Ma Zhiyong, a marathon runner and also a throat cancer survivor, finished his 18th full marathon in Wuhan - his fourth such event within 140 days.
by Yue Wenwan, Fan Yuanchen and Hang Rui
WUHAN, China, March 24 (Xinhua) -- As he crossed the finish line at the 2025 Wuhan Marathon on Sunday, Ma Zhiyong pulled out his phone with trembling fingers. His chest heaved, sweat dripping from his forehead, but his face glowed with an irrepressible smile.
The first message he sent out was to his family: "I'm safe."
From a distance, Ma was hard to miss - a gray-haired runner, breathless but beaming. Up close, his voice was barely audible, a whisper that hinted at the battles he had fought. At 55, Ma had undergone three surgeries for throat cancer, leaving him without vocal cords.
"The sound is produced by my muscle and airflow," he explained, touching his throat with a calm composure that belied his struggles.
The Wuhan event marked Ma's 18th full marathon, but the start of his journey as a runner was a life-changing tragedy.
In April 2018, Ma, then a worker at a local agricultural bank in northeast China's Chengde, was diagnosed with throat cancer in Beijing. 30 days after his initial surgery, Ma's doctor advised him to engage in moderate exercise.
Asked what the hardest part of long-distance running was, Ma replied, "The hardest part was the moment under general anesthesia, when I felt my soul drifting away. After that, nothing else seemed difficult."
Ma's journey was anything but easy. After three half-marathons, his cancer returned in 2021 and again in 2022, requiring two more surgeries. But as soon as his body allowed, Ma hit the road again. Running was no longer just an exercise; it was a defiant statement that he was still here, still moving forward.
Since November 3, 2024, he has covered marathons in Beijing, Guangzhou, Chongqing and Wuhan in the space of just 140 days. "And I was told that I might have completed the four grand slams in record time," he said.
Wearing a red headband and matching earbuds, Ma stood out in the bustling post-race crowd like a warm flame. His laughter, though raspy, was hearty, carrying a magnetic optimism. Simply being near him made others feel lighter.
"Running has made me more open, more cheerful, and simpler in my outlook on life," he said. "We get about 30,000 days in a lifetime. Why spend them frowning when you could be smiling?" With a playful wink, he added, "Don't I seem pretty sunny to you?"
During the interview, runners stopped to wave and exchange greetings with him. "I met many of them online through my running videos," Ma noted.
His social media channel, "Happy Running Brother Ma," now featured 188 videos - snapshots of him sprinting through marathons across China, always flashing his signature grin.
"I'll keep running. I'll live every day with sunshine in my heart," Ma vowed. Then he paused, his voice barely above a whisper, yet resolute: "As long as I'm alive." ■
