පැරිස් ඔලිම්පික් උළෙලට යන බෙයිජිං කූරියර් සේවකයා

Chinese courier qualifies for Paris 2024 Mass Participation Marathon

A courier for JD Logistics in Beijing, Luan Yushuai, has secured a spot in the Paris 2024 Marathon Pour Tous, a special event allowing public participation alongside professional athletes.

Having lived in Beijing for nine years, 39-year-old Luan is known online as China's "fastest deliveryman." He participated in the 2021 Beijing Half Marathon, finishing in an impressive 1:10:31. This result placed him fifth overall and first among non-professional runners.

"On the Spring Festival Eve, I received an email while having dinner. It was from the Paris 2024 Organizing Committee. As it was in English, I translated it and the message was 'congratulations Yushuai, you have won your bid for the Paris 2024 Marathon Pour Tous.' I was so excited. This is a marathon event. It's the first time in the history of Olympics to allow members of the public to participate in," Luan said.

Determined to participate, Luan meticulously prepared for the registration process since its announcement in 2021. The organizers established a point system, requiring applicants to accumulate 100,000 points by the end of 2023 through activities, including running, swimming, walking, or cycling.

"You can run, swim, walk or cycle to earn the points. I do exercises at least two hours a day. Normally, you have to run like 10 kilometers, 15 kilometers or 20 kilometers. This way, I finally got 100,000 points," Luan said.

Growing up in Ji'an City, Jilin Province, he excelled in sports from a young age. This natural talent translated well to his first year as a courier in Beijing. Luan consistently delivered 30-40 more parcels a day than his colleagues, earning him the title of "best courier" at his outlet.

This success motivated him to take on a new challenge. In 2017,his company encourage him to participate in the Beijing Marathon, which he completed in a respectable time of over four hours.

"I had a great sense of achievement when I was passing the finish line. I didn't even imagine an ordinary person like me could finish the marathon. I thought it was impossible at first. But I actually completed it through efforts. This gave me confidence," Luan said.

Since then, Luan started to integrate his work with marathon training. He would tie sandbags that weigh about 5 kilograms around his legs and avoid taking elevators when delivering packages. Each day, he would walk 20,000 or 30,000 steps.

"I was surprised at that time. The goods were already very heavy, and he was carrying extra weight. After work, he would go running at night. I thought he couldn't hold out for long, but he did it, and he became better and better at running," said Gong Baojian, his colleague.

With a month to go before the Paris Olympic Games, Luan is using all his free time to maintain a two-hour training session every day, while running 300 or 400 kilometers each month.

"I think for me, win or lose is not important. As long as you try hard, you will win. No matter what you do, it's just like running a marathon. As long as you stick with it, you'll always get better. I hope I could do better in running and inspire more people," Luan said.

The Paris Olympic Games are scheduled to take place from July 26 to August 11, with the Paralympics following soon after from August 28 to September 8.

The Mass Participation Marathon will kick off on August 10, with a full marathon and a 10km race. More than 40,000 amateur runners will be able to run the Olympic marathon route at night, enabling as many people as possible to follow in the footsteps of outstanding athletes.

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