The eight contestants including Hao Ren shot off almost at the same time.
Hao Ren's starting point looked to be the foremost, but he was, in fact, farthest from the inner track. Since runners would cut into the inner track as soon as they start in the 1500-meter races, Hao Ren had to do so. When he cut into the inner track, he was the second last while the runners who started from the tracks closer to the inner track were all running ahead of him.
As for Huang Xujie, due to his superior explosiveness, he had successfully grabbed the leading position even though his starting point in the seventh track. The situation was such that Hao Ren had to overtake six of the seven runners before he could run against Huang Xujie and win the race. During the process, he had to make sure that he wouldn't be overtaken by those who he passed.
