Man to traverse Silk Road on foot

More than 40 pairs of running shoes, five oranges, boxes of peanut brittle and his legs were all Kai Markus Xiong from Germany packed for his super marathon that started on Sunday.

Xiong, 44, began his journey at Hamburg's landmark concert hall - the Elbphilharmonie - by the Elbe River, and he plans to finish his trip in Shanghai.

Xiong described his adventure as "a bit crazy". Over about eight months, the running enthusiast will travel along the historic Silk Road, a journey of about 12,000 kilometers, on foot, taking an estimated 18.5 million steps.