Marathon man

His race number for this year's Xiamen marathon was 799-he picked the number as his permanent one in 2014 when he finished the marathon for the 10th time.

The marathon was launched in 2003, and Liu has never missed any edition. The race organizers honored those who completed 10 full marathons with permanent race numbers.

According to Liu Dong, who is responsible for processing the applications of the permanent numbers at the organizing committee of the Xiamen marathon, by the end of 2020, 857 runners had been given numbers.

Each runner needs to submit online evidence of competing in the marathons, Liu Dong says.

"There are eight people who qualified in 2013 and 19 in 2014 and the number is growing each year," Liu Dong says. "They can automatically earn the qualification to run the Xiamen marathon for free, and there are special services for them during the race."

Liu Yongren says in 2008 he ran the marathon but didn't finish because he had to catch a flight to Beijing for an event related to the Beijing Olympics. That's why he is qualified to have a permanent number after 11 years.

He says to maintain a long running career, one has to know when to give up.

"Besides my finishing full and half-marathons, there are several times that I didn't make it to the end. Sometimes, giving up is a kind of victory," he says.

Liu Yongren says he would give up a marathon once he feels he is totally exhausted.

He says he likes to share his running stories with young people. He has visited around 20 high schools in Xiamen to give speeches to the students about his understanding of the spirit of the marathon in the past decade.

"Some students still keep in touch with me as they go to college or start their own businesses and share with me their progress in life. I'm glad my stories can inspire them," he says.