After the 17.5-kilometer supply point, there was no need for the contestants of a team to stay in formation.
The contestants who had the strength to get a higher individual ranking had been following others within the team to preserve more physical strength. Until now, the leading runner for the last leg of the half marathon would be in front of the team. He would be leading the team for the next two kilometers.
After those two kilometers, they would reach the final sprint phase. This would depend on individual ability. The more physical strength one had left, the faster they could sprint.
The runner leading the team was destined to sacrifice their own result. If on an ordinary team, it would be difficult to do such tactical coordination, for no one would be willing to sacrifice their own achievements for someone else's ranking. But the police team was different; they strictly followed Dai Li's strategy that was made before the race. The leading athlete wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice for the sake of the team to achieve a better result. For the Dingtian Group team, the discipline of the veterans could also be guaranteed.
After the 20-kilometer supply zone, less than one kilometer was left before the finish line of the half marathon. At this point, all the contestants would begin their final sprint, and the distance between the players would begin to grow.
The ranking of individual races naturally depended on the results, while the ranking for team competitions was calculated by the total score of its team members. Contestants ranking within the top 500 all had scores. The first participant to pass the finish line would receive 500 points for its team, the second 499 points, and so on; 500th place would receive one point. For contestants ranking below 500, no points would be given to the team.
If more than one contestant of a team was within the top 500, then only the top five participants' scores would be counted. At the finish line, everyone looked anxiously at the runway, waiting for the first place finisher to arrive.
"Here he is!" someone suddenly shouted. Dozens of cameras instantly pointed towards the horizon. First place was a young man who was about 20 years old. He was a student from the Sports University, specializing in tthe marathon.
In this kind of competition, no professional athletes would show up. Competing for the championship against a group of amateurs was a disgrace no professional athlete wanted. Therefore, college athletes made up almost all of the highly skilled competitors. These college students were going for personal achievements, so they were no threat to a team.
The second through eighth place finishers were all college students, all from different universities. Ninth place was a marathon enthusiast who was about 30 years old, and had been a professional athlete when he was younger. Although he had retired many years ago, he had continued his training, running as many as 120-150 kilometers per week.
For amateurs, this amount of training was unusual. Even for professional athletes on the national team, weekly training only covered between 180-220 kilometers generally. If an amateur could really run 150 kilometers in a week, it meant that they must spend almost all their spare time running marathons to ensure a good result.
"10th place is coming!"
Although the runner was still quite far away, Dai Li saw the familiar blue sportswear. It's Feng Wu!
Dai Li heaved a long sigh of relief that this police officer from the special-ops had indeed brought him a surprise.
Baogang Liu, who was beside him, looked unhappy. But only a few seconds later, he felt relieved.
The 12th place finisher was from the Dingtian Group's team.
Between 10th and 12th place, the difference was only two points. Baogang Liu thought this could be ignored.
The 19th place finisher is still our man! Baogang Liu clenched his fist excitedly.
12th place scored 489 points, and 19th place scored 482 points. In total, the Dingtian Group's team had already gotten 971 points, which lead all other teams by a huge margin.
"Director Xiao, so far two of our runners have finished. The total score now is 971 points. We are number one."
Yunan Xiao nodded, "Tell the publicity staff to get in their positions. Once we receive the group championship, immediately begin our Jinyuanya Park publicity program. How about the other teams?"
"Only the police team has two contestants who have finished the competition. Their score is 969 points," the man immediately reported.
"Only two points less than our team!" Yunan Xiao raised her eyebrows. Then she said, "Watch the results carefully."
At the finish line, Dai Li and Baogang Liu were both waiting anxiously. The 25th, 26th and 27th place finishers had just crossed the finish line.
Both 28th and 29th place were also in sight, but neither of them were on their teams. 30th is still not our man. Come on! Baogang Liu prayed to himself.
However, none of the next few contestants reaching the finish line were members of the Dingtian Group's team. Similarly, none of these runners were members of the police team, either.
Finally, a familiar tracksuit appeared on the horizon. Here it is! 41st! He is from my team.
Baogang Liu had all his excitement showing on his face. It meant that the third contestant of the Dingtian Group's team was also about to finish the race.
Four or five seconds later, another member of the Dingtian Group's team appeared.
The 42nd place finisher is also from our team! We have four now; four of us! Baogang Liu quickly calculated it. The 41st place finisher would score 460 points, and the 42nd 459 points. Adding this to the previous two finishes, the Dingtian Group was leading by 921 points over the police team, which ranked 2nd. We are about to win! Now we just need one more contestant to finish the race and we'll win! The anxiety in his heart suddenly eased.
Places 42, 43, 44, and 45 finished the race in the next minute, but the four of them were not members of either team.
After half a minute, the 46th place finisher came into sight. He was wearing a blue sports T-shirt.
When Dai Li saw this blue sports shirt, he knew someone on his team was coming.
46th place is not bad. Baogang Liu was calm. 46th place will go to the police team. But he can only receive 455 points, which does not affect the overall ranking.
But then there was another contestant coming in a blue sports T-shirt.
The 46th and 48th place finishers were both from the police team. Baogang Liu's expression changed slightly.
Dai Li took out his phone to calculate. 46th place would score 455 points and the 48th would score 457 points. With the previous 969 points, we now have a total of 1,881 points. The Dingtian Group's team has now scored... Dai Li pressed on the calculator of the phone, calculating, and quickly came to a number. 1,890 points. We are now nine points behind the Dingtian Group's team!
Dai Li continued to look at the black silhouettes on the horizon ahead. Many of the contestants were sprinting to the finish line.
There are now four contestants who have finished from both teams. It will depend on the last runner of the five to see whose score will be counted. As for the 9-point gap, if our next contestant ranks higher than theirs by nine points, we can still win!