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BEIJING, March 26 (Xinhua) -- German runner Kai Markus Xiong has arrived in Poland's capital city Warsaw in his ambitious 12,000km journey along the ancient Silk Road from Hamburg to Shanghai.
Markus, 44, started his his super marathon on March 12 as he plans to take 18.5 million steps in 235 days through Germany, Poland, Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and finally in Shanghai, China by November this year.
Running at an average distance of 80km per day, Markus arrived in Warsaw on Saturday as planned before he checked in a hotel for the first time in this challenge.
Victor Neubauer, who drives a Volkswagen's Bug, provides necessary supplies, like food, water, clothes, sneakers and warming equipment, for Markus.
"Tired and happy," said the Bayern born German. "First 1,000km is important for motivation. We have sunny days and everything comes together. 5,000km means it's only 11,000km to Shanghai and it's only 5,000km to Chinese border."
"So it's come closer," he said.
On his way, Markus has received kind helps from many people who would offer his food and accomodation. Everything has going well as planned except one incident on the second day when Markus sprained his left ankle to avoid a moving truck. The pain lasted for five days.
Growing up in Bavaria, Markus, influenced by his grandparents, is a fan for China and visited the country many times.
Markus once explained his motive for his campaign.
"A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. I hope my footprints can connect Germany and China, and open a new door for the world to know China." Markus recently told People's Daily.
Markus has set up a website for his journey: runmysilkroad.com with a slogan "run to break down prejudice".
In line with his slogan, he has decided to use Chinese products in his marathon to show that they can stand up to the wear and tear.
Being fond of cross-country skiing and rock climbing, Markus was a gymnast and a lifeguard, and now works in financial management organization and an enthusiastic fan for running.
He ran 1,000 kilometers from Flensburg to Zugspitze and 750 kilometers from Nuremberg to Paris of France before this challenge.
