PARIS - Luan Yushuai spends 12 hours every day delivering parcels. Afterwards, he puts on his trainers and starts his favorite part of the day - training for a marathon.
The 39-year-old from a little mountainous village in Northern China's Jilin province has now made his way to Paris, where he will join 20,024 other runners in the mass public marathon in the Olympics - a first organizers 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 with friends in the mountains.
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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," Luan told Reuters in an interview on Monday by the Louvre Museum.
"I guess I was always very fast in my job."
He almost gave up after 30 kilometers when his legs became wobbly and his body ran out of steam, but carried on to finish the race in 4 hours, 23 minutes and 24 seconds. 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, a unit of Chinese online marketplace JD.Com Inc, 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.
Personal best
Luan, who delivers parcels in northwestern 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.
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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 2 hours, 25 minutes and 55 seconds 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 said.
"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," he said.
Paris for the first time in Olympic history is involving the general public in the marathon. The runners, however, had to convince organizers 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 10-15 kilometers at night after work and biking to and from the parcel depots for 20 kilometers a day.
His efforts paid off when a text message hit his phone on the eve of the Chinese New Year in 2024.
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"I translated the message and realized I'd got in. We were so happy and had a great celebration," he said.
To get ready for Paris, Luan added an extra five to 10 kilometres to his daily training regime and include 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."
