海角大神

Steeling herself against a light drizzle, Linda Liu corrals herself into Area E at the Shanghai Marathon starting line, mobile phone strapped to her upper arm.

Around the first bend, traditional聽tanggu drummers dressed in red and gold await the race start, their steady beats ready to echo the pitter-patter of the 25,000 runners who would flow past.聽

The start of the Shanghai Marathon is pure aspiration, like the majestic skyline of the Bund waterfront where it begins, home to city鈥檚 most iconic buildings and modern skyscrapers.

In the two decades since launch, the Shanghai Marathon has come to attract top athletes from overseas, alongside the thousands of Chinese who managed to draw a race number.

鈥淚鈥檓 ready. I feel carefree,鈥� Ms. Liu says. The property manager has no hope of placing, but something to prove to herself: 鈥淭hat I can run an entire marathon.鈥澛�

Over the past decade, China鈥檚 middle class has embarked on a fitness renaissance, with spending on fitness apparel poised to surpass luxury goods by 2020. That鈥檚 a seismic shift in a country where urban consumers nursed a Prada obsession for years. Now, it鈥檚 running shoes and road bikes. About 75 percent of urban Chinese participate in sports and fitness, driven by newfound health awareness, social media, and the marketing reach of the behemoth .

Individual athletes aren鈥檛 the only ones with something to prove. As China launches onto the world stage, the next phase of its evolving quest encompasses sport: from high-profile international events to ambitious plans to produce legions of student-athletes. Yet those campaigns must overcome obstacles unique to the world鈥檚 fastest-growing major economy, such as pollution and an education culture that often prioritizes mind over body.聽

鈥淏alancing work, body, and mind was always part鈥� of the Chinese consciousness, says Henry Shen, McCann Health鈥檚 chief strategy officer for greater China. The Chinese elders dancing and performing tai chi, fixtures of every park in China, are proof, Mr. Shen says.

鈥淚t just got lost during the fast development of the economy,鈥� he says. Shen himself is a member of yoga studio Y+. The club鈥檚 slogan immediately struck a chord as he walked by years ago, he says, wonder in his voice even today as he recalls it: 鈥淪low is the new fast.鈥�

Indeed, 鈥渇ast鈥� has been the norm for a country accustomed to double-digit growth. But as middle-class consumers have come into money, they鈥檝e begun trading in luxury logos for a status symbol that calls for more than plunking down a bundle of renminbi notes.

鈥淭wenty years ago, young Chinese were about making money and surviving, building up their lives and learning English,鈥� says English ultramarathoner Harriet Gaywood, who notes that over her two decades living and training in China, she鈥檚 joined by more and more Chinese athletes.聽鈥淭oday it鈥檚 about becoming healthy.鈥澛�

That desire for fitness is helped along by that disposable income, enabling sports and access in a powerful combination. As the Chinese spend money on fitness memberships, sports equipment, and private cars, new sports come within reach: swimming, Pilates, even trail running in the countryside.

Dropping the ball?

Meanwhile, the government is placing its heft behind fitness, incentivizing investment and pumping up spending for facilities and infrastructure.聽

In 2014, the State Council issued File No. 46,聽which boldly declared a plan to anoint China鈥檚 sports industry tops in the world. The Council tied the health of the people to development of the country and economy, and it also slapped a number on the goal: a sports industry that would be 5-trillion-renminbi strong ($720 billion), with half a billion participants by 2025.

Several dozen policies followed, including a vision for a national soccer team to compete at the highest levels by 2050, with a pipeline of 30 million young players and 20,000 soccer schools.聽

鈥淐hina feels it needs to be on the world stage, and you need a plan to do that,鈥� says Jeffrey Wilson, chair of the board at Active Kidz Shanghai, a community team sports organization.

Schools also play a role, with required physical education classes raising 鈥渢he importance of fitness to the will of a nation,鈥� said Kobe Li, a sports administrator at a Shanghai kindergarten.

Yet ambition is sometimes boxed in by the most basic of limitations: space. As developers erected Chinese cities skyward, planning officials neglected to devote open space and parks for sport. Where a precious patch of grass does exist, battles ensue over its usage. 鈥淪ecurity guards always shoo the kids away when they play ball,鈥� one Shanghai parent said of the tennis court-sized lawn shared by 1,000聽residents in her complex.

鈥淭hey say they want to protect the grass.鈥�

Then there鈥檚 the problem of trainers. 鈥淟ocal schools are under pressure to provide more, but they often don鈥檛 have the venues or the coaches,鈥� says Wilson of Active Kidz. China lacks the pipeline of volunteers to pick up the slack, but that鈥檚 slowly changing. Wilson is starting to find talent in unexpected places. 鈥淔udan University has a baseball team, did you know?鈥� he says, speaking of the Shanghai school that is one of China鈥檚 best. 鈥淲e have had some parents who played baseball there, and now they want their kids to start earlier.鈥�

Pollution also limits time spent outdoors 鈥斅燼t least a few times a month, Ms. Liu cancels workouts after checking the air quality index 鈥� while an education-steeped culture prioritizes intellectual achievement.聽One runner said he can only take his daughter for a workout after he checks her homework load, which for Chinese students is at nearly three hours daily.

Chinese cultural beliefs can work against running fast or sweating hard, too. 鈥淒on鈥檛 go to public places too often. Exercise, but not too strenuously,鈥� trumpeted a development guide used by Shanghai kindergarten teachers.聽

Sometimes, government officials foil聽the very sporting ambitions they aim to promote. Early this month, ticket sales to the national soccer championship game in Shanghai were shut down over security concerns. About half the 60,000 seats .

One step at a time聽

Yet China鈥檚 No. 1 sport doesn鈥檛 need equipment or even stadiums. Running, according to a 2017 Nielsen survey, is becoming a national pastime. The number of races held nationwide is expected to reach nearly 2,000 by 2020, a doubling in just three years, according to the Chinese Athletic Association.

For Ms. Liu, back at the Shanghai Marathon, her running aspirations had started small聽鈥� piqued by WeChat, China鈥檚 ubiquitous messaging platform.

鈥淎 friend posted a snapshot of his stopwatch; he did 10 kilometers [6.2 miles] in 56 minutes,鈥� she laughed, speaking to me at a teahouse in Shanghai a week before the race. 鈥淚 thought I could do better. He runs on flats 鈥� I鈥檝e been practicing on slopes.鈥�

Ms. Liu was right. She immediately took to jogging in her pink Adidas, already broken in from 6 a.m. group workouts she started. Within a few months, she鈥檇 bested her friend. The Chinese might say her heritage was a competitive advantage; she hailed from Hunan province, known for its steep terrain and a history of producing some of China鈥檚 hardiest soldiers.

The day of the marathon, Linda felt unwell, while the race route itself was beset by rain. 鈥淭here were puddles. I feel a little regretful 鈥斅營 was trying to finish in four hours,鈥� Linda said later, of her finishing time that exceeded her goal by six minutes. 鈥淚鈥檒l take two days off, and head back to [training].鈥�

Shanghai entrepreneur Larry Yin sent messages after the race filled with happy-face emoticons. 鈥淚 completed the marathon slowly and safely,鈥� he said, in a 鈥渉umblebrag鈥� for his fastest time yet.聽While training over the past few years, Mr. Yin had lost 90 pounds,聽a remnant of his management consulting days, and he鈥檚 run five marathons now.

Yet he鈥檚 most proud to educate聽his 10 year-old daughter about the importance of fitness. 鈥淪he sees her daddy get up every day and run, whether it鈥檚 winter, summer, fall, or spring,鈥� Mr. Yin says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what I want to pass to her.鈥�