Feng Peiyou moves to Weining for Asian Games high‑altitude training,…

On June 30, after finishing the Huangguoshu Half Marathon in Zhenning, Guizhou, Feng Peiyou and coach Zou Leilei moved from Qingzhen to the Weining training base to begin systematic preparations for the Nagoya Asian Games.

The coach-and-athlete pair put on an impressive reversal in Tokyo this March, bringing Chinese marathon running into the 2:05 era. With the Asian Games fewer than 100 days away, Zou Leilei has led his athletes to Weining to start high-altitude summer training. According to him, the training camp will continue until mid-August.

The marathon at the Nagoya Asian Games will be held on September 26 — the same day the Berlin Marathon, a World Marathon Major, fires its starting gun.

Zou Leilei said,“The team’s task going forward is very clear — do everything possible to ensure Feng Peiyou’s preparation for the Asian Games. The two Guizhou natives will continue to contribute to Guizhou athletics and Chinese athletics through their actions.”

Marathon Academy

Hoping more young people will apply

Before departing for Weining, Feng Peiyou and Zou Leilei, along with Guizhou stars Hong Yue, Pan Sufang and others, gathered at the Guizhou University Marathon Academy to attend the academy’s first training session and successfully completed the program.

Since the Guizhou University Marathon Academy was unveiled on March 19 this year, it has taken further steps —“This September we will open our doors to outstanding athletes nationwide — students who meet the National ‘Jianjiang’ standard can be admitted without an entrance exam, and athletes at the Level-2 standard will also have the opportunity to join our academy.”Secretary Li of the Marathon Academy said.

Secretary Li stated that the Marathon Academy has appointed Zhao Xiaoli as the academy’s chief advisor. As Feng Peiyou’s coach, Zou Leilei also takes on a new responsibility — serving as the executing coach for the academy’s high-level athletes. After admissions are completed this September, they will provide applicants with more professional, systematic training guidance.

In Secretary Li’s words,“Our Marathon Academy’s first training aims to let more athletes put down mental burdens and remove worries. Come here and focus on training with the goal of achieving good results — we will do our best to help resolve academic and other issues.”

As a milestone moment for marathon development in Guizhou — the Marathon Academy has now completed its first training phase and taken its first step. Secretary Li welcomes outstanding student-athletes nationwide to apply to the Marathon Academy; here there is not only a suitable environment and climate for training, but also superior facilities and a training atmosphere unmatched elsewhere.

Secretary Li said the first training is only the beginning; in the future more outstanding students will come here for the opportunity to train and learn alongside high-level athletes such as Feng Peiyou, Mao Jinhu and Hong Yue.

Preparing for Nagoya

Feng Peiyou begins Weining training camp

After completing the Marathon Academy’s first training course, young coach Zou Leilei and his athletes rushed back to their training base — the Qingzhen training base.

The Huangguoshu Half Marathon was Zou Leilei’s first race back on the start line after nine years — he finished in 2 hours 01 minutes. Since retiring from the Guizhou team in 2019, Zou gradually transitioned into coaching behind the scenes. After stepping away from high-intensity training he inevitably gained weight and developed some anxiety about his weight. Over the past six months in Qingzhen, alongside his daily coaching duties, Zou has begun to resume running — 5 km, 10 km.

Participating in the Huangguoshu half marathon, in Coach Zou's own words, was an experience: "First, I wanted to lose weight; second, our team has junior members who often compete in various races across Guizhou. The youngsters said the Huangguoshu half-marathon route has been changed and is tougher to run now. I actually raced these events more than ten years ago when I was an athlete. So I wanted to feel the current route; if I run it again next year I can prepare and train specifically."

However, once on the course Coach Zou was still watching Feng Peiyou's race while he ran the first half: "In the first half I ran while watching the live broadcast of the race; after he finished I ran another 11 km. But after running it, my whole body was really sore."

Regarding Feng Peiyou's 1 hour 04 minutes performance, Coach Zou said it was within expectations: "After Lanzhou he has been adjusting his body and hasn't done any event-specific high-intensity sessions. We decided to enter this race as a training session; this result reflects his normal level and was what we expected."

Feng Peiyou, who ran the half in Huangguoshu, also said he's more interested in Wang Wenjie's half-marathon record and looks forward to challenging it in the future.But before chasing the half-marathon record, he has to complete another important task this year — preparation for the Asian Games.

On June 30, Zou Leilei led the team up from Qingzhen to the plateau — a training camp in Weining — which includedFeng Peiyou, Mao Jinhu, Huang Yongzheng, Li Xinyu, and rising star Zheng Hong, who recently took first in the half at the Guiyang Marathon, among others, and the whole camp is expected to run until mid‑August.

Weining sits in the heart of the Wumeng Mountains in northwest Guizhou, with an average elevation of 2,200 m — the internationally recognized midpoint of the 1,800–2,500 m range suitable for athletes' high‑altitude training. Many provincial and municipal teams have trained in Weining. That also means, barring surprises, this year's Asian Games marathon training base will likely be Weining.

Coach Zou said the focus of this training camp is very clear — to do everything possible and make the most meticulous, comprehensive preparations for Feng Peiyou at the Nagoya Asian Games.After the mentor-and-protégé pair's run at the Tokyo Marathon, they feel no fear of Japanese athletes; instead they're filled with fighting spirit, ready to go onto the opponent's turf and battle head-to-head, striving to replicate He Jie's gold-medal achievement at the Hangzhou Asian Games.

[End-of-article interaction]

#What are your expectations for Feng Peiyou's Asian Games journey #

Text: Momo

Editor: HP

Image source: Paoye Dabaozha

Visual: MAX

RUNYEAH 跑野大爆炸

Feng Peiyou moves to Weining for Asian Games high‑altitude training, hopes more young athletes will join