Coral (Qu Lijie), a well-known domestic runner, has participated in and completed numerous long-distance and trail running events in China, including the Beijing Marathon, Shanghai Marathon,TNF100,HK100and other domestic long-distance and trail running events.
2014In the year6, she joinedSalomon's international athlete team to complete2014Skyrunningthe World Championships42KMand80KMtwo events.
2014In the year9, she completedTDG(the Tor des Géants)330-kilometer ultra-long-distance trail race, becoming the first Chinese female athlete to finish the event.
In recent years, a large number of trail running events have emerged in China, and more people are participating in international trail races. As one of China’s earliest trail runners, what advice do you have for training for 100-kilometer or even longer-distance trail races, and how can runners better choose events that suit their physical conditions?
Training is a broad subject. It depends on your work schedule, daily routine, job nature—whether you travel frequently, whether you have night shifts—and, more importantly, your family. Family support makes everything much easier. Without it, you have to approach things differently.
There is a lot of training information available online, whether for marathons or trail running. The key is to find what works for you from all the available resources. Choose a training plan that fits your schedule and job, and then stick with it consistently. Completing a 100-kilometer race isn’t necessarily the hardest part—the real challenge is the2,3months of training leading up to it. You have to stay disciplined while others are eating or going on dates. That’s a huge test. But once you get through the training period, the race itself becomes much easier.
As someone who has competed in ultra-long-distance trail races, what advice can you give to amateur runners—especially newcomers to trail running—on choosing gear and nutrition?
Gear is truly your shelter. Many races now have mandatory gear requirements, and some participants feel that carrying certain items in hot weather is a burden. But mountain environments are unpredictable—if you encounter sudden weather changes or an injury like a sprained ankle and need to wait for rescue, good gear can be a lifesaver. Quality equipment may never be used, but it could save your life when you need it most.
Always follow the organizer’s gear requirements, and bring everything mandated. Additionally, try to invest in the best gear you can afford, within your financial means.
How do you deal with fatigue and pain during a race?
Feeling fatigued during a race is normal—you just need to find ways to manage and overcome it. Everyone’s solutions are different, and these methods often come from your regular training. For example, you’ll learn what helps when your legs are sore or when you’re feeling irritable and don’t want to run. These insights come from experience. However, injuries are a different matter. In general, if you sprain an ankle or break a bone during a race, you have to drop out. Muscle soreness and overall exhaustion are common—everyone goes through it, and you just have to push through.
First, the atmosphere.2People in different regions have varying levels of understanding and appreciation for this mountain sport. After all, this sport originated in Europe, in the Alps. Europeans have mountain sports in their blood. For us, I think mountaineering only became popular among the public in China around03, so trail running—essentially fast-paced mountaineering—is still relatively new here. I’ve always viewed trail running as a faster form of climbing, just at a quicker speed. This sport hasn’t been in China for even20years yet, so we still have a long way to go.
If you had to choose a route in China that’s similar to the Tor des Géants, which one would you pick?
The hiking trails in China are absolutely stunning.10Whether it's the hiking routes at major scenic spots or the Bima Mountain trails, they are in no way inferior toUTMBthat route. The Tor des Géants is330kilometers long, and I haven’t run a330kilometer race in China yet, so I can’t give you my definitive top pick. I’m just saying that many of the hiking trails in China are in no way less impressive than some of the majorUTMBEuropean race routes in terms of scenery. It’s just that the cultural elements may be a bit lacking. But the natural conditions are definitely on par. When I was running theutmb, I also did the Gongga loop,
and I felt that the Gongga loop was in no way inferior toUTMBin terms of scenery—it might even surpass it. But a large part of the Gongga loop, nearly50kilometers, has no signal, which can easily create safety blind spots during a race.UTMBAround Mont Blanc, there’s signal everywhere—you can’t compare the two. No matter where an injury or emergency happens, the organizing committee can likely dispatch a helicopter. But in the Gongga area, that’s just unimaginable. Different countries, different cultures, different perceptions of the sport—but the scenery in our country is definitely not inferior.
2017From the year—2018what are your plans?
8I’ll go run theutmbin [month], which has many categories. I want to run the longest one, thePTL, which is self-navigated. There are no route markers, just aGPS. Based on it,GPSyou follow the route, check in at designated points, and make a big loop back to the start.11In [month], I might run theMount Siguniangrace, which is a100kilometer event. Before I got into running, I used to climb Mount Siguniang a lot—the Big Peak, Second Peak, Third Peak.