Chinese runner ready to deliver alongside the pros in Paris

PARIS – Luan Yushuai spends 12 hours every day delivering parcels. Afterwards, he puts on his trainers and starts his favourite part of the day – training for a marathon.

The 38-year-old from a little mountainous village in Northern China’s Jilin province has now made his way to Paris, where he will be among the 20,024 runners in the mass public marathon in the Olympics on Aug 10 – a first that organisers included so that amateur runners could run the same route and share the same experience as the athletes.

Luan was not an athletic person growing up; the closest thing he got to sport was hunting for rabbits in the mountains.

His marathon journey started in 2017, when he got a call from his boss in the middle of a parcel delivery and was invited to take part in the Beijing Marathon.

“Our company, JD Logistics, was providing services to the Beijing Marathon and got a quota for participants. I guess I was always very fast in my job,” Luan said.

He almost gave up after 30km when his legs became wobbly and his body ran out of steam, but carried on to finish the race in 4hr 23min 24sec. The experience, however, drew him closer to the sport.

“I thought marathon was for professionals but, when I ran across the finish line, I felt so proud of myself and I found new confidence,” he said.

JD Logistics employs a massive national network of delivery staff, who are often required to be as speedy as possible in their services on a scooter or tricycle.

Luan, who delivers parcels in north-western Beijing’s populous Zhongguancun area, said he would wear weight bags around his ankles while working on the delivery job. One of his regular clients became his first coach, giving him guidance on exercises and nutrition.

Within two years, he was able to cut his time by almost two hours, winning a number of trekking races in China. In 2020, he achieved his personal best of 2hr 25min 55sec in the Nanjing Marathon.

“Our normal job – unloading, separating and checking parcels as well as carrying parcels to people up and down the stairs – is great physical training,” Luan added.

“After work I’d also go for a run and even if my time improved only a couple seconds, I’d feel extremely happy. I think I got better again.”

Paris, for the first time in Olympic history, is involving the public in the marathon. The runners, however, had to convince organisers they were up to it by achieving fitness points. They would then go into a ballot for the race.

Luan spent the whole of 2023 earning points by running 10-15km at night after work and biking to and fro the parcel depots for 20km a day.

His efforts paid off when a text message hit his phone on the eve of Chinese New Year in 2024.

“I translated the message and realised I’d got in. We were so happy and had a great celebration,” he said.

To get ready for Paris, Luan added an extra 5-10km to his daily training regimen and included more protein in his diet.

An unexpected ankle injury a few months ago disrupted his plans, but he said being in Paris was already a great honour for him.

“First time in Paris, first time running outside the country,” he said.

“As an amateur runner to be able to run the same route in Paris as the world top athletes, I feel extremely lucky. I will run as fast as I can to show the world what a delivery man can do.” REUTERS