On a natural high, with gold in sight

"I had the opportunity to have direct instruction from Kipchoge Keino, the world marathon legend, who is my icon. He taught me the essence of marathon — the strongest will to run, run, run until the end," He said.

At the training center, He met many young and middle-aged runners, all of whom deeply impressed him with their determination to win a world championship, apart from their deep love for marathon.

"The local kids were all very talented, very devoted to the sports. I found kinship with them because both of us were changing our lives through running, from poor rural kids to the winners of world championships."

Xinhua contributed to this story.