Long-distance running queen reigns again

She not only became the first Chinese woman to win the competition, one of the world's premier mountain ultras, but also beat the female course record by nearly 20 minutes.

Born in a remote village in Liupanshui, Southwest China's Guizhou province, Yao had little idea about sports in childhood, yet during junior middle school, she had to walk around 8 km each day to and from school.

"When I set off with a couple of schoolmates in the morning, it was still dark and there was no light on the country road back then," Yao recalls.

In 2012, after graduating from junior middle school, she was selected by the local sports school, as coaches saw her potential in running, and she started to train for 3,000-meter and 5,000-meter events.

"Back then, I was slow among my teammates, especially when the whole team was practicing the 100-meter sprint. I was usually the last one to finish," Yao says, adding that the coach then decided to switch her focus to marathons, because she showed good levels of endurance.

After four years of training and joining multiple competitions, Yao graduated from the sports school, but had no clear plan for the future. She worked as a trainee at her sister's beauty parlor in the morning and distributed leaflets for a gym in the afternoon.