An accident in a bicycle race in the United States eight years ago alerted James Chang to the importance of sports medicine. One of his riding companions (25) ______ (injure) severely in the accident.
From then on, Chang, 45, a Chinese-American who was born in Anhui province, began to launch business relating to physical safety and medical assistance, particularly in sport. So (26)______ he took up marathon running two years ago he was shocked to see frequent injuries, many of them avoidable.
“I always heard people talking about people in marathons in China dying suddenly,” he says, adding that one reason why many of these deaths happen is (27) ______ there is a lot of ignorance in China about what marathon running involves.
Many amateur runners in China who are highly competitive get carried away and run at a pace that is far in excess of (28) ______ they can expect their body to take, and even ignore clear signals such as pain, Chang says.
As Chinese have placed more emphasis on leading healthy life-styles in recent years, marathon and other long-distance running (29) ______ (become) a highly popular sport across the country quickly.
More than 50 China Athletic Association-sanctioned urban marathons were held in the country last year, and 39 races involving more than 750,000 runners were held the year before. However, long-distance running is a serious business that can exact a heavy physical toll on runners.
“Marathon carries (30) ______(high) risks of injury than other forms of sport,” Hou says, adding that the key to avoiding injury is to strengthen the body through regular exercise and to be aware of one’s own physical condition.
Although some chronic injuries are hard (31)______(avoid), even for highly experienced runners, cramp, fainting and shock can easily be prevented (32)______ runners better understand the sport, he says.