficult. It is no longer called a road, it is completely a wild road, but there are more people walking, so It became a road. There was continuous light rain in the mountains, and the loess road had turned into a yellow mud road. The cross-country shoes that were clean just now suddenly became thicker. I kept hearing the screams of girls slipping and the low roars of lions from boys after falling. CP2 I no longer have time to enjoy the scenery, my whole toes and thumbs are clenched, I am left talking to myself, and the only company I have is the sound of footsteps and breathing.
Being known as the downhill queen, I was always in front of the small team when going downhill in CP1, but in CP2, the road was too slippery, the mud was too thick, and the slope was steep and long. My legs didn't find a point of support, so I performed the splits directly, and the splits were vertical, which I usually wouldn't dare to think about. Fortunately, the group leader led everyone to do stretching before, otherwise I can't imagine that my legs would be different. It will be pulled into two pieces.
I jog all the way + crawl, sometimes imitate those cross-country masters, and occasionally use "fart" to descend. He just sat down on the mud slope, lowered his center of gravity, and slid down the slope. Occasionally, when I encounter a good road, I jog for a while. As I run, I hear someone say that CP2 will close in five minutes. ah! No way! I'm very nervous. Is it possible that the first field was closed down without mercy? In this way, I was led all the way forward by Taotao, a warm man and veteran hiking driver. The last five minutes seemed particularly long. We tried our best to rush to the CP2 check-in point, and then a staff member took a machine and put it on my After scanning the number plate and hearing a beeping sound, I immediately regained my composure and felt at ease. Then the staff said: Congratulations, you are the last one to punch in at CP2. Gasp. Go find food immediately + refill the water bottle. Immediately afterwards, the group leader came down and told me with a helpless look on his face that he was closed a minute late and needed to sign in and hand over the number chip, and would most likely be forced to take the detention vehicle back.
I know very well that the team leader’s original intention of staying behind, taking care of his friends, and not wanting anyone to get hurt led him to start crossing the CP2 line at the last moment. Unexpectedly, he was careless and was closed down only one minute late.
At this moment, there are eight members of the Roujiamo team: the leader has been shut down, and Brother Dayu has gone to help others (helping and accompanying a foreign partner suffering from hypothermia). This is the first time I heard about this disease, and the mortality rate is very high if timely rescue is not provided. Brother Dayu's kind feelings accompanied and encouraged this partner to no longer be afraid, but to have the confidence to wait until the rescue team arrived. Qinling is an unfinished game for Brother Dayu. I believe he will remember the warmth he has brought to others throughout his life.
Maomao was exhausted and his cheeks were scratched numerous times by branches, causing allergic reactions. He planned to take the shelter car back, but Yaoyao and Xiaowei also withdrew from the competition early. There were eight people in the Roujiamo team, and suddenly there were only three left, and I was the only one left.
At this moment, my heart was extremely desolate. Looking at the lonely eyes of the group leader, I suddenly wanted to cry. I rushed to the organizer and told them that the group leader is the strongest one in our team. He is completely It is to help our friends and is the best proof of the cross-country spirit. They asked them to be lenient and allow the group leader to continue participating in the CP3 competition, and gave a lot of reasons. Perhaps they were moved by our sincerity. The organizer did not force the group leader to take the recovery vehicle back, but just said lightly. , go and finish the race, but there is no result.
With this sentence, everyone was suddenly on fire again, like a phoenix rising from the ashes.
The group leader immediately ordered: "Taotao, you can take Little Sichuan to test the results, as much as you can. Can't we be wiped out by the group the first time we come here? I'll accompany Purple Lemon to finish it. Game."
We wasted a lot of time at the CP2 rest point, and my psychological defense was about to collapse: a deep sense of powerlessness, no matter how hard I tried, I would eventually be shut down.
When I first entered CP2 from CP2, I didn’t feel relieved at all, and I was particularly pessimistic. Thinking about the fact that I still had to climb a mountain in less than three hours, my legs began to tremble inexplicably. Powerless. Moreover, I think if the team leader had not been for us, he should have been able to achieve a good result instead of being dragged down by everyone. I asked the group leader to run away first and leave me alone. I will definitely affect his performance.
As a result, he smiled and said boldly: "You are a person who has achieved results, so I am worried about dragging you down!"
As I climbed all the way, I felt that my little heart was about to jump out of my head. They checked my heartbeat twice and they both said calmly that the heartbeat was not high, about 120, which was within the normal range. But I really felt like I was going to die. My face was pale and I felt dizzy. A bit similar to high reflex. The group leader said: You have to take control, don’t hold on! If that doesn't work, we can go back now before it's too late. But I have a belief in my heart that even if I fail to pass the test, I still have to finish the race successfully. It would be good to at least experience the complete Qinling Circuit once! We are here, we must fight hard! So, I told the group leader that I could do it. But the truth is, I am really fragile. People keep passing us along the way, and I am always on the verge of inner collapse. Just holding on like this, the group leader was still chatting behind me to try to make me feel more relaxed, but I really didn't even have the strength to speak, and I was breathing heavily. I heard him say: He likes going uphill the most, because with every step up, the target on the top of the mountain is a little closer to us. It was when this feeling of hitting the wall kept coming and my whole body was so weak that I managed to survive it. After surviving the uphill climb, I started going all the way downhill. When going downhill, I rushed forward as if I was resurrected with full health. The group leader was also very happy and praised me for my good performance.
In fact, there is another question before going cross-country. I have never understood it: If the goal of life is to avoid pain, then why are we unwilling to choose stability and ease, but to "ask for trouble"? How about going through all kinds of tossing and pursuing changes and challenges?
After going through this long journey of CP3, I think I finally found the answer. The cross-country route is not as predictable as a marathon. It is precisely because everything is unknown that we begin to look forward to what difficulties we will encounter on the next section of the track and who we will meet running. Cross-country makes me feel the freshness and meaning of life. Maybe everyone’s experience is different!
The team leader and I finished CP3 together like this. We fell down countless times on the way, stood up, and started again. Tiredness, negative emotions, powerlessness, soreness, and the feeling of hitting a wall kept coming. But every time I look back and see him behind me, or my companions along the way, and when someone passes me, leaving a word of encouragement, I feel particularly warm.
After a big fall, I flew straight down the slope in front of me and lay heavily on the muddy grass. My hiking pole was broken in half at some point. . I feel so close to death. My mind went blank for a few seconds. When I woke up, I heard the group leader calling my name loudly from behind me and asking me to lie down where I was and not to move. I felt a lot of pain all over my body. I moved my arms and shoulders briefly and found that the bones were fine and I could move. I asked the team leader to help me up and continued to finish the race.
After this big fall, my mentality gradually calmed down. My goal no longer focused on winning or losing. It didn’t necessarily have to finish the race before the closing time. As long as I could reach the finish line safely, no matter how late it was. , I am my own hero. Winning or losing is unpredictable, and no one can always win. On the highway of life, it is impossible to drive in the passing lane all the time. It’s also impossible to experience downturns all the time. It's just a band problem, and you can put it at ease once you look at it.
Along the way, we surpassed some partners and were surpassed by others. Whenever we see friends who are alone, the group leader and I will smile and signal to them. When we encounter friends with cramps and sprained feet on the way, we will ask with concern: What's wrong with you? Need help? In the second half of CP3, I was so exhausted that I couldn’t even lift my feet to walk. I finally made it to the hard stone road, and there were 48K friends speeding down behind me. I silently gave way, but my friends still couldn’t help it. Forgot to turn around and say to me, come on.
"I heard that the road was slippery, so the organizer postponed the closing." The small flame that had been extinguished has rekindled. Throw up your arms. If it is delayed for half an hour, we still have hope. Gradually I heard the cheers of tourists, and then the cheerful music celebrating the finish line, and finally there was only the last turn left. I saw from a distance that on both sides of the arch, volunteers on both sides gave thumbs up to greet the runners who crossed the line, saying "congratulations on finishing the race"; inside the arch, the photographer's lens turned to us, the group leader and I We all crossed the line hand in hand. For us, this was a war without gunpowder. Through this game, we overcame adversity and became the most tacit comrades-in-arms.
After crossing the line, I had mixed feelings, my eyes were filled with tears, and I couldn't tell if I was crying because I was tortured by the track, or I was relieved that I no longer had to run so hard. In short, this was the first time I felt such emotions when crossing the finish line. The team leader silently said in my ear: "Thank you for your hard work, you are great, we are all great!"
The guy who distributed the race packs called us over to collect the completion packs, and the heavy medals were hung At that moment on my neck, I was once again moved beyond words. Then we met Taotao, the warm male god who had been waiting for a long time. He smiled and said to us, "Come on, come on, let's go inside and have something to eat together..." and then: Leader, me, Taotao, the three of us will go to the booth together. We took a group photo together in front of us, with smiles on everyone’s faces. I’m very happy that our pony running group was not “annihilated” and Taotao also got good results...
Although I didn’t get the finish Although I didn’t have the race results and ITRA points, I got the medals and finishing items, but I was still dirty, my body was sore and sore, and I finally had an explanation for this TNF100 Qinling trip.
After the cross-country race, our Roujiamo team celebrated by having hot pot in the evening, and together we planned the next stop of the TNF100 Chengdu in September. By the way, we changed the WeChat group name from "Xi'an Roujiamo" "Jiamo Team" was changed to "Chengdu Chuanchuan Xiang Team" - a group of foodies.
At the end of the race record, we, a group of people, must return to our respective work and life positions. "Climb over mountains and ridges, climb mountains, climb obstacles, and go wild in your heart." It has been a few days since I returned to my warm home after my trek to the mountains. It seems as if nothing happened but something is different.
I guess that’s what off-roading is about, right? To go through the most cruel test and climb the most difficult mountain is just to let yourself know that if you can survive even this state, then what else in life can you not bear?
On this road, we accompany each other, live to the fullest, and are grateful to meet each other.