The story of Forrest Gump seems to be playing out in real life in a fishing village in Zhejiang Province. Chen Penbin, a young Chinese man from the village, has now completed ultra marathons (超级马拉松) on all seven continents and won a gold medal in the Antarctic Ice Marathon.
This 36-year-old with only a primary school education is the character in the real-life legend of his transformation (转变) from a fisherman to an extreme marathon athlete.
Chen was born on an isolated island where villagers only connection with the external world was the town on the opposite bank. Understanding his destiny, Chen joined his brother in the fishing boat when he was 13.
After having worked nine years as a fisherman, Chen lost interest in the job and sold his boat despite strong opposition from his father. Chen sought another job in a factory and developed the hobby of jogging between his home and the factory, a 10-kilometer round trip, every day.
Many a time, this lone shirtless runner on the road drew looks of surprise from passers-by who thought Chen must be “mad.” However, Chen believed he had a special talent for running.
“I called some companies more than 100 times to see if any of them could sponsor (赞助) me, but not a single company was even willing to think about it,” Chen recalled. However, his persistence (毅力) eventually paid off when the boss of Supor, one of the biggest cookware (厨房用具) suppliers in China, heard his story and supported Chen’s participation in contests and helped him for all his costs. Therefore, whenever he appears in contests these days, he sticks a Supor label next to his official sponsors logos on his sportswear.
The Antarctic Ice Marathon, which drew only six competitors this year, is one of the hardest races Chen has ever run. With temperatures slipping below negative 30 degrees Celsius, the athletes were freezing as they raced to their destination. However, despite the severe weather conditions, Chen persisted, finishing the race in 13 hours, 57minutes and 46 seconds, taking first place. He met an amazing life goal by completing ultra marathons on seven continents in the span of four years and five months.