In 2013, at age 49, Zhan's life took a pivotal turn during a company hiking trip in a remote forest. Struggling to keep pace with colleagues, he faced a stark reality: his deteriorating health could no longer be ignored.

Determined to change, he embarked on a rigorous fitness regimen, rising at 4:30 am daily for two-hour runs before work, later incorporating gym sessions to build strength. "I started with 2 to 3 kilometers and couldn't even finish that," he said.

Progress was slow but deliberate. By 2016, after three years of disciplined training and guidance from professional coaches, he completed his first marathon in Changsha in 4 hours and 47 minutes. Refining his strategy — balancing speed work, hill repeats and recovery — he eventually slashed his marathon time to 3 hours and 23 minutes at the 2020 Shanghai Marathon. He has run more than 30 marathons to date.

Trail running entered Zhan's life in 2018 through a casual invitation to a 55-km race in Hunan's Langshan Mountains. Naively assuming it mirrored road marathons, he underestimated the technical demands: uneven terrain, navigation challenges and sleep deprivation. "It took me 13 grueling hours," he recalled.

Yet the experience ignited a passion. He began tackling longer distances, including the Xizang autonomous region's Nyingchi 100 km, Wumeng Mountain's 330 km in Yunnan province, and Chongli's 192 km in Hebei province, where he battled rain, freezing temperatures and scorching sun over 45 hours.