Two Chinese women, aged 49 and 62, are defying age and expectations on the racecourse, Xing Wen reports.

Defying age and expectations, 49-year-old An Yaping surged across the finish line of the 10-kilometer Run Girls race. For the second year in a row, she claimed victory, completing the scenic course along Beijing's Ming Tombs Reservoir in just 38 minutes.

The women-only event, a highlight of the Beijing Olympic City Sports and Cultural Festival, offers more than competition. In this year's edition, held earlier this month, professional stylists pampered participants with beauty services, while each finisher received a custom-designed medal and a fresh bouquet of flowers.

"Since all the participants are female, I feel more relaxed and find it easier to maintain my own pace. In mixed races, my rhythm often gets disrupted by male runners who overtake me, and I would feel compelled to speed up," says An.

An's life today seems far removed from her days as an overworked HR professional. Endless administrative tasks and complicated workplace dynamics once left her exhausted at the end of each day. To clear her mind, in 2021 she began jogging alone in the Olympic Forest Park near her home.

Not long after, her husband came across information about an upcoming 10-kilometer running race in Beijing's Chaoyang Park and encouraged An to participate.

It was her first-ever competition, and to her surprise, she finished third.

Standing on the podium lit a spark that would change her life.

From then on, she began devoting more time to running.

She wakes up at 4:30 am, runs 13 kilometers, and goes to the gym for strength training in the evening. On Wednesdays, she joins members of a local running club for sprint interval training, and completes runs exceeding 25 kilometers with her friends on weekends.

"Since taking up running as a hobby, although my schedule has become tighter, I feel happier and more relaxed," An says.

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Her dedication quickly paid off. Her personal best in the full marathon now stands at 2 hours and 52 minutes, and she is aiming to break 2 hours and 50 minutes this year. Alongside training, she actively seeks out competitions.

"I usually register for small and medium-sized events where I have a better chance of reaching the podium," she explains, adding that with the current fitness boom in China, there are numerous events for her to choose from, and the events are well-organized.

According to the Chinese Athletics Association, 749 road-running events were held across China in 2024, drawing a total of 7.05 million participants, an increase of one million from the previous year.

On the racecourse of Run Girls, another figure drew admiration: 62-year-old Xing Ruling, a retired nurse with short hair and a wide smile. Participants lined up eagerly to take photos with Xing, a frequent podium finisher in trail-running competitions both in China and abroad.

Xing's story began in Wayao village, in the mountainous northwest of Changping district. As a child, she would often carry a sickle and roam the nearby hills with her classmates to dig up medicinal herbs, which they sold to support their families.

These days, she still carries the sickle but wears trail-running gear, using the blade to carve out new paths for her daily runs.

"I've run all over the mountains near where I live now," says Xing.

Xing started running at the age of 38 due to health issues. To improve her physical fitness, she began running every day.

"I woke up at 5 every morning to run. But sometimes, emergency cases would come into the hospital, my pager would go off mid-run, and I had to turn back right away to assist with surgery," recalls Xing, who served as head nurse at a hospital in Nankou town, Changping, at the time.

In March 2009, she spotted an advertisement in the newspaper that an outdoor endurance run event was going to be held in Changping. It was one of the very first trail-running events ever organized on the Chinese mainland.

"The starting line was just a short distance from my home, so I signed up — just to give it a try," she says.

Her childhood familiarity with the mountains, combined with years of road running, carried her to first place in the women's 100-kilometer category.

That victory launched a new chapter. Xing became a sponsored trail runner for the outdoor brand The North Face, competing in races across China and around the world.

One of her most memorable races was in 2013, when she traveled to Chamonix, France, to compete in The North Face Ultra-Trail Du Mont-Blanc (UTMB), which requires participants to complete a nearly 168-kilometer trail with approximately 10,000 meters of elevation gain.

"My stomach couldn't handle the food at the aid stations. I had severe stomach pain and vomited several times, so I had to continue on an empty stomach. Not speaking the language made it harder to ask for help. It was a rough journey," Xing recalls.

Still, she pushed on, crossing the finishing line to discover she had come third in the women's over-50 category.

"The stomach pain, muscle soreness, the fear brought on by the darkness — all of it was forgotten the moment I finished," she says.

Since that experience, she feels there is no difficulty in life she cannot overcome.

"My experiences have broadened my perspective. I rarely cry over unpleasant situations at work anymore," she adds.

Xing has since developed strategies to adapt to international competitions.

For instance, she brings a portable steamer and her own seasonings to Europe to avoid stomach issues. She is also learning video editing to share her international racing experiences on social media platforms.

Today, though retired, her life seems busier than ever. She trains in the mountains weekly with friends, competes abroad, makes handicrafts at home, grows grapes, makes wine, plays badminton with her grandchildren — an 11-year-old girl and a 6-year-old boy — and even does planks with them.

Her schedule is packed, yet she handles it all with ease.

At the UTMB finish line in Chamonix, she has often seen many international runners crossing the line with their families, and she feels that this vibe of involving the whole family in sports is truly impressive.

Whenever possible, she brings her own daughter, son-in-law, and two grandchildren to participate in races together. This past spring, she took her two young grandchildren to join a parent-child 6-kilometer race in Yanqing district.

Now one of the longest-active amateur trail runners on the Chinese mainland, Xing has no plans to stop.

"Although I'm getting older and my stamina isn't what it used to be, I still want to compete with runners my age from other countries. As long as I can run, I want to keep running," she says.

Contact the writer at xingwen@chinadaily.com.cn