Xiao Xian'gao, nearly 54 years old. On the afternoon of March 21, he walked into the urban news office of Spring City Evening News carrying a backpack weighing over 10 kilograms. Speaking in a reserved and low voice, he said, "Comrade reporter, this is my fourth time running to Kunming. Kunming has changed so much that my impression of it always remains from many years ago." As he spoke, he took out a cherished photo album from his bag, one of the photos showing him posing with the Dai people when he ran to Jinghong in 1991 — back then, he had a slender build.
Who is Xiao Xian'gao? He is from Dianchong Village, Shuikuan Township, Zhijiang County, Hunan Province — a long-distance running enthusiast. Since starting to run in 1976, this man in his fifties has persisted in running for over 30 years, wearing out more than 400 pairs of shoes and covering a distance of nearly 600,000 kilometers — enough to circle the Earth more than ten times. Starting in 1986 and up to now, he has completed eight cross-country runs around China, averaging 70 kilometers per day, sometimes reaching up to 120 kilometers in a single day. In every place he visits, he makes sure to get the local commemorative postmark at the post office as a memento. Xiao Xian'gao continuously pulls out newspapers from various regions reporting on him from his bag, and reporters also found online that people have given him numerous titles such as "Divine Messenger," "Running Marvel," "Chinese Forrest Gump," and "Lone Rambler Across Ten Thousand Miles." Since leaving home last April, he has relied on this simple pack, running all the way, persisting tirelessly along the journey with the help of kind-hearted enterprises, government departments, and good Samaritans. Over this past year, he has worn out 20 pairs of shoes.
Xiao Xian'gao’s love for long-distance running came about quite by chance. He said that because he was often sick as a child, he started training in long-distance running at the age of eleven or twelve to strengthen his body. This not only kept him from getting sick or taking medicine ever again, but also got him addicted to running — he hasn’t missed a single day. In 1986, he conceived the idea of running across the country to promote scientific fitness. While exercising his body, he also tours the landscapes, and running has become a part of his life. Over the years, he has collected materials weighing over 300 kilograms, recorded over 50 notebooks, compiled written materials totaling over 600,000 words, and taken more than 4,000 photographs.
At 3:30 p.m. on the 21st, on the sidewalk of Xinwen Road, Xiao Xian'gao walked swiftly with his backpack, forcing the following reporter to jog just to keep up. He stopped and said, "I will keep running. I hope that one day I can run around Taiwan Island."