Sophie had a crazy morning: A pickpocket stole my (loaded) wallet on my way to work!! BUT damn did he pick the WRONG half-marathon training bitch, oh yes I think so!!! Ran after the bastard and after a dramatic chase through the morning crowds he finally dropped the wallet! Sophie vs. Bad Thief: 1-0 :-)

So said Sophie's Facebook update on Friday morning. Sophie's part of our Great Wall Half Marathon Training Group. For the past few months, we've been dragging our partied-out asses to Century Park to train on Saturday mornings--most of us feeling rough from being out Friday night, but being guilted out of bed by Captain M, the group motivator.

Last week, Shanghaiist mentioned that pickpocketing is on the rise in Shanghai. Well, marathon training came in handy in an unexpected way when a pickpocket stole Sophie's wallet. On Friday morning at 8:30 am, Sophie stopped in a convenience store on her way to work. That day, luckily, she wasn't wearing high heels to the office, but rather a pair of gold Converse Allstars. She pulled out her wallet to pay for a small purchase. Having recently collected the safety deposit from her flat, her wallet was loaded with cash. She threw her wallet in into her small backpack and left the shop. As she walked along the sidewalk, a woman in a passing bus hammered on the window and pointed at Sophie's backpack. Sophie took the hint and immediately started sprinting after the man behind her.

As she sprinted down the street after him, she roared, "Stop!! Stttttooooooop!" and continued to yell as she chased him down. After about 300 meters, she nearly caught him and he dropped the wallet and fled. When she later related the story to our training group on Saturday morning, we got a good laugh trying to imagine petite, blond Danish Sophie turning into a sprinting wildcat after a pickpocket.

Sophie's Advice:

Obviously, it's not wise to flash your cash and carry valuables in your backpack, but if you find yourself the victim of a pickpocket, yell LOUD + run FAST!
Photo from Run Lola Run.


Check out CTn's Feature Story: China's Great Wall Marathon: Feel the Love.