Ten thousand Beijing residents took part in a fun run Wednesday that started outside the Bird's Nest, the capital's Olympic showpiece, to celebrate the 100-day countdown to the international sporting event.
"My biggest wish is to go inside the Bird's Nest 100 days from now and see it for myself," said 11-year-old Sun Yongwei, who formed an intricate, five-colored Olympic rings pattern with 44 schoolmates in an in-line skating performance before the run began.
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Wheelchair users get ready for the start of the fun run near the National Stadium in Beijing April 30, 2008. [China Daily]
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The boy's school in Beijing's Fangshan district built an area for skating two years ago, where its students now train for 90 minutes a week.
Among the participants of the fun run were several elderly citizens and people in wheelchairs.
"Daily exercise has become a reality for more and more Chinese," Liu Jingmin, executive vice-president of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2008 Olympic Games (BOCOG), said at the event.
The city's authorities hope the Games will help promote healthy lifestyles for its residents, Liu said.
Under the west roof of the Bird's Nest, officially known as the National Stadium, senior BOCOG officials flagged off the first Sport for All Marathon, which International Olympic Committee Jacques Rogge in 2006 said was being held to thank the general public for contributing to the success of the Games.
About 1,000 runners from 200 local teams took part in the 33-km citywide run, with the finish line set at the Bird's Nest.
At the same time, about 10,000 other runners, including many expatriates living in Beijing, ran a 2-km route with the Olympic theme song We Are Ready playing.
"One hundred days is always a special mark," Huub Sehrader, a freelance consultant from the Netherlands who has lived in China for more than 13 years, said.
"The Olympic flame has come to China, so it's a great way to celebrate that," Sehrader said.
Lu Zhongdang, a retiree of the local geology bureau, waved and showed his shirt numbered 9996 to photographers.
"It's a lucky number," he said.
About 130 journalists from Chinese and international organizations were also invited to the Olympic Green, where they had to go through security screening before entering the area.
Marathon runners were allowed to bring only water with them, but they said it was still very exciting to be part of the special event.
Ruan Suikuan, 69, who performed a folk dance for a national telecast after the runners set off, said: "I really wish our country holds a wonderful Olympic Games."
