At 3 a.m. on February 19, 549 students from Shenzhen University (SZU) gathered at the entrance of the university and boarded the bus to the Civic Centre, the starting point of the 2023 Shenzhen Marathon.Their faces glowed with joy and excitementdespite having slept for only three or four hours.As the only college team among the 2023 Shenzhen Marathon volunteers, the students were arrangedat the start, halfway point and finish line of the race,to cheer for the contestants and give a boost to the marathon.
On February 4, the Shenzhen University Volunteers issued a volunteer recruitment notice and received applications from more than 700 students within just six days. It is reported that over 3,000 volunteers from all walks of life were recruited for the race, with SZU volunteers accounting for about one-sixth of the total number of volunteers.On the day of the event, students were distributed in 11 groups such as assembly water station, bag depository, finish line tagging, course inspection, etc.
"The course inspection team had 100 volunteers from SZU, divided into several groups of 2-3 people each," said Chen Wenzhen, a junior from the law school. "At 6:30 a.m., we started to work with the judges and assisted in setting up the iron guardrails on the road. After the start of the race, we cheered for the runners passing by and provided timely guidance services."
Chen Yi, a sophomore majoring in recreational sports, served as the leader of the half marathon guiding group in the event, and along with the other 24 volunteers in the group, was responsible for hanging the place cards of the first twelve runners in the half marathon and pulling the sprint belt for the first runner."Before the race, the Shenzhen Marathon organising committee came to the university and the students were briefed in detail about the volunteer positions and received specialised training," said Chen.
"On the spot, I was deeply impressed by the vibrance of the city when I saw the runners all fully equipped and ready to go," said Sun Huan, leader of the full marathon finish line hanging and evacuation team, a freshman student majoring in finance."The marathon is a conversation with your body as well as a test of physical and mental toughness, during which the biggest opponent is yourself." Although not being a contestant, as a volunteerSunhad the same feelings as the runners."After waiting for six hours, we witnessed the first runner - encouragingly a Chinese runner - cross the finish line. At that moment, everyone was jumping up and down with excitement." said Sun happily.
Starting at 5 a.m. and until the event concluded, SZU students performed their duties diligently, such as packing supplies, setting up ironguardrailsand cleaning up the garbage. Young people and the new era move forward hand in hand. Along the way of the 2023 Shenzhen Marathon, not only the beautiful scenery ofPenchengis presented, but also the elevated spirit of the students in this city.
