--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am a runner. Last October, there was a…" description: "\"I am a runner. Last October, there was a marathon here in Beijing. I didn't participate this time, but friends told me that the run wasn't prepared too..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b10/zhang-xin-16964_beijing_i-am-a-runner-last-october-there-was-a-m_2522176.jpg" --- # I am a runner. Last October, there was a marathon here in… ![“I am a runner. Last October, there was a marathon here in Beijing. I didn't participate this time, but friends told me that the run wasn't prepared too well. The organizers had only arranged about three hours' worth of food and water supplies. Most people don't finish within three hours, however…” quote by Zhang Xin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b10/zhang-xin-16964_beijing_i-am-a-runner-last-october-there-was-a-m_2522176.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b10/zhang-xin-16964_beijing_i-am-a-runner-last-october-there-was-a-m_2522176.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b10/zhang-xin-16964_beijing_i-am-a-runner-last-october-there-was-a-m_2522176.jpg) > “I am a runner. Last October, there was a marathon here in Beijing. I didn't participate this time, but friends told me that the run wasn't prepared too well. The organizers had only arranged about three hours' worth of food and water supplies. Most people don't finish within three hours, however. Too bad for them - or so it seemed. In fact, however, even those finishing last were perfectly taken care of, particularly during the fourth and fifth hour when demand is highest.” [Zhang Xin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhang-xin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The organizer underestimated supplies, causing shortages for many, yet later ensured care for those who struggled longer. **In simple terms:** Poor planning led to lack of resources, but later support helped the exhausted. Key Takeaway Plan resources realistically and monitor needs throughout events. Themes event planning logistics humanity Mood frustrated relieved Type narrative reflective When to use this quote - marathon participants - event organizers - volunteers - emergency responders Key Concepts resource allocation compassion risk management Questions to Reflect On - How could organizers better predict demand? - What responsibilities do participants have during shortages? A Different Perspective Limited supplies can cause distress before help arrives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beijing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beijing/) [Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Demand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demand/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Fifth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fifth/) [Finish Hours](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finish-hours-1260172/) [Finishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finishing/) [Fourth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fourth/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Highest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/highest/) [Hours](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hours/) [Lasts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lasts/) [Marathon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marathon/) [Marathon Beijing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marathon-beijing-1260170/) [October](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/october/) [October Marathon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/october-marathon-1260171/) [Organizer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/organizer/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Prepared](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prepared/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) [Runners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/runners/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Supplies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/supplies/) [Supplies People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/supplies-people-1260173/) [Taken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taken/) [Three](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/three/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) ## Related quotes > [When we started out, we didn't really think that the era of great opportunity would end one day. 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Being an Asian Canadian actor, the amount…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osric-chau/i-was-born-and-raised-in-vancouver-i-moved-to-beijing-in-2010-just/) [Osric Chau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osric-chau/) > [Well it did not make excessive sense to say that 20 million people are the recognized government of a billion people that have their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-kissinger/well-it-did-not-make-excessive-sense-to-say-that-20-million-people/) [Henry A. Kissinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-kissinger/) > [Coming into London having the experience of Beijing is really good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellie-simmonds/coming-into-london-having-the-experience-of-beijing-is-really-good/) [Ellie Simmonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellie-simmonds/) > [Air pollution is my biggest concern right now. Maybe because I live in Beijing, and in this city we have such severe challenges due…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-bingbing/air-pollution-is-my-biggest-concern-right-now-maybe-because-i-live-in/) [Li Bingbing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-bingbing/) > [Often GOP political strategy seems like the human wave theory of the Chinese military translated to politics. Where Beijing uses masses of soldiers to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-morris/often-gop-political-strategy-seems-like-the-human-wave-theory-of-the/) [Dick Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-morris/) > [I see the Beijing National Stadium as an architectural project. I accepted Herzog and De Meuron's invitation to collaborate on the design, and our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-see-the-beijing-national-stadium-as-an-architectural-project-i/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [I painted the words "GREAT ADVENTURE" in Beijing, Dallas, San Francisco, Copenhagen, and Japan. What it means to me is completely different to everybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-eine/i-painted-the-words-great-adventure-in-beijing-dallas-san-francisco/) [Ben Eine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-eine/) ## More by Zhang Xin > [But the higher our standard of living, the higher our levels of education, the further people will look around. And we can see which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhang-xin/but-the-higher-our-standard-of-living-the-higher-our-levels-of/) [Zhang Xin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhang-xin/) > [I'm very, very focused on my children. 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We do not run a company that way. It does not help the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhang-xin/many-chinese-companies-are-run-like-military-camps-with-military/) [Zhang Xin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhang-xin/) > [Isolation means a lack of growth. I grew up in China at a time when the country was completely isolated. That era is over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhang-xin/isolation-means-a-lack-of-growth-i-grew-up-in-china-at-a-time-when/) [Zhang Xin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhang-xin/) > [China - if you think about what is the character of China, it's enormous scale. It's bigness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhang-xin/china-if-you-think-about-what-is-the-character-of-china-it-s-enormous/) [Zhang Xin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhang-xin/) > [Investors don't like uncertainty. The market is telling us that they need certainty, they need to see where the economy is heading. If the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhang-xin/investors-don-t-like-uncertainty-the-market-is-telling-us-that-they/) [Zhang Xin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhang-xin/) > [I find it hard to be labelled in this new 'super-rich' category because we all grew up with very little. The idea that 'to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhang-xin/i-find-it-hard-to-be-labelled-in-this-new-super-rich-category-because/) [Zhang Xin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhang-xin/) > [Quickly, after I landed in England, I found out ways to get scholarships. England turned out to be a very encouraging place for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhang-xin/quickly-after-i-landed-in-england-i-found-out-ways-to-get/) [Zhang Xin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhang-xin/) > [On the one hand the world is getting more integrated and we should not dismiss social values as "Western" when they are actually modern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhang-xin/on-the-one-hand-the-world-is-getting-more-integrated-and-we-should/) [Zhang Xin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhang-xin/) > [When we started out, we were among the first. Beijing had no and Shanghai had very few large buildings. At that time, it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhang-xin/when-we-started-out-we-were-among-the-first-beijing-had-no-and/) [Zhang Xin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhang-xin/) > [Our company has only been active in Beijing and Shanghai, two very market-dominated cities. This was an advantage. Land is purchased here in public…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhang-xin/our-company-has-only-been-active-in-beijing-and-shanghai-two-very/) [Zhang Xin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhang-xin/) > [China's economy became more complex. By now there is a large number of small- and medium-sized companies that work quite differently from big, state-owned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhang-xin/china-s-economy-became-more-complex-by-now-there-is-a-large-number-of/) [Zhang Xin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhang-xin/) > [Many Chinese entrepreneurs are now donating for education; others support foundations in health care and research. None of us wants to be the richest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhang-xin/many-chinese-entrepreneurs-are-now-donating-for-education-others/) [Zhang Xin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhang-xin/) [Explore all 38 Zhang Xin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhang-xin/) ## More Beijing quotes > [I painted the words "GREAT ADVENTURE" in Beijing, Dallas, San Francisco, Copenhagen, and Japan. What it means to me is completely different to everybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-eine/i-painted-the-words-great-adventure-in-beijing-dallas-san-francisco/) [Ben Eine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-eine/) > [I see the Beijing National Stadium as an architectural project. I accepted Herzog and De Meuron's invitation to collaborate on the design, and our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-see-the-beijing-national-stadium-as-an-architectural-project-i/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [Often GOP political strategy seems like the human wave theory of the Chinese military translated to politics. Where Beijing uses masses of soldiers to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-morris/often-gop-political-strategy-seems-like-the-human-wave-theory-of-the/) [Dick Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-morris/) > [Air pollution is my biggest concern right now. Maybe because I live in Beijing, and in this city we have such severe challenges due…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-bingbing/air-pollution-is-my-biggest-concern-right-now-maybe-because-i-live-in/) [Li Bingbing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-bingbing/) > [Coming into London having the experience of Beijing is really good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellie-simmonds/coming-into-london-having-the-experience-of-beijing-is-really-good/) [Ellie Simmonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellie-simmonds/) > [Well it did not make excessive sense to say that 20 million people are the recognized government of a billion people that have their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-kissinger/well-it-did-not-make-excessive-sense-to-say-that-20-million-people/) [Henry A. Kissinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-kissinger/) > [I was born and raised in Vancouver. I moved to Beijing in 2010 just before the Olympics. Being an Asian Canadian actor, the amount…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osric-chau/i-was-born-and-raised-in-vancouver-i-moved-to-beijing-in-2010-just/) [Osric Chau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osric-chau/) > [If you're in the movies and you haven't been to Beijing, you're kind of missing where things are really happening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-minkoff/if-you-re-in-the-movies-and-you-haven-t-been-to-beijing-you-re-kind/) [Rob Minkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-minkoff/) > [By 2040, the Sahara will be moving into Europe and Berlin will be as hot as Baghdad. Atlanta will end up a kudzu jungle.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lovelock/by-2040-the-sahara-will-be-moving-into-europe-and-berlin-will-be-as/) [James Lovelock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-lovelock/) > [My Beijing jersey means more to me than any of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephon-marbury/my-beijing-jersey-means-more-to-me-than-any-of-them/) [Stephon Marbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephon-marbury/) > [Team GB's success at the Beijing Olympics can, in part, be said to have been made in Manchester. For example, all the cycling medal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-powell/team-gb-s-success-at-the-beijing-olympics-can-in-part-be-said-to-have/) [Lucy Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-powell/) > [Beijing would indeed consider vetoing any American effort to sanction Iran at the Security Council.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-zhaoxing/beijing-would-indeed-consider-vetoing-any-american-effort-to-sanction/) [Li Zhaoxing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-zhaoxing/) > [Space is about 100 kilometers away. That’s far away—I wouldn’t want to climb a ladder to get there—but it isn’t that far away. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-munroe/space-is-about-100-kilometers-away-that-s-far-away-i-wouldn-t-want-to/) [Randall Munroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-munroe/) > [I think the biggest thing was that I was putting pressure on myself leading up to Beijing. Now I am learning how to take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-hall/i-think-the-biggest-thing-was-that-i-was-putting-pressure-on-myself/) [Ryan Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-hall/) > [My approach to gymnastics in Beijing was heavily based on the amount of difficulty I could do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-johnson/my-approach-to-gymnastics-in-beijing-was-heavily-based-on-the-amount/) [Shawn Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-johnson/) [Browse all 138 Beijing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beijing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I am a runner. Last October, there was a marathon here in Beijing. I didn't participate this time, but friends told me that the run wasn't prepared too well. The organizers had only arranged about three hours' worth of food and water supplies. Most people don't finish within three hours, however. Too bad for them - or so it seemed. 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