In Beijing for the long run
The first day after moving to Beijing from New York, Ella Kidron shook off her jet lag with a run at 4 a.m. in her new city home. That was in July 2016. She still remembers seeing the sun come up over the city that day.
For her it ignited a passion for exploring the city through running. This was the way she wanted to see, feel and hear the city and it allowed her to meet new friends.
“For me, running in Beijing is about juxtaposition — it’s enjoying the quiet in a bustling city and shuttling back and forth between history and modernity,” she said.
Kidron, a senior manager of international corporate affairs at the e-commerce platform JD, put her running story into a video titled Discovering Beijing’s Limitless Possibilities. That video, which runs just over two minutes, won her the top award in a short video and essay competition called “100 Reasons to Love Beijing”.
The video competition, organized by the Information Office of Beijing Municipality and the Beijing People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, gathered about 900 videos and 400 articles created by more than 1,000 foreigners from about 100 countries and regions.
“Running is not only a way of self-recognition but also teamwork,” Kidron, 30, said at the award ceremony at the Palace Museum on May 14. “Competitive sport depends on teammates’ support and encouragement, so does knowing about, and assimilating in, a new city.”
Kidron understands what it takes to succeed in sport, especially the discipline required and the narrow margin that separates victory from defeat, having once been an Olympic swimming trialist for the United States.
She was always curious about Beijing and China. In March 2008 she traveled to Beijing for the first time when the city was preparing for the Olympics.
In 2010 Kidron return to the city, taking on a communications internship and spending the summer with a swimming team in Beijing preparing for the 2012 U.S. Olympic trials.
Her local teammates gave her a taste of the capital, sometimes literally, as they took her to restaurants or have dinners with their families at home.
“People were so welcoming and so open to just let me in and I felt like that we are all connected,” she said. “It was the best summer of my life.
“Telling my story of Beijing is a way to express my gratitude to the city,” she said, adding that by making the video she also wants to say thanks to her colleagues who have been so patient in helping her to learn more about the city.