Japanese comedian winds up his 'Earth Marathon'
(AFP) – 6 hours ago[/align]
TOKYO — After sailing and running around the planet for the past two years, Japanese comedian Kanpei Hazama, 61, crossed the finish line Friday night, joking: "I'm fed up with running." Thousands of well-wishers greeted the television personality at Osaka Castle Park in western Japan, where he began his 41,000-kilometre (25,420-mile) "Earth Marathon" in December 2008.
"I'm home now!" Hazama, wearing a black running suit and sunglasses, yelled to his fans and his fellow comedians, 17 days after he landed in Japan after sailing from China to southwestern Fukuoka harbour. Osaka Mayor Kunio Hiramatsu welcomed Hazama at the park and asked him to take part in this year's Osaka Marathon, but Hazama turned down the offer, insisting he was "fed up with running."
The comedian began his trip by sailing eastwards across the Pacific, then running across North America, sailing across the Atlantic, and putting on his running shoes again to traverse the Eurasian continent. A year ago in Turkey he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, forcing him to temporarily suspend the journey, but after receiving medical treatment in the United States, he was back on the road again in June.
-------------
