In the long-distance running community, everyone knows Japan’s “Hakone Ekiden”, and countless people are moved by that sweat-soaked tasuki. But we want to talk to runners about the roots of these two characters — “yichuan” — which originate 100% in China.

"Passing the baton from one to the next, racing day and night, never stopping until the finish" — that spirit is etched into Chinese runners. This time, Shanghai’s young long-distance runners will run it out along the Huangpu River.

The event was initiated by three Shanghai high school students (Lv Xingzhi, Zhao Xuran, Jia Buwei) after a moment of heated inspiration on the track.

As long‑distance running enthusiasts, we know how much middle school and high school students need a pure stage that fully drains dopamine and lets them speak with pace under the pressure of heavy academics and endless drills. If existing races aren’t exciting enough, then we’ll make one ourselves!

Affiliated High School of Jiaotong University, Shanghai High School, The Second High School of East China Normal University... In just one month, 10 top high school teams and 2 Student Union representative teams filled their rosters. Not for fame or profit, but to feel that purity of burning everything for the team’s final kilometer, of wind rushing past your ears.

Features:

To make the race happen, the three committee members spent over two months refining the idea of "self-organized racing" to the extreme:

• Zero sponsorship, frugal organization: we have no corporate backing. To make every cent count, the committee produced a hardcore budget that balances down to the last few cents and is fully open to all competitors.

• Safety line, defended by ourselves: To avoid the early July heat, we set the start gun for 07:30 AM. But at that hour the public AEDs at the Wangjiang stations along the riverside aren’t yet open. To protect the lives of the 72 athletes, our committee members themselves obtained Red Cross "Basic First Aider" certificates and handled race medical support.

With runners’ rigor and professionalism, they pay tribute to the course.

In the running community people often say that running is a form of self‑cultivation. For our generation, the state’s call for a "strong sporting nation" isn’t just a slogan on paper — it needs to be embodied by young bodies.

When this group of future scientists and engineers, during high school, not only possess bodies that can run under the blazing sun, the perseverance to never give up at the limit, but also the boldness to organize a large event themselves, that is the most vivid depiction of China’s long‑distance running and youthful resilience!

Looking ahead: next year, we want to shock all of Shanghai

This year is the inaugural edition; it’s a seed of wild growth.

Our ambition goes beyond this. Next year, and the years after, we’ll keep running this event and pass it down from generation to generation.

[Race communications & spectating guide] — You’re warmly invited to watch live!

These youngsters need your cheers and support!

• Race time: 07:30 AM, July 11, 2026 (this Saturday) — gun goes off on time

• Location: Along the Pudong riverside running path in Shanghai, start/finish at Meiben (Mercedes‑Benz Arena). The route follows the riverside path from Wangjiang Stations No. 6 to No. 21 (we suggest staking out the handoff points between Wangjiang stations — watching the youths exchange the black tasuki is guaranteed to get your blood pumping!)

• Scale: 10 high school teams + 2 Student Union representative teams, each team four boys and two girls, 72 elite athletes in total.

This Saturday morning on the Pudong riverside — bring your wind‑cutting pace, see you on the course!