Inspirational athlete nicknamed ‘China’s Forrest Gump’ runs 100 km for 100 days STRAIGHT

An ultramarathon runner in China has broken an unbelievable stamina record for the most consecutive days to run 100 km (male), after traversing 10,000 km (6,213.7 mi) in just 100 days.

Huang Zhenglong (AKA Long Shao) took on this incredible title between 6 December to 15 March, eventually crossing the finish line to great fanfare in Foshan, Guangdong two weeks ago. 

The record was a long time coming for the tremendous athlete, who closed his business during the coronavirus pandemic so he could dedicate himself to running. After he completed a 365‑day nonstop race across China, he came up with this new challenge at the end of last year – and began posting about the quest online.

Many people doubted that he would safely be able to complete the intense physical test, as it would require him to finish roughly 2.5 marathons daily before dinnertime. Yet every morning at 7 a.m., when businesses began opening their doors and students started making their way to school, Long Shao would be outside – completing his loops around the Desheng River, determined to take the title.

Soon enough, Long Shao’s consistent daily livestreams began to attract widespread encouragement instead of criticism, and fellow runners began to travel to Foshan to support him emotionally and financially. 

Beyond his extraordinary abilities, perhaps the most moving part of the challenge was the fact that during the entire 100-day event, he never once ran by himself. At first, he was joined by friends, yet as news of his feat began to spread across the country, spectators flew in from far and wide to run alongside him and cheer him on.

“I am extremely excited to have received the official certification from Guinness World Records,” said Huang Zhenglong to GWR. “Many people doubted me, saying it was absolutely impossible to run 100 kilometres every day for 100 consecutive days – claiming it went far beyond human physical limits.

“But I am glad that I pushed beyond my limits and changed that perception with my actions. I hope my journey can inspire others, encourage more people to learn about long-distance running, love running, and benefit from running.”

Read more stories about record-breaking athletes in our dedicated Sports and Fitness section!

Huang Zhenglong first started running in 2012, and he quickly rose to fame with his moniker as “China’s Forrest Gump”, in reference to the classic movie character.  

But Long Shao wasn’t running in America – he was taking on the hilly paths around the Shunfeng Mountain Half Marathon course in Shunde, which was just over a 10 km (6.2 mi) route. To achieve his goal, he’d have to run the same path nine times a day, which would be a daunting task for most people. 

And to make sure that Huang Zhenglong would remain healthy on his quest, he was accompanied by a professional nutritionist and medical support team, who monitored his condition and helped him recover each day. 

He told the Chinese news that “I never encourage other people to imitate my challenge, but I hope my story can inspire everyone to overcome laziness and find a suitable way to exercise,” pointing out that this race would be extremely difficult for most people.

In fact – Long Shao himself didn’t even escape from the task unphased, as he battled a foot injury from the 10th day of the challenge, as well as fatigue and boredom from repeating the same course. 

Nevertheless, he was able to power through, and average an impressive rate of a six-minute/km during his 10 hours of daily running. 

When he eventually crossed the finish line on 15 March, Long Shao was surrounded by thousands of enthusiastic supporters who were rightfully emotional that he was able to complete such a task.

As he crossed through the blue tape, the runner dropped to his knees and knelt with gratitude, while the crowd emitted thunderous applause.

Guinness World Records Adjudicator Maggie Luo was present at the event, and said that she could hardly believe what she was witnessing on Long Shao’s GPS data – yet she was able to confirm that he had officially taken the title. 

“Running 100 kilometres every day for 100 consecutive days seemed completely beyond belief based on my knowledge,” she said. “Even when I input the GPS data into AI for analysis, the system concluded that it could not be human running data – because it was thought impossible for a person to run 100 km per day over 100 straight days.

“Yet Long Shao made it happen, with extraordinary endurance and physical strength. He is truly an admirable challenger, and his story will greatly inspire countless people.”

So congratulations to this incredible athlete – Huang Zhenglong, you are Officially Amazing!