Chinese man completes ‘Gump-like’ run

Reminiscent of a move by the title character in the 1994 Oscar winning film "Forrest Gump," Su Dengliang has completed a massive run over the course of 71 days across a good portion of China.

29-year-old Su Dengliang starts his 3,082-km journey from Tianjin to Guizhou on November 5, 2017. [Photo provided by Su Dengliang to ifeng.com]

Five years after graduating from Tianjin Agricultural University in 2012, the 29-year-old decided to fulfill a dream he had during his college years.

So on November 5, 2017, he took off on an over 2-month run from his alma mater on a 3,082-km journey to his home town.

An undated photo shows Su Dengliang on his over 3,000 kilometer run. [Photo provided by Su Dengliang to ifeng.com]

Su Dengliang was the founder of TAU's athletics association. He broke a 3,000-meter university record during his time there, and has also participated in around 70 marathons over the past seven years.

Su says he came up with the idea of running home when he was a college student. However, factors at that time prevented him from doing so. Five years later, he decided to make his dreams come true.

An undated photo shows Su Dengliang (left) meets a 61-year-old like-minded man on his massive run. [Photo provided by Su Dengliang to ifeng.com]

His massive trip across China included average daily runs of between 40 to 60 kilometers, passing through 7 provinces in total.

And much like the scenes in "Forrest Gump," the arrival of Su Dengliang in new communities would see many people join in on a part of his run.

An undated photo shows Su Dengliang (center) with other running enthusiasts in the city of Miluo, Hunan Province. [Photo provided by Su Dengliang to ifeng.com]

Su Dengliang successfully arrived in Ceheng County in Guizhou on January 14, 2018.

"I want to express my love to my university and hometown through my legs and my persistence," said Su.