Two paralyzed men to walk record marathon aided by robotics

Two physically challenged men with wearable robotic equipment will walk a marathon in 11 days starting from the Kezilesu Kirghiz autonomous prefecture of Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and ending in Nanjing of Jiangsu province on Nov 25.

The two men, Li Tao and Shao Haipeng, have suffered from paralysis for months. They planned to walk 42.195 kilometers at key spots along the journey, including the ancient city of Kashgar, the Terracotta Warriors in Xi’an and the Temple of Heaven in Beijing.

Li, 40, was diagnosed with myelitis and became paralyzed from the waist down in 2016. Shao, 28, injured his spinal cord from a falling accident in 2017 and could not stand or walk since then.

The two men started their marathon on Saturday morning at Kashgar and will finish the journey at the destination of the Nanjing Olympic Sports Center. They will apply for a Guinness World Record with a notary public witnessing the whole process.

“Some people have called us ‘iron men’ when they saw us in wearable robotic equipment,” said Shao. “People here in Xinjiang are very passionate and friendly. Strangers we met often cheered us up.”

“In Kashgar’s ancient city, some children picked wild flowers on the roadside and showed us the way. They are like angels. They made me extremely happy.”

Li said that though it is difficult for him to walk a small step, he has the confidence to complete the marathon and realize his dream.

“We walk the marathon to encourage more disabled people like us,” said Li. “We hope that they can pull together and return to society.”

The two walked 6 kilometers at the ancient city of Kashgar on Saturday, before they flew to Xi’an for the next stop.

Their wearable robotic equipment -- designed by a rehabilitation robotics company in Beijing, Beihang University and Jiangsu Province Hospital -- is China’s first exoskeleton robotic equipment certified by the China Food and Drug Administration.