On the night of January 2 this year, with the excitement of the Dongji Fuyuan New Year Marathon Championship trophy still lingering, the "fastest female nurse" Zhang Shuihua posted a resignation video on her personal social platform. “I don’t regret the way I came, and I’m not afraid of new journeys. These years have been great, but I should move forward.”
The news of her resignation quickly aroused heated discussions, and whether she could make a living by running marathons after resigning also became the focus of discussion among netizens.
Three months after resigning, there is a short-term answer to this question – 4 games, 2 championships and 1 runner-up; 3 endorsements, signed in a week; more than 30 live broadcasts, nearly 5 million people watched; cash bonus of about 115,000 yuan, plus a car worth 100,000 yuan, discounted to more than 200,000 yuan.
Picture of Zhang Shuihua’s Liuzhou Marathon victory, released by Liuzhou
A few days ago, Red Star News reporters reviewed Zhang Shuihua's recent achievements and endorsements, and interviewed many people in the running industry to find the logic behind all this happening beyond the numbers.
What you earn on the track is not just bonuses
The day before announcing his resignation, Zhang Shuihua had already stood on the court. On January 1, she won the East Pole Fuyuan New Year Marathon and broke the competition record, winning a bonus of 15,000 yuan.
After releasing her resignation video, on January 18, Zhang Shuihua’s first race after officially announcing her resignation was the Chongqing Marathon. She finished sixth among women and fourth in the country with a time of 2 hours, 30 minutes and 51 seconds, and received a bonus of 20,000 yuan.
Nearly two months later, she won the runner-up in the Nanjing North Shore Marathon on March 8, with a bonus of 10,000 yuan; on March 22, she won the Lishui Marathon and broke the competition record, with a bonus of 40,000 yuan.
The most eye-catching event was the Liuzhou Marathon on March 29. She registered as an ordinary runner and crossed the finish line in 2 hours, 36 minutes and 23 seconds to win the race. She pocketed 30,000 yuan in cash and a car worth about 100,000 yuan. Winning two championships back to back within 8 days, the total rewards exceeded 170,000 yuan.
After resigning, he received a cash bonus of approximately 115,000 yuan. Including a car worth 100,000 yuan, the total discounted value exceeded 200,000 yuan. However, marathon prize organizers generally withhold 20% tax.
Her best marathon time of 2 hours, 30 minutes and 37 seconds has reached the standard of the Chinese Athletics Association for international athletes – only about 20 people in the national women's marathon have reached this standard. What's even more commendable is that Zhang Shuihua's scores have been stable between 230-236 for a long time, with minimal fluctuations.
Ka Ge, the person in charge of the Rabbit Hi-Running Camp, told the Red Star News reporter that this stable high-level performance is the prerequisite for all Zhang Shuihua’s future development and can provide the foundation for her endorsements, accounts, etc. Brother Ka also mentioned that given the special nature of marathon sports, Zhang Shuihua still has a long time to maintain a high level. Moreover, the window period for domestic marathon events is very short. There are at least a dozen events almost every weekend. In addition to the participation restrictions of players within the system, the probability of Zhang Shuihua and several of the top domestic runners crashing is not high. Zhang Shuihua's strength will allow her to continue to perform in many competitions for many years to come, bringing her continued income and exposure.
But some insiders have different views. A running coach told a Red Star News reporter that the uncertainty of event prizes is extremely high. After the 2025 National Games, competition will also intensify significantly in the future. Another former professional athlete also mentioned that the prize money for small events is limited. After deducting 20% personal tax and travel costs, "not winning is basically a waste of money or even a loss", and high-frequency participation is extremely taxing on the body.
The number of fans on the account doubled, and "little yellow cars" were posted one after another
On the day of his resignation, Zhang Shuihua had already appeared in the live broadcast room.
On January 2, she participated in the live broadcast of Fuyuan's "Heixiazi Island" tourism. Although it was not a commercial cooperation, it also triggered speculation about her transformation and sales. On January 6, she launched her first personal live broadcast after her resignation, and her second live broadcast on January 8 attracted a lot of attention.
Since then, its live broadcast frequency has stabilized at about one every three days.
The data monitoring platform shows that Zhang Shuihua has live broadcasted 34 times in total, of which the second live broadcast on January 8 had nearly 500,000 viewers, with an average of about 130,000 viewers. The live broadcast after Liuzhou Marathon won the championship attracted nearly 300,000 viewers, which was the second highest number of live broadcasts. Zhang Shuihua's account followers have doubled from more than 90,000 at the beginning of the year to more than 180,000 today.
Zhang Shuihua’s recent live broadcast data
During the live broadcast, Zhang Shuihua acted relaxed and comfortable. Her cooperation with her husband and the occasional teasing made the live broadcast room interesting, unlike the "poor words" that many netizens had previously believed.
It is worth noting that her account’s business attitude has also undergone changes. In March, "little yellow cars" began to be put out one after another, mainly selling running shoes, equipment, and nutritional products. In 4 of her 34 live broadcasts, she carried goods. The sales in each live broadcast were only a few thousand yuan, but there was a steady improvement trend.
This change is closely related to the reality of the industry.
In previous interviews with Red Star News reporters, many practitioners pointed out that the income of the running industry mainly comes from the four major sectors of events, endorsements, accounts, and coaching. However, it is extremely difficult to monetize accounts. "There are many running accounts, and we must rely on professional teams."
At present, Zhang Shuihua's account has completed the transition from "content exposure" to "initial realization", but it is still in the early stage.
Three signings a week, commercial value overflows the track
For top marathon runners, the main source of income is commercial endorsements.
Before resigning, Zhang Shuihua had already signed an endorsement contract with 361°, but after a dispute arose, the two parties officially terminated the contract in September last year. In the following months, Zhang Shuihua, who was caught in the whirlpool of public opinion, had no commercial endorsements. So when she first resigned, some people in the industry were worried about her endorsement prospects: brands may be afraid of her controversial identity.
But in February, Zhang Shuihua's worries were overturned, and he won consecutive signings. On February 10, sports eyewear brand Hyper Run officially announced the signing; five days later, on February 15, Xtep announced that she had become an official signed athlete; and the next day, on February 16, Shandong home decoration brand Boulevard completed the signing – "three signings a week."
Zhang Shuihua’s account announces endorsement
According to Shangguan News, industry insiders estimate that Zhang Shuihua’s annual endorsement income can reach 1.8 million to 4.6 million yuan, and the appearance fee for a single event is about 100,000 yuan. However, this figure has not been confirmed by Zhang Shuihua or the brand.
In an interview with reporters, Ka Ge mentioned that Zhang Shuihua had recently successfully registered a company to ensure standardization of commercialization, but he did not disclose the specific company name.
Insider perspective:
Grades and labels provide the possibility of breaking the circle
As a friend of Zhang Shuihua and an industry insider who has been engaged in sports event communication for a long time, Ka Ge is not surprised by Zhang Shuihua’s outburst and believes that there are multiple advantages that provide him with confidence.
Brother Ka mentioned that performance is Zhang Shuihua’s biggest source of confidence. Long-term stable high-level performance has brought continuous income and exposure to Zhang Shuihua. In recent years, brands have increasingly tended to spend money on "accurate fans" rather than Internet celebrities with large numbers of pure fans. Zhang Shuihua only has a few hundred thousand Douyin fans, but his commercial influence has begun to surpass that of Internet celebrities with millions of fans. The most intuitive example is the Liuzhou Marathon, the Shijiazhuang Marathon, and the Yangzhou Marathon: Compared with the Shijiazhuang Marathon, which invited former world record holder Kipchoge, and the Yangzhou Half Marathon, which brought together many of the country's top elite runners, the Liuzhou Marathon does not fall behind in terms of online communication.
Ka Ge believes that Zhang Shuihua’s label is also the key to her breaking out of the circle: she was born as a nurse and started running in 2018. She relied purely on love and self-discipline. She has taken steps every year, from breaking 3 (hours) to breaking 250 to breaking 240, and now she has stabilized at the level of 235. These labels have natural public resonance and are closer to the sports needs of ordinary people. Her story will make people feel that she is the same kind of person as you. After resigning, the controversy surrounding Zhang Shuihua also disappeared.
Brother Ka believes that after resigning and preparing for the competition full-time, through more professional training and greater running volume, Zhang Shuihua's score has a chance to break through the 230 mark, and if there are no injuries, he can still maintain a high level for more than ten years. According to Shangguan News, Zhang Shuihua’s husband revealed that she plans to optimize her condition through systematic training, strive to hit her personal best (PB) in the second half of the year, and explore new ways to deeply integrate professional athletes with commercial value.
challenge:
How far business can go depends on the next game
But behind the bright numbers, challenges also exist.
There has always been uncertainty in the competition on the field. Ka Ge mentioned that the results are Zhang Shuihua's confidence, but once the results decline, the commercial value will also shrink rapidly. However, based on Zhang Shuihua's current performance, as long as there are no injuries, there is no need to worry too much about this for the time being.
But Zhang Shuihua will also face common problems among marathon runners. Except for top professional runners, ordinary runners have almost no team protection. Several well-known amateur runners, like Zhang Shuihua, only have their significant other as a team member, and at most a few people to assist in account operations.
Additionally, there are athletes who face contractual and financial risks. "Many team members received bonuses, but they didn't know how to file taxes or what pitfalls were in the contracts." Brother Ka has seen many athletes sign long-term contracts with extremely poor terms. When the commercial value has far exceeded the contract value, they cannot change it. However, in this regard, Zhang Shuihua and her husband, who graduated from Tianjin University, can obviously do better.
At the same time, account operation is not a simple task. After Zhang Shuihua's account has doubled the number of fans, it is only 180,000, and he can bring in goods for several thousand yuan in a single game. Compared with the top accounts, the gap is very obvious. Some running circle practitioners said that there are currently many running accounts and there are many professional MCN organizations on this track. If you want to make a good account, you definitely need the support of professional organizations, which is very difficult. Ka Ge mentioned that these live broadcasts and endorsements should be ranked after training and competitions. "Training and competitions are fundamental." The product categories should also fit the personality and focus on sports brands, healthy life, and female growth. It is better to be lacking than to overload.
Taken together, in the three months since his resignation, Zhang Shuihua has delivered an impressive report card: performance, traffic, and business. The three curves have risen at the same time, but he will also face dual challenges in performance and commercialization in the future.
As Ka Ge said, "Training and competition are fundamental." How far the business can go ultimately depends on whether she can win the next game.
Red Star News reporter Liu Yazhou and intern Zhang Yichi
