Run until the end

Three-time Kenya trainee He Jie, who smashed China's men's marathon record (2:06:57) last year, is preparing for his season debut at the Tokyo Marathon this March.

"In Africa there's less noise," he said. "My life becomes three points: training, eating, sleeping. Marathon requires absolute discipline. Here, you have no choice but to commit. No entertainment, just relentless focus."

He and a dozen other Chinese runners had already undergone a one-month training in Kenya in August 2022 under a program of China-Kenya sports cooperation.