Power couple: HK100-winning boyfriend and girlfriend on a mission to rule the world of ultra running

Mainlanders Qi Min and Yao Miao talk about their agony and ecstasy at the Vibram HK100

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Qi Min and Yao Miao at the finish line of the HK100. Photo: Twitter/@iRunFar

Published: 8:30am, 10 Feb 2018Updated: 8:11pm, 10 Feb 2018

One person’s misfortune is another’s gain, as the saying goes, and that was certainly the case for China’s Qi Min at the Vibram Hong Kong 100.

Second-placed Qi was catapulted into the spotlight after original race winner Liang Jing was controversially disqualified for receiving support outside a checkpoint.

Qi, 28, is now the course record holder and on track to becoming a household name in the world of ultra running.

Like many talented mainland runners, Qi – now back in his native Yunnan province – is a relative unknown to the international running community.

But he shrugs his shoulders at the mention of Frenchman Francois d’Haene and Spain’s Kilian Jornet, his potential rivals at this year’s Ultra Marathon du Mont Blanc (UTMB), the biggest 100 miler in the world.

Qi Min on his way to winning the Yading Ultra Kora in Sichuan. His goal is to dominate every major ultra in the world. Photo: Jordi Saragossa

“Strategy? I don’t know, but if I were running with one of those foreign dashen [great deity, or a highly respected professional] I would not let him break away from me,” says Qi, smiling, over dinner at a Dai cuisine restaurant in Kunming.