A 48-YEAR-OLD Shenzhen resident is getting close to the finish line of his 4,000-kilometer journey from Shenzhen to Changchun in Northeast China after he hit the road running over 45 days ago, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported yesterday.

    Qu Yanfeng has lived in Shenzhen since leaving his hometown Changchun in 1990. He quit his job as a bank manager in 2006 because the intense work had posed a threat to his health. He developed a fondness for long-distance running in 2010. “I run 10 kilometers around the city at around 6 a.m. almost every day,” he said.

    Qu has always had a dream — running from Shenzhen to Changchun — and he decided to realize it this year. With his friends and family looking on, Qu started his running from Lianhua Hill Park at around 8:30 a.m. March 12, which was also his 48th birthday.

    According to Qu’s plan, he would run across 10 provinces or municipalities and finish the 4,000 kilometers in 80 days, meaning that he would have to run at least 60 kilometers a day. He is carrying only a 5-kilogram backpack, which contains two pairs of shoes, three sets of underclothes, two pairs of trousers, a down jacket and 3 liters of water.

    He ran 89.4 kilometers to Huizhou on the first day and arrived in Heyuan after running 92.45 kilometers on the second day. It took him 15 days to cross Jiangxi Province by running an average of 60 kilometers per day and he was in Anhui Province for 10 days.

    “I have only slept five hours a day the past 40 days. I got up at around 6 a.m. everyday and started running after breakfast,” he said. “Don’t set a limit on yourself because there’s no limit.”

    Sometimes Qu’s friends or those who had heard about his story would show up and accompany him by running with him for a while. However, Qu runs alone most of the time without any backup. He had anticipated difficulties and dangers during the journey, but he said that the most important thing was to overcome the fear.

    Qu has lost weight, dropping from 72 kilograms to 62 kilograms after running 2,452 kilometers in 44 days. He arrived in Tianjin on Tuesday, and will probably get to his destination in Changchun on May 10.

    (Zhang Yang)