"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.