베이징 국제마라톤, ‘인간 공기청정기’된 주자들...”왜 뛰나” Beijing marathon runners don masks to cope with smog VIDEO

대기오염지수 위험 수준인 331

 

Most runners defied the smog to enjoy the race

베이징 국제마라톤 대회. 유해 안개로 인해 뿌옇게 흐린 톈안먼(天安門) 광장을 주자들이 마스크를 쓴 채 달리고

있다. BBC News

kcontents

 

 

가을 연례행사인 베이징 국제마라톤에 출전해 하프코스를 완주했다.

 

대화 당일 아침, 집 커튼을 열자 시내가 스모그에 덮여 주위의 건물이 뿌옇게 보였다.

주중 미국대사관 홈페이지에서 공표하고 있는 대기오염지수는 위험 수준인 331였다.

 

“관뒀다.” 출전 포기를 결정해 다시 이불 속으로 들어갔지만 “이런 상황에서 참가하는 사람은 어떤 사람일까”라는 호기심이 발동했다.

 

구경만 하자는 어정쩡한 결의를 하고 회장에 도착하니 이미 많은 참가자가 준비운동을 하고 있었다. 생각 외로 표정은 밝다. 방독 마스크 같은 것을 쓰고 있는 사람도 있었다.

 

정신을 차리니 출발선을 지나고 있었다. 마스크가 땀으로 번져 호흡이 힘들었다.

 

지나가는 경치가 모두 유해한 짙은 안개로 인해 흐리게 보였다. 길가에 서 있는 시민도 마오쩌둥(毛沢東) 의 초상화도 ‘중국의 꿈, 나의 꿈’이라고 쓰여진 선전문구도…….

 

기록은 2시간 9분 10초. 인생 있어서 이처럼 “무엇을 위해 달리는가?”라고 생각했던 시간은 없었다. 달성감은 전혀 없고, 상실감과 목의 통증만이 남았다.

 

통신 어플 ‘웨이신(微信•위챗)’에 ‘완주했다’고 투고하자 친구들로부터 ‘미쳤냐?’, ‘용감하다’, ‘시민을 위해 인간 공기청정기가 돼, 독을 마셔줘서 고맙다’고 조소가 섞인 위로의 말이 차례차례 올라왔다.

 

전혀 맑지 않은 안개의 베이징에서 기분 전환의 대상이 되고 말았다.

[베이징 교도]

 

Beijing marathon runners don masks to cope with

smog

 

 

Thousands of runners have taken part in the 34th Beijing International Marathon, many wearing face masks amid concerns about pollution.

 

The organisers warned runners to expect slight or moderate smog, but the US embassy in Beijing said air quality early on Sunday was "hazardous".

 

China has for years been hit by severe air pollution

 

One resident in the city told the BBC that the air smelt like burnt coal.

Estimates said that pollution soared above the maximum recommended World Health Organization levels.

  

Runner Chas Pope
Runner Chas Pope has posted pictures on the internet of his mask before and after the marathon


The WHO says daily pollution levels should not exceed an average of 25 micrograms per cubic metre of fine particulate matter.

 

Yet the US embassy's monitor at one point reported peaks of up to 400 micrograms per cubic metre, which it said would be hazardous if a human was exposed to it over a 24-hour period.

Fine particulate matter, the kind of pollution in smoke, damages the body as it moves deep into the lungs and can even enter the bloodstream.

 

'Should have been cancelled'
 
Some athletes gave up the race because of the pollution.

 

British runner Chas Pope tweeted that he was only able to do 10km (6 miles) of the race in a mask before he was forced to pull out.

He said that race should have been cancelled because the air quality was "not suitable for outdoor activities".

 

Ethiopia's Girmay Birhanu Gebru won the marathon in just over two hours and 10 minutes 
 


Organisers rejected calls to postpone the race despite the haze 
 
 

China's Gong Lihua, who came third in the women's race, said the smog had caused some difficulties.

 

"Running in this kind of smog, I felt I couldn't sweat well and my body has been very sticky and moist," she said.

 

Beijing resident Neil Holt told the BBC that although the air quality was better than last year, "it was still very polluted".

 

"You can hardly see [the stadium] through the smog. It's really hard to breathe when it is like this," he said.

 

The men's race was won by Ethiopian runner Girmay Birhanu Gebru and another Ethiopian, Fatuma Sado Dergo, won the women's race
http://www.bbc.com/news/29679782

 

BBC News China

 

 

 

 

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