Zhan Jiaqin, a 61-year-old retired corporate executive from Hunan province, has etched his name in endurance sports history by conquering the 2024 Everest 135, or Everest Extreme — a 231.2-kilometer race through a section of Mount Qomolangma in Nepal, dubbed one of the planet's toughest high-altitude races.

With a staggering cumulative elevation gain of 19,709 meters, temperatures swinging between 25 C and — 20 C, and a peak altitude of 5,517 meters, the six-day event tested human limits. Zhan, finishing in 130 hours and 10 minutes, became its oldest amateur participant to complete the race.

Zhan was born in Pingjiang county, Hunan in 1964. He graduated from Tongji University in Shanghai in the 1980s and worked at a State-owned construction company in Changsha, the provincial capital, for 19 years before becoming the general manager of a local private real estate company.

His running journey, however, began not on mountain trails but in a moment of humble self-reckoning.