Comeliness of a long distance runner

All of a sudden marathon seems to have become the talk of the times.

On Sunday the annual Beijing Marathon kicked off with the capital shrouded in heavy smog. Surprisingly the participants, many of whom wore kinds of masks, bravely achieved their excellent performance in the sports gala.

Competing in the once insipid and grueling sport is now a badge of honor, coveted by a growing number of ordinary Chinese - men and women, young and old - so much so that luck now matters more than a strong mind and body if you want to stand behind the start line for a run that not very long ago was taken to be mission impossible.