Chapter 227: Pulling Fang Yunpeng Apart!
7:26 AM.
The check-in point in front of Ping County People’s Park had already gathered several thousand people.
The participating runners, dressed in colorful sportswear, were like a sea of vibrant colors.
“Our Ping County is really making a name for itself. We finally got approval for this Health Run. I’m so excited!”
“Every first time leads to a second time. I hope it happens again next year!”
“It would be great if they could hold a Half Marathon or a Full Marathon sometime!”
“Our area is still a bit too small. A full marathon would have to go into the surrounding townships, and the road conditions wouldn’t be easy to manage, so it’s not realistic.”
“It’s my first time running a race right in my hometown, I’m so excited!”
“It would be great if I could get a ranking and stand on the podium!”
“I don’t think I have a chance! Look at that person live streaming over there, yes, that one. They’re a famous Great God in the running circles of our Shi City area.”
“Whoa! It’s Fang Yunpeng! What is he doing here! Then there’s no hope, even our Group Leader can’t outrun him!”
“Let alone winning the championship, if someone from our Running Group can get into the top ten this time, that would be something to brag about.”
“Alas! This is the first Health Run, a golden opportunity to make a name for ourselves in Ping County. It’s a shame we don’t have the strength!”
At the check-in site, participants who had already signed in were gathered in small groups, discussing animatedly.
The first Health Run in Ping County held extraordinary significance.
Many local running enthusiasts from Ping County were also participating in such a large-scale event with thousands of people for the first time.
Everyone was very excited.
Running by yourself or with a small group feels completely different from running with thousands of people!
“Hey everyone, we’ve already checked in. The race will start in another 30 minutes.”
“The weather today is cloudy, and the temperature is around 19 degrees Celsius, which feels very comfortable.”
“The weather today is perfect for a race. I’ll be live streaming this entire race to show you around Ping County.”
Fang Yunpeng, holding a live streaming gimbal, had already started his stream on his mobile phone.
“Go Brother Peng! Little Ping County, easy to conquer!”
“I think the first place is already locked in!”
“There isn’t a single Black person here. It seems no foreign contestants are participating, so the competition shouldn’t be too fierce.”
“Brother Peng, I’m here too! I can see you! Go, you can definitely run first place!”
“It would be amazing if you could win first place while holding the gimbal!”
The fans in the live stream chat were discussing animatedly, more confident in Fang Yunpeng’s race than he was himself.
Less than 50 meters away from Fang Yunpeng, under a French Plane Tree.
Huo Chenyang and Peng Xiaotong had already seen the master-disciple pair, Fang Yunpeng and Jia Feng.
However, neither of them went to greet Fang Yunpeng. Instead, they watched his live stream on their phones.
“Heh, let him be smug for a while longer. He’ll be crying later. And he thinks he can win first place holding a gimbal? How full of himself.”
Huo Chenyang casually closed the live stream on his phone, chuckling softly.
“This time, we have Manager Jiang, that Great God, to save the day. Otherwise, their master-disciple pair would have stolen all the spotlight.”
After personally witnessing Jiang Tao’s result, Peng Xiaotong felt much more relaxed.
Although Fang Yunpeng is skilled, he is definitely no match for Jiang Tao.
Jiang Tao’s chance of winning this championship is over 98%!
Unless he gets injured during the run or experiences a running collapse himself.
Of course, for a seasoned runner, the probability of that is very, very small.
But it can’t be said to be impossible.
Even world-class runners as strong as Kipchoge have experienced running collapses due to poor form.
“Why haven’t Manager Jiang and Sister Bai arrived yet…”
Peng Xiaotong craned her neck, searching for Jiang Tao and Bai Yulan in the crowd.
But it was difficult to find someone in a crowd of thousands.
Fortunately, they had agreed on a meeting spot, which was this very noticeable French Plane Tree next to her and Huo Chenyang.
The Ping County Running Group’s banner hanging on the tree was quite conspicuous.
“They’re here, they’re here! Manager Jiang and Sister Bai are coming!”
Peng Xiaotong’s eyes suddenly focused as she saw two familiar figures making their way through the crowd towards their location.
“Manager Jiang, Sister Bai, we’re over here~”
Upon seeing them, Peng Xiaotong quickly jumped and waved, shouting at them.
Soon, Jiang Tao, Bai Yulan, and the sisters Xu Li and Xu Sha arrived beside Peng Xiaotong and Huo Chenyang.
“Manager Jiang, Sister Bai, you’re here!”
“Manager Jiang, Sister Bai.”
“Good morning, Manager Jiang, Sister Bai~”
“Good morning~”
Huo Chenyang and Peng Xiaotong greeted them with great respect.
Several core members of the Ping County Running Group who were with them also respectfully greeted them.
Everyone respected Jiang Tao for his high level of running skill, a respect for strength.
The respect for Bai Yulan was more for her status and powerful background!
After the greetings, everyone’s gaze involuntarily shifted to the sisters Xu Li and Xu Sha who had come with Jiang Tao.
Both sisters were wearing Adidas sportswear today.
Xu Li was in white, her fresh and elegant demeanor like a snow lotus blooming on a mountain.
Her height of 1.7 meters, combined with her well-proportioned figure and delicate features.
Even in very ordinary sportswear, she exuded a heart-stirring beauty.
Xu Sha was in black, not because she particularly liked black.
It was just that her figure wasn’t as good as her sister’s, and she couldn’t carry off white. Black was slimming.
“Good morning, everyone. Leader Huo, Leader Peng, let me introduce them.”
“This is my wife, Xu Li, and my sister-in-law, Xu Sha.”
“They are my official photographers today.”
After greeting everyone, Jiang Tao briefly introduced Xu Li and Xu Sha.
“Good morning to everyone~”
“Good morning.”
Xu Li and Xu Sha also politely greeted everyone.
“Good morning, it’s a pleasure to meet you both.”
“Good morning.”
After the greetings, everyone looked at Jiang Tao with envy and jealousy!
Not only is he good at running, but his wife is also so beautiful!
“I’ve brought some energy gels and salt capsules. Little Peng, please distribute them to everyone.”
Bai Yulan was as generous and straightforward as ever.
With that, she handed over a bulging backpack she was carrying on her back to Peng Xiaotong.
Although energy gels and salt capsules weren’t expensive items.
For example, a good energy gel from Compeed only cost a few yuan per pack.
But this large bag from Bai Yulan was worth at least a thousand yuan, a token of her appreciation for the running group members.
“Thank you, Sister Bai~”
“Thank you, Sister Bai~”
Upon hearing that Sister Bai had brought energy gels and salt capsules again, everyone thanked Bai Yulan.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, they all walked to the starting line together.
Jiang Tao, Huo Chenyang, Peng Xiaotong, Bai Yulan, and several core members of the Ping County Running Group were all elite runners in the first echelon.
The results for this echelon of runners were generally around 3 hours for a full marathon.
In marathon events in major cities, this result would be unremarkable.
However, in a small event like the first Ping County Health Run, it was definitely considered the core strength.
Fang Yunpeng and Jia Feng were also in this echelon.
And, coincidentally, they were right next to Jiang Tao’s group.
“Leader Huo, I hope you can have another extraordinary performance today. That would make the race more interesting.”
Jia Feng raised his eyebrows at Huo Chenyang, full of provocation.
“Heh, I will do my best to run.”
Huo Chenyang maintained a polite smile, not getting angry at Jia Feng’s provocation.
This was the confidence Jiang Tao gave him.
He who laughs last laughs best.
The more smug Jia Feng was now, the more frustrated he would be later when he was outrun.
7:40 AM.
A tall and beautiful woman wearing a white baseball cap and a miniskirt stepped onto a raised stage temporarily set up at the starting area.
The girl had her hair tied in a high ponytail and wore colorful stripes on her face with makeup, exuding youthful vitality.
Jiang Tao put on his cool sunglasses and looked towards the stage, surprised to find that the person appearing was He Jing.
Yesterday evening, when He Jing chatted with him on his phone, she said she would give him a surprise. So this was it.
As He Jing took the stage, dynamic music filled the air.
A middle-aged male host also took the stage and began enthusiastically reading the hosting script:
“Respected leaders, participating contestants, and audience friends, good morning!”
“In this beautiful April, we gather in the scenic Ping County…”
Looking towards the stage, most of the participating runners were gazing at the alluring He Jing next to the host, and their hushed discussions were about He Jing.
“The warm-up instructor on stage has a great figure, and she’s beautiful too!”
“This girl must be over 1.7 meters tall!”
“It was worth the ticket price today!”
“This is the first highlight of this Health Run!”
“I wish she were my girlfriend!”
Amidst the crowd’s murmurs, the host finished the opening remarks, and the dynamic music started again.
On stage, He Jing began leading the participating runners in a warm-up exercise.
Although today’s Health Run was only 15 kilometers long, the pre-race warm-up was still essential for achieving good results.
Warming up the body before the start activates all joints and organs, leading to better performance.
8:00 AM.
Bang!!!
With a loud gun shot.
The runners in the first group surged forward like a bursting dam.
Pat-pat-pat, pat-pat-pat—
For the generous rewards of bringing glory to the team, Jiang Tao no longer held back his strength.
He charged out ahead of everyone and started running at full speed.
In less than 10 seconds, he had already broken free from the crowd and taken the lead.
The master-disciple duo Fang Yunpeng and Jia Feng were not flustered at all when they saw Jiang Tao surge ahead.
They still looked very calm on their faces.
Charging out so fiercely at the beginning means they’ll be running collapsed within two kilometers!
For the first 10 kilometers, just stay in the leading group and run steadily.
The last 5 kilometers are for “bayonet charges,” speeding up and overtaking.
“Wow! Another skilled runner! That guy just now was amazing!”
“Heh, being fast at the start isn’t impressive; the one who laughs last wins.”
“Running so fast right from the start, you can tell they don’t have much racing experience. Their brains are too excited; they’ll definitely be running collapsed!”
“I bet he’ll be running collapsed before he even finishes 2 kilometers!”
“Young people are so impetuous. It’s better to be like Brother Peng, an experienced Great God, calm and unbothered even when overtaken.”
“Marathons also require strategy. Blindly rushing ahead usually means you’re an inexperienced rookie.”
“Even so, I have to say, the young man who just ran past looked so cool! I love the sunglasses he was wearing!”
“I have the same pair! These seem to be women’s ones?”
“Male or female, as long as it looks good!”
“Wow, his running posture is so handsome! I love that stride!”
“Landing on the forefoot, that’s a very aggressive running style. Why do I suddenly feel like this young man is very strong?”
“No matter how strong he is, he can’t possibly surpass Brother Peng. Brother Peng hasn’t even exerted himself yet.”
The netizens in Fang Yunpeng’s live stream saw Jiang Tao “overtake him” through the camera, and comments were flooding the screen.
Although it was only 8:00 AM and still early.
Influenced by the race, Fang Yunpeng’s live stream had attracted considerable traffic, with over 5,000 viewers online.
After Jiang Tao passed him, Fang Yunpeng switched the camera to the rear camera to capture Jiang Tao’s back.
“Everyone, no need to rush. We haven’t even run 1 kilometer yet. Let him sprint if he wants.”
“We’ll run steadily. If we run well for the first 8 kilometers, the latter half is when we’ll show our true strength.”
Fang Yunpeng chatted with the viewers while running, panting slightly.
He wasn’t pretending to be calm; he was genuinely calm.
Based on his many years of running experience, someone like Jiang Tao who started with a fierce sprint would definitely slow down significantly later.
For the first two kilometers, the body’s joints, heart, and lungs haven’t fully opened up yet.
Even Fang Yunpeng wouldn’t dare to sprint too hard.
When Jiang Tao had opened up a 100-meter lead on the first group behind him, the viewers in the live stream started to jeer again:
“Brother Peng, the gap is getting bigger and bigger? Aren’t you going to chase?”
“No rush.”
When Jiang Tao had a 200-meter lead on the first group, Fang Yunpeng, despite some hesitation, maintained his pace.
By the 2-kilometer mark, with Jiang Tao leading him by over 300 meters, Fang Yunpeng began to doubt if his strategy was correct.
By the 3-kilometer mark, with Jiang Tao leading him by 400 meters, Fang Yunpeng could no longer remain calm and ignored the live stream.
He handed the gimbal in his hand to his disciple Jia Feng and started to accelerate, trying to catch up to Jiang Tao.
At 4 kilometers, Jiang Tao continued to maintain a pace of around 2 minutes and 54 seconds per kilometer.
He had long since left Fang Yunpeng far behind.
“Whoa, a dark horse! Definitely a dark horse contestant!”
“This… it’s too fast, running too fast! And his running posture is so handsome!”
“He’s going to be famous, he’s going to be famous! Ping County’s first Health Run is going to be made famous by this guy!”
The photographer, sitting on a motorcycle and carrying a camera, aimed his lens at Jiang Tao, muttering to himself with an incredibly excited expression.
“Huff, huff, huff…”
Fang Yunpeng, who had been chasing Jiang Tao all along but was being left further and further behind, now wore a pained expression.
Fang Yunpeng was completely stunned now.
At the halfway point of 8 kilometers, he couldn’t even see Jiang Tao’s back!
Moreover, in his effort to catch up to Jiang Tao, his pace had exceeded his body’s limit.
He felt immense soreness in all his muscles and had great difficulty breathing.
He even experienced symptoms like dizziness and nausea.
As an experienced runner of many years, Fang Yunpeng knew his current situation very well.
He had experienced a running collapse!
Or, to put it more humiliatingly.
He had been blown away by the first-place runner!
For Fang Yunpeng, who had come with full confidence to win the championship.
Being blown away halfway through was definitely a humiliation!
“Ping County actually has such a skilled runner?”
“Who is this outsider they hired!”
*Thump!*
As Fang Yunpeng’s vision went black and he fell, he was still indignantly thinking in his mind.
