Running in Beijing sucks! I have been running since the tender age of seven and absolutely love the sport, but over here the only thing that keeps me going is the fact that I treat my training like a second job.

I clock in at a certain hour, do my thing, then clock out again. And during my few trips to my home country I try to collect an imaginary running environment which I then use to virtually enhance the endless hours on the streets of Beijing.

There used to be a time when running in parks of Beijing was a real option to traffic congested ring road torture. Then the last few dirt roads in Chaoyang park got bulldozed over in a grand master plan to create a Chinese vision of park landscaping. Not only did they turn every trail into a runners nightmare in concrete, but they also “upgraded” the infrastructure with amusement facilities to get an excuse to charge everyone for entering the park. Personally I have given up on parks and face the fact that the city planners just didn’t want people walk around in Beijing. In their grand scheme, every Beijinger owns a car and uses it for any stretch of road exceeding 1km.

So I run as a freak object in congested streets or, if I really want to pamper myself, I head over to the east 2nd ring road and follow the Tonghui River on a 10km car free loop. The only alternative chosen by the majority of people is a jog on the mill in one of the local gyms.

In short, people who continue to run outdoors in Beijing are really in love with the sport. It takes dedication and a great deal of positive thinking to pursue the sport outdoors over here. It also takes some seriously good headphones and music in your mp3 to keep out the noise.