In the early hours of September 16 in Courmayeur, Italy, Chinese runner Zhao Jiaju crossed the finish line of the 2026 Tor des Géants in 65 hours, 55 minutes and 22 seconds. He cut 13 minutes from the course record and became the first Chinese athlete to win the race's 330-kilometer category.
The Tor des Géants is one of the world's best-known trail-running events. This year's course covered 336.1 kilometers through the Italian Alps, with a total elevation gain of more than 24,000 meters. Runners had up to 150 hours to finish.
Zhao did much more than stay awake and keep moving. His carefully managed stops became an important part of his strategy.
He took the lead early and held it until an aid station 203.8 kilometers into the race. By then, he had been running for more than 35 hours without sleep. He remained at the station for about 50 minutes to change clothes, eat, receive a massage and rest. Only about 20 minutes of that time were spent sleeping.
The long stop allowed Swiss runner Jonathan Schindler to move ahead. But Zhao left the station with more energy, accelerated and eventually reclaimed first place. He later relied on several naps of about 10 minutes each. Across nearly three days of racing, he slept for only about an hour in total.
At the 307.5-kilometer aid station, Zhao led Schindler by 47 minutes. He drank hot soup, put on warmer clothes and headed toward the Malatra Pass, the last major climb before the mostly downhill return to Courmayeur.
The victory was also the latest step in an unusual running career. Born in Guizhou Province in 1995, Zhao left school at 15 and held several jobs, including working as a security guard, porter and food-delivery rider. While delivering meals, he sometimes made deliveries on foot instead of by bicycle. What began as a way to earn a living also helped him build endurance.
Zhao became a full-time trail runner in 2017. He has since won major long-distance races in China and abroad. In July 2026, he won the 168-kilometer event at the Chongli 168 Super Trail for the fourth time, breaking the course record he had set six years earlier.
Zhao had entered the TOR330 a year earlier but withdrew at the 203.8-kilometer station, the same place where he briefly lost the lead this time. On his return, that station no longer marked the end of his race. It became the point from which he began his comeback. Zhao ran for more than 130 additional kilometers, turning the site of his previous withdrawal into a milestone on the way to a record-breaking finish.