Published: 14:16, November 23, 2022 | Updated: 17:57, November 23, 2022
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Road to happiness
By Xing Wen

Yu Jing, a young Beijing woman, juggles professional ambition, family life and uncommon athletic ability, Xing Wen reports.

Yu Jing (first from right in the front row) serves as the pacer for the trainings of Nike Running Club. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Early in 2015, Beijing native Yu Jing, then a 29-year-old running beginner, registered for the TCS New York City Marathon, just for fun.

Yu knew well that one only has a very slim chance of being selected in the draw for such an internationally popular marathon, so she neither made a genuine attempt to secure entry nor cared much about the result.

But by a stroke of fortune, she was selected, catapulting her on a life-changing journey.

Yu's unexpected luck became an entryway for her to tap her athletic potential and open up new vistas of life.

The young woman, who used to live the busy yet sedentary lifestyle of an architectural designer, later managed to conquer a full marathon within three hours and 40 minutes and climb onto a triathlon winner's rostrum.

"In retrospect, I find that many of the positive changes in my life were brought on by my involvement in different forms of athletics," says Yu.

She recalls that at a very young age she was a plain student in class.

Yu and her daughter (second and first from left) cross the finishing line of a cross-country race in Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, in 2020. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

The turning point came when she transferred to a new primary school where she was selected to enter the basketball team.

As a girl, she started to build self-confidence through playing basketball, and her improved mood also translated into improved academic performance.

In 2006, she entered the Beijing University of Technology.

At the annual sports meet of the university, she found that no one from her school was willing to sign up for the women's 3,000-meter race. So she stepped in to fill the place.

She won third prize, which amazed the spectators. The freshman shot to fame around school.

Shortly after, Yu's fellow schoolmates voted her to be vice-president of the student union. The role later enabled her to be part of the university's volunteer contingent for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

However, after graduation, her occupation as an architectural designer with a building research institution brought an abrupt halt to her frequent athletic activity.

She found herself spending most of the day communicating with foreign design companies, construction teams and co-workers from other academic backgrounds. She would work on construction drawings well into the midnight.

Yu poses with her daughter at a triathlon event. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Fatigue and stress quickly resulted in worsening health. After a thyroid surgery, she decided to quit the stressful job and pick up fitness activities again.

That's why, in January 2015, she turned to running.

"I found that running brought me a sense of pleasure, peace and relaxation," she says.

Soon she joined a local running club in which she was able to get advice from other more experienced runners on how to buy proper gear and plan out a science-based training calendar.

"We became very close friends who would support one another on the track and in life," she says.

Yu and other running aficionados witnessed a sharp increase in the number of marathons in China.

In 2011, the country only hosted 22 running events nationwide. But the number climbed to 134 in 2015 and soared to over 1,820, with a total participating population of 7.12 million in 2019, according to the China Athletics Association.

Road running events became a flourishing new trend in mass fitness.

"We found that we had increasingly colorful and diverse events to choose from," recalls Yu.

Yu holds her daughter during a running activity. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

She and other members from her running club regularly traveled to different cities to participate in various running events including single-gender marathons, vertical-running marathons (which take place on stairs), cross-country running and relay races.

The lure of exploring a new destination on foot has also taken her to running events in some foreign countries, including the United States, Japan and Singapore.

She's especially fascinated with the sweaty experience of running on rugged roads, across grassy land and up rough mountain tracks in long-distance cross-country races.

"These events usually start before dawn," she says.

"Sometimes on my arrival at a hilltop, the sun emerges. Gulping in the fresh air in nature and watching the spectacle of sunrise, I feel super excited!"

As she got physically stronger, she also decided to test her luck at the Beijing International Triathlon and achieved stellar performance.

Yu leads runners for warm-ups. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

On Sept 11, 2016, she stepped onto the highest podium in the year's triathlon for leading the sprint distance race among all female contestants aged between 30 and 34.

Her competitiveness started to attract the attention of commercial sponsors.

"For a time, I wanted to be a professional triathlon athlete and an online influencer who could promote triathlon culture among women in China," Yu recalls.

However, after giving birth to her daughter, Yu found with frustration that her once strong physique had declined and that she was less able to endure intensive training.

Her prospects of going pro vanished. But it wasn't the end for her.

Shortly afterward, the young mother found herself researching suitable insurance for her baby. She equipped herself with related knowledge and analyzed the pros and cons of services offered by different insurance companies in a neat Excel table to help her identify the best choice.

She was also able to explain insurance terms to friends around her in an approachable, legible way.

A friend suggested her try her hand as an insurance saleswoman.

"I'm pretty good at giving insurance consulting, and selling insurance doesn't require me to be stuck in the office all day long. Why not?" she recalls thinking.

As she jumped into the business, she found that the social connections she had created through her participation in sports smoothed the way for her to build her new career.

"Many frequent racers would come to me to take out accident insurance," she says.

Currently, she's still active in attending running events but no longer has ambitions to compete. Instead, she enjoys warm moments like holding the hand of her toddler as she slowly crosses the finish line.

"Running is a way for me to keep fit, stay happy and broaden my horizons," she says.

She has also started to participate in triathlons in roles other than that of an athlete, applying to be a volunteer in organizing events and planning to be a qualified judge in the future.

"I'm trying to be helpful, and hoping that I can contribute to the promotion of the triathlon culture I love."

Contact the writer at xingwen@chinadaily.com.cn