When China’s Miao Yao burst onto the ultrarunning scene in 2018, first winning and setting a new women’s course record at the Hong Kong 100k, placing second at the Lavaredo Ultra-Trail, and then winning CCC, she was a 23-year-old who until then had never raced outside of her home country.
Then, in 2019, the young runner, known for going out fast and holding on, hit a rough patch with DNFs at Transgrancanaria, Marathon du Mont Blanc, and UTMB. Disappointed with the year, she left trail running to focus on road marathons instead. In “Wa/ondering,” a new film about her return to the trails in 2023, she comes back to the sport with a new perspective.
While filled with stunning scenery from Yao racing and training around Europe, this film is much more than just a runner in pretty places.
The film starts with Yao admitting, “I might not have found my true self yet. I don’t know who I am.” The fairly somber tone of it all leads to the initial impression that she is all business when it comes to trail running. She goes on to say, “The media and audience, none of them understand me. They haven’t truly interacted with me.”
Who Is Miao Yao?
Watching her run, most people probably wouldn’t realize that Yao was pulled from a life in rural China by the state-sponsored athletics program to be a runner. However, she wasn’t quite fast enough to make it to the highest level in marathons and left the program, only to make her way to trail running around 2016.
A bit of background early in the film provides the context with Yao’s experience after starting to race outside of China in 2018 — a young runner lining up for CCC after just a few months of international success. Reflecting on the moment, Yao says, “I was pretty nervous and a little excited. It was an extraordinary moment in time.”
One of the many breathtaking scenes featured in the film “Wa/ondering.” All photos: Kyle Obermann
And then, of the following year where nothing seemed to go her way, she says, “Then in 2019, I didn’t finish a lot of races. For me, it was a really tough period to get through.”
She admits to having aspirations of winning UTMB in 2019, and led the race for the first 90 kilometers before eye issues forced her to drop after 112 kilometers. She says, “I felt my life entered a very difficult period,” and explains that she no longer wanted to run trails and went to race road marathons instead.
But in a shift — the first indication in the film that there is more to Yao than the serious face she presents early on — she says with a laugh, “People will forget me if I don’t return.”
Returning to the Trails
The film then follows Yao through her return to the trail racing world in 2023 via Sierre-Zinal and OCC, and along the way, reveals that there’s much more to her than the serious and focused athlete that so many know her as.
In preparing for Sierre-Zinal, she admits to not having spent much time on trails. Heading up a steep trail, she jokes with the camera, “Even Kilian [Jornet] would have to walk a few steps of this slope!”
After finishing fourth in the race, she turns her attention to OCC and training in Chamonix, France, where the event takes place. In a moment of seriousness, she talks about how she’s an active student just getting into the main part of her studies. But then she laughs as she listens to a Fundamentals of Sports class on headphones while running, explaining that classes in China start at 7:30 p.m., which is 1:30 p.m. in Chamonix, fully admitting that “Sometimes I can’t hear very clearly,” as she flies down a trail.
Filled with lighthearted moments, it’s clear that Yao and the filmmaker, Kyle Obermann, had fun with the production of the film, taking viewers on a ride that can only be provided through the eyes of a young and optimistic runner ready to see where life can take her.
“I feel like being myself is enough,” she says of her outlook and aspirations. She asks, “As I continue to move forward, what kind of life can I make out of it?”
Call for Comments
- Have you followed Miao Yao’s career? What are your highlights?
- What other recent trail running films do you love?
Miao Yao, looking focused on the trail ahead.
