Life is something of a lottery system. The quality of the cards we draw after ejecting from the uterine borderland between infinity and the mortal realm is entirely outside our control. With enough luck, you could've been a Kardashian and would've never had to worry about money. And with even more luck, you could've been born into a tribal civilization that doesn't even know about the Kardashians. It just depends on how the dice land.
Outside of status, we're also granted a mixed bag of genetic gifts and shortcomings that pertain to our health. While most people encounter various health problems from smoking, others can puff their lungs out until they peacefully pass away from old age. It's rare, but it does happen. And apparently, some people can run an entire marathon while chain-smoking cigarettes. Such is the case for a 50-year-old Chinese ultra-marathon runner known as Uncle Chen, who completed a marathon while smoking heavily throughout.
Last week, the photos of Chen smoking went viral on the popular Chinese social media app Weibo, then the marathon organizers celebrated his achievement by sharing his finishing certificate. Chen finished 574th overall in 3:28:45 out of nearly 1,500 runners. This was not the first time the 50-year-old runner from Guangzhou was photographed smoking during a marathon— photos of Chen lighting it up surfaced from the 2018 Guangzhou Marathon and the 2019 Xiamen Marathon. In 2018, he clocked in at 3:36, and ran 3:32 in 2019. One anecdotal report notes that Chen apparently only smokes when he runs.
