Runners take the path along the riverbank in Xuhui District in a weekly night event. (Photo : www.globaltimes.cn)
Many local residents of Shanghai are trying to catch up with the trend in night running, as 400 runs have been held in Taiwan last year, a sign of an increasing health awareness in the country.
The Xinhua News Agency reported that many Shanghai residents run at night after work and night runs have become a trend in the city.
According to the report, Shanghai held about 30 night run events last year and, after September, an average of one night run event took place every week.
A survey conducted by the Shanghai Road Running Association showed that a total of 900,000 people in China took part in road run events last year, with more than 200,000 of them living in Shanghai.
Wang, an IT designer for the auto industry who has lived in Shanghai for more than 30 years, said that the city has built many paths exclusively for road running, and after the Expo Shanghai held in 2010, many residents now use these paths every day.
Wang added that the peak time of day for running in Shanghai is between 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. He said that cycling failed to gain popularity in the city due to serious traffic congestion and that Shanghai has also removed many of the dedicated cycle paths.
The report said that night runners in Shanghai often run in places with scenic attractions. Xuhui Bingjiang Road, located along the Huangpu River, was voted by Internet users as the best place to go for a run in Shanghai.
Located on Xuhui Bingjiang Road, Sportswear brand Adidas has reportedly set up an Adidas Runbase to serve the growing number of runners, with locker rooms as well as medical services. The running station also offers regular seminars on training and consulting services.
The Internet has contributed much to increasing the popularity of running in Shanghai, as many runners have set up office-to-office online clubs to meet or share information, the report said.
