Less than one month away from the start of the 2008 Beijing Olympic games, there were lots of reports on how bad the air quality is and how that could affect athletic performance. My first impression stepping out of the spanking new Beijing airport terminal 3 (impressive structure and immaculate staff!) was the smog. Looked like the haze with PSI over 100!
View of Olympic "bird nest" stadium from highway:
Was it as bad as it looked? Only one way to tell, and that was to go out for a run.
My sample was taken at Tsinghua University (清华大学).
Most Chinese university rankings place Tsinghua first in China (although my colleagues from other universities in China may dispute that!), and the university attracts the most talented students of the nation and enjoys the best engineering and applied sciences programs in China.
The campus of Tsinghua University is located in northwest Beijing, in the Haidian district which was designated for universities and other academic institutes. The site for Tsinghua University was established in 1911 on a former royal garden belonging to a prince in the Qing Dynasty. It retains some Chinese-style landscaping as well as some traditional buildings, but many of its buildings are Western-style reflecting the American influence in its history. It is known throughout China for having one of the most beautiful campuses.
The route took me through parks and streams, pools and stadium/sports complex as well as open spaces and multi-story buildings. Vehicular traffic was mainly restricted to bicycles and there were not many cars. Starting out from Jia Suo, the university guest house/lodge (甲所賓館), I took a northerly route to the north gate, did a U-turn back into the main administrative building and the main gate. Then back to the lodge via a series of parks and ponds.
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View of main building:
Weather was cool, about 25 deg, humidity was moderate. A slow 7 km easy run.
Verdict: Wasn't bothered by the air quality. But then, that was only a short 7 km in a low vehicle area. Maybe I'd have time for a more rigorous test over the next two days.
July 11, 2008 Tsinghua campus short run
The symposium proceeded well, but with a packed program, I could only squeeze out a short run - 5k.
Just yesterday, I found out that the Olympic marathon route will go through Tsinghua campus (just 2 km). That meant that I could do a preview. :)
Small variation in route, but ended the run at the beautiful gardens.
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View of the old gate, a favorite for tourists and photos:
Poster at stadium:
A pretty sight, even with the smog:
Would I run 42k in this smog? Most likely not.
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