A Quick Chat with Siqi WU

Two Bays Trail Run 2014

It came as quite a shock to know that our running buddy, Siqi a.k.a. Ricky, a.k.a. Smiling Assassin, was leaving Melbourne so soon (this Sunday) to return to his home country. 24-year-old Siqi has been here for 2 years and recently graduated from the University of Melbourne. 

A few of us were lucky to have the opportunity to spend a little time with him for lunch today. 

Von: What will you miss most about Melbourne?

Siqi: That will definitely be the friends here.

Von: What about the trails??

Siqi: Definitely the Alpine area! 

Von: Dandenong's?

Siqi: Yeah! Pretty good.

Gary: Surf Coast!

Von: Among the trail events, or running events you have done in Australia, which one is the most memorable one for you?

Siqi: Memorable one ... I would definitely say last year's Buffalo Stampede when I got lost and while climbing Mick's Track. It was already dark and it was raining, I couldn't see anything. It was right after 14 hours of running. I got lost with a bunch of guys.

Mucking about at Buffalo Stampede 2014.

Von: How many events did you take part in (Australia and New Zealand) since your stay in Australia?

Siqi: About 15 to 20. I have done 2 events in New Zealand. This year, I did about 2 events per month this year.

Von: If you were to return to Australia in the near future (very soon again!), which event would you like to do again?

Siqi, Oh, definitely Alpine Challenge! That's my only DNF, 'Did Not Finish' race.

Von: Which distance would that be?

Jon: He would not leave home for anything less than a 100 miles!!

Bin: Yeah!

Siqi: I think 100km is pretty good, but if I can, I might try the 100 miles. To do it now would be beyond my capability, I would say. I did not finish that 100k race and I need to finish that!

With Yuan, after they both completed 2015 TNF100 Australia.

Runner Profile: Yuanchao Cheng

Say hello to this ever-smiley friend of mine who is better known as Yuan (among us). He's pretty shy, I think, but with an ever-ready smile on his face, you'd be sure to spot him from a mile!

I have to confess that I have been dying to ask him whether his polka-dotted shorts was his favourite running attire, so ...

1. Tell us, Yuan, are these your favourite pair of running shorts? :D

(YT: If you don't know what I'm referring to, it's this one, but lately, he hasn't been wearing it so often!)

Haha. Yes they are. I’m a very boring man at my daily life. So I want to try something different while running, like wearing some colorful fancy pants...

At the 2015 TNF100 Australia.

2. It feels like the last time I saw you was when you were running towards the finish line at the 2014 Surf Coast Century 100KM. Since then, you have been hopping from one ultra event after another. What has been your most memorable event so far?

I would say 2015 Two Bays Trail Run would be the one. Even though I have done a couple of 100k events, this year’s Two Bays 56k was the hardest one I ever ran. It was the only one I had a goal to achieve from the beginning to finish. So I pushed myself very hard and hurt me a lot...

2015年的两湾挑战赛。虽然我已经完成四个百公里了，但是今年初的两湾56公里确是目前为止我觉得最痛苦的一个。这是目前为止唯一的一个超马我从比赛开始就有完赛目标并且一直坚持到比赛结束的。比赛自始至终我都很严肃的逼自己跑的好一些，最终成绩确实比上一年进步很多，但是由于这场比赛把自己逼的太狠导致之前累计的疲劳全部爆发出来。从这场比赛开始，我的身体遭受各式各样的过度训练症状，疲倦，困，容易生病，失眠。。。几个月过去了，现在已经好多了，希望我能尽快返回跑道。

3. How long have you been running?

Nearly 3 years. I stopped smoking in Feb 2012 and noticed that I had put on too much weight. Suggested by a friend, I started running since Sept 2012.

到今年9月份就满3年了。我在2012年2月份戒烟，然后就像几乎每一个戒烟成功的人一样疯狂增肥。然后在2012年9月份，在一个朋友的建议下开始跑步，然后一发不可收拾。像很多跑者一样，为了减肥而开始跑步，真正开始跑步之后就爱上跑步，完全忘记跑步的初衷了。

With the family at Tarawera Ultramarathon 2015.

4. What's your favourite food? Do you follow a strict pre-race diet regime?

I grew up in North China, where noodles and dumplings are the traditional food over there. So I still love noodles and dumplings, even all kinds of breads more than rice.

我在中国北方长大，面条馒头包子饺子之类的是那里的主食，所以直到现在我仍然最爱这些食物。

No, I don’t follow any pre-race diet regime. I even had fish and chips for dinner before Great Ocean Walk 100 (GOW 100) (Siqi Wu’s idea).

没有，我没有赛前饮食讲究。在去年大洋路100公里前晚我甚至吃了一大份鱼薯当做晚餐（斯骐的主意）。只要不是吃的特别辣就行。

5. What do you think about when you're running long distance?

During a race, I usually just focus on my body and the race itself, like my running form, pace, nutrition, hydration etc. At training, I just purely enjoy the moment to be alone, I'm not thinking too much.

一般来讲并不会想很多事情。在比赛的时候我会更加关注自己的身体状况以及比赛本身，比如补给跑步姿势等等。在训练中跑长距离的时候我基本上也是在享受难得的独处时间，放空自己。