"Thank you for Director Han’s blessing. I’m also very honored to participate in this competition in our Ping County, and I’m lucky to win the championship."

Jiang Tao politely exchanged pleasantries with Han Mingrui and took the initiative to shake hands with him.

"Mr. Jiang is also from Ping County?"

When Han Mingrui heard the words "our Ping County" from Jiang Tao, he was immediately invigorated!

This answer was indeed somewhat beyond his expectations!

A local winning the championship is naturally better for publicity than someone from other counties or districts!

Jiang Tao smiled and calmly admitted, "Yes, I am a villager from Jiang Family Manor."

"Not bad, not bad! Mr. Jiang really brought glory to our Ping County this time! Impressive!"

Han Mingrui felt even more joyful and comfortable at this moment, and tentatively asked:

"Mr. Jiang, you are so impressive, are you interested in joining our Ping County running group organization?"

As a leader in charge of sports, Han Mingrui naturally wouldn’t miss the opportunity to recruit such a talented athlete like Jiang Tao.

If the Ping County sports community could have a few more masters like Jiang Tao.

They can be relied upon to perform in crucial moments!

Just like this health run event.

Although everyone outwardly says participation is important, friendship first, competition second.

But who doesn’t want to win the championship?

If someone from another district or county wins, we would at most congratulate them.

Then take a few photos and send a notice about the event, and that’s about it.

If a local athlete wins the championship, there’s much more to promote and publicize.

After all, local athletes can represent the local image.

They can serve as a window for audiences in other provinces to recognize the locality.

Thus, Jiang Tao’s victory was not only a good thing for him.

For the Ping County Sports Bureau and even for the whole of Ping County, it’s a worthy event to celebrate.

Therefore, the first edition of this health run event was overall quite perfect!

Xu Li and Xu Sha, who were beside Jiang Tao wiping his sweat and handing him water, felt proud seeing the director being so polite to Jiang Tao.

The sisters also felt a sense of pride, with even sweeter smiles on their faces.

While enjoying Xu Li’s sweat-wiping service, Jiang Tao smiled and said:

"Director Han, I’m already a member of our Ping County running group."

"You’re a member of the Ping County running group?"

"Mr. Jiang really is too humble! I’m also a member of the group."

"I didn’t expect our group to have hidden talents like Mr. Jiang!"

Upon hearing that Jiang Tao was already a member of the running group, Han Mingrui’s smile became even brighter!

This is another point worth highlighting, and it’s another chance to write a piece of news, allowing the Ping County running group to gain some exposure.

Buzz!

While Han Mingrui was chatting with Jiang Tao, the second-place finisher also crossed the line.

Seeing that the finisher was a familiar face, Han Mingrui’s eyes brightened again!

As the director of the sports bureau, he naturally recognized Huo Chenyang, the captain of the running group.

Although the Ping County running group is a grassroots organization, it is registered and listed with the sports bureau.

In fact, the sports bureau is the superior unit of the Ping County running group.

The local running group achieved a significant result by taking both first and second place in Ping County’s first health run event.

What does this suggest?

The individual effort of running group members is part of it.

The meticulous guidance and full support of the sports bureau are also indispensable!

"Xiao Huo! Congratulations! Well done, our running group’s performance this time was excellent!"

After greeting Jiang Tao, Huo Chenyang walked towards the just-finished runner and cheerfully offered his congratulations.

"Thank you, thank you for Director Han’s support and encouragement, thank you..."

Huo Chenyang, unlike Jiang Tao, was not as relaxed about being the runner-up.

When Han Mingrui approached to talk to him, he was bent over with both hands on his knees, breathing heavily, his legs wobbly.

Buzz!

A whistle sounded again.

At 8:54:39, the third-place finisher crossed the line a full ten minutes after Jiang Tao, the champion!

The gap between the top three was quite significant.

Jiang Tao’s championship was well-deserved and highly valuable!

At 9:00 in the morning.

After an hour, most of the hundreds of runners in the leading group had finished the race.

The organizers, led by Han Mingrui, held a grand award ceremony for Jiang Tao and others.

Participating in a competition for the first time, Jiang Tao stood on the top of the podium with a champion medal around his neck, holding a large check representing the prize money.

The reward for winning this health run is 5,000 yuan in cash, 3,000 for second place, and 2,000 for third.

However, these prizes are pre-tax, and participants are required to pay a 20% personal income tax.

Of course, there’s no need for the athletes to worry about paying the taxes themselves.

The organizers will deposit the post-tax prize money into the athletes’ designated bank accounts within seven working days after the race.

Click, click, click——

Dozens of media cameras clicked away on the spot, capturing the moment.

Meanwhile, a video of Jiang Tao running, shot by a bystander and uploaded to Quick Shake, was gradually gaining popularity.

The video’s views have surpassed 90,000.

The number of comments and likes was also growing rapidly.

"Amazing! I think this speed is already under three minutes!"

"I bow to you! My 1,000-meter fitness test doesn’t match the pace of his 15 kilometers!"

"Impressive, this pace is at the national top level!"

"The most aggressive forefoot running style, too shocking, too cool!"

"I had no idea running could be this stylish! Starting tomorrow, I also want to practice running!"

"That physique, that charisma, it just looks amazing! Winning the championship is well-deserved!"

"15 kilometers in 44 minutes! Oh my, definitely an international top talent! Even if a black man came, he’d have to kneel!"

"Even the national marathon record-holder would be blown away! This pace is too peak, the running style too fierce!"

"A champion of a small competition daring to challenge the top marathoner in the country is a bit too much, isn’t it?"

"In a small town, there are too many people sitting and looking at the sky. With his level, he’s not top-tier even domestically."

"Achieving this in reality is quite something, but on Quick Shake, he still needs practice!"

"This guy is so strong, he blew Brother Peng away by 8 kilometers, could he be doping?"

"Don’t make baseless guesses! Prize-winning athletes will have their blood tested after the race!"

"If you can’t win, practice more. If you can’t take losing, don’t compete. I think even Brother Peng’s level is just average!"

"Brother Peng is undeniably the top runner around Shishi, today’s championship result in Ping County seems too suspicious!"

"Yes! If he had this result, he’d be famous; he wouldn’t be so unknown!"

"I reckon he’s probably doping! Surely there’s something with the organizers!"

"I suggest drawing more blood from him for a proper check! It’s indeed very suspicious!"

"I calculated, this guy’s pace was 2:55 throughout, fiercer than Captain Wu from the national team! Too exaggerated!"

"Indeed, it’s hard to believe! If he kept this pace for 1-2 kilometers, it’s understandable, but maintaining it for 15 kilometers? Who can believe that, in this lifetime?"

The internet is full of weirdos, with individuals awed and worshiping, but more doubting Jiang Tao’s result.

As an unknown "amateur" in the country’s running circles.

Jiang Tao’s result today was indeed too exaggerated, too unreal.

Even the national marathon team would be beaten by him!

Of course, Jiang Tao wouldn’t resort to any tricks or doping to win the race. Those are out of the question.

The most he did was give himself a slight boost.

The "Cool Sunglasses" have a 10% acceleration effect.

He was just avoiding too much attention, so he deliberately "controlled the score" and casually ran a 44-minute race.

If he had given it his all and sprinted with full force.

Breaking 40 minutes for 15 kilometers isn’t a challenge for him.

But it would easily cause trouble.