Former ‘fastest female nurse’ wins first marathon as professional, earning 40,000 yuan
Zhang Shuihua wins Lishui Marathon on Sunday and has earned far more than her nursing income since resigning from her tenured position
Former nurse Zhang Shuihua secured her first title as a full-time marathon runner – and in a record time – at the 2026 Lishui Marathon, three months after announcing her resignation from her “iron rice bowl” position.
Once known as China’s “fastest female nurse”, Zhang sparked widespread debate last year after winning the Harbin Marathon as an amateur, after which she tearfully pleaded for her “leaders to support her time-off requests to run marathons”.
Six months later, and after resigning from her tenured nursing position, the 35-year-old crossed the line in Sunday’s race in a time of two hours, 35 minutes and 49 seconds to claim the women’s full marathon title.
In so doing, Zhang received a trophy and a 10,000 yuan (US$1,380) prize.
Additionally, the professional runner received an extra 30,000 yuan for breaking the 2:38:49 course record by almost three minutes, bringing her total earnings for the event to 40,000 yuan.
This brought the now-sponsored athlete’s total prize money from only five races this year to about 85,000 yuan, significantly exceeding what she would have earned as a nurse in the same period.