From Beijing to London: British athlete's longest run home

British endurance athlete Jack Jarvis was sitting in a pub in Hackney, London, three years ago, recovering from major knee surgery.

His leg was still bandaged and braced after a skydiving accident that left him with a torn MCL and PCL, as well as partial tears to his ACL and meniscus. He had already spent months thinking about getting back to the things he loved: pushing himself, testing his limits and taking on challenges that seemed slightly beyond reach.

Jack was no newcomer to endurance. In 2022, he became the first person to row solo and non-stop from mainland Europe to North America, spending 111 days at sea and covering 3,601 nautical miles.

But sitting in that pub, his next challenge was still only an idea.

"Once I've completed my rehab, I'm going to run from Beijing to London," he told his friend George.

The idea came from seeing someone cycle from Bristol to Beijing. Jack wondered why he couldn't do the journey in reverse, finishing on home soil.

George didn't think he had much chance of pulling it off. But he made him a deal: if Jack could get himself to the start line, his company FourFive would sponsor him.

Three years later, on July 20, 2026, Jack was standing at Tiananmen Square in Beijing.

Ready to run home.

The idea becomes a reality

The plan is simple, at least on paper: run approximately 13,000 kilometers from Tiananmen Square to Trafalgar Square in London, across 18 countries and in roughly 10 months.

Jack is aiming to cover around 50 kilometers a day, with limited to zero rest days. That is the equivalent of more than 300 marathons in consecutive days. His support crew travels alongside him in a specially equipped Ford Transit, which serves as a mobile base for food, fuel, equipment, recovery and logistics.

Three people joined him for his first 10 kilometers out of Beijing.

"At first, it distracted me from how big it actually was," he said during an interview with CGTN. "There was a bit of relief that after 18 months of planning I was finally on my way."

By the second and third days, that feeling had changed.

"I realized just how massive it was going to be."

The early days have already tested the plan. Jack dealt with being robbed, mechanical problems with the support van, visa complications and route issues. By day 10, he had run 572 kilometers and reached Hohhot in Inner Mongolia. The setbacks pushed his required daily average closer to 60 kilometers.

Then the support van's propshaft broke.

For an expedition that relies on the vehicle for food, equipment, logistics and recovery, the problem could have threatened the journey.

Instead, the kilometers kept accumulating.

Now, more than 2,500 kilometers into the China leg, Jack and his team, including his videographer and driver Tommy Denny, are heading into a very different stage of the journey.

Seeing China at running pace

At running pace, the scale of China becomes difficult to ignore.

"When you have run 500 kilometers and you're not even a fifth of the way across, you realize how massive China is," he said.

At running pace, the landscape changes slowly enough to be experienced rather than simply passed through.

He has run through the forests around the Great Wall, across the grasslands of Inner Mongolia and into the deserts of Gansu.

"The deserts in Gansu looked like the set of a Star Wars movie," Jack adds.

The Great Wall was another highlight, a childhood dream realized.

"I'd always wanted to go to the Great Wall," he said.

But some of the most memorable moments have happened away from the landmarks.

Jack says Chinese people have been "really friendly," often offering him water, fruit and snacks, and sometimes even rides.

"99% of the time they tell me and Tommy we are the first Westerners they have ever seen."

Running through a country rather than traveling through it creates a different relationship with distance. There is time to notice roadside stops, villages, changing landscapes and people who might otherwise remain strangers.

The long days also mean food has become an important part of life on the road.

Jack estimates he is burning around 5,000 calories a day and says he has loved the food along the route.

"I love Chinese food," he said, often leaving his Chinese guide to make the recommendations.

His favorites so far are Peking duck and sweet-and-sour pork.

Life on the road

The days begin long before most people are awake.

Jack gets up at around 4 a.m. and aims to start running at approximately 4:30 a.m. or 4:45 a.m. He runs around 20 kilometers before meeting Tommy at the support van.

He refills his bottles, takes what he needs and heads out again. Another 10 kilometers later, the van appears.

The cycle continues throughout the morning.

"After about 6.5 hours, I've usually done around 57 kilometers," he said.

Then come washing, eating, recovery and rest before starting again.

Tommy's role extends well beyond filming. He is also responsible for ground logistics, food and fuel, working from the specially equipped van that serves as the team's mobile base. 

The scale of the challenge makes even the mundane parts of the journey significant.

Jack is also documenting the journey as he goes, sharing the experience on Instagram and YouTube, from the running itself to the landscapes, setbacks and practical realities of life on the road.

A broken vehicle can affect a day's running. A visa problem can alter the route. Food has to be planned around thousands of calories burned each day. And after running more than a marathon before most people have finished breakfast, there is still another day to come.

Now, however, the routine is about to change.

In the next few days, he and his team plan to leave the roads behind and spend about a week going off-grid as he runs deeper into Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

For the first time, the support operation will look less like life around a roadside hotel and more like an expedition.

The team plans to camp among the scenery rather than spend nights in what Jack jokingly describes as "bloody hotel car parks."

He also sees the break from connectivity as an opportunity to step away from the constant stream of phones and the internet.

"Some time to put the phones down, shut out the internet, and get a good dopamine detox," he wrote in his latest update.

After thousands of kilometers on truck roads, it will be another way of experiencing China: fewer vehicles, fewer conveniences and a week surrounded by the landscape.

The long road home

China is only the first major section of the journey.

After reaching the Kazakhstan border, Jack will continue through Central Asia before crossing the Caucasus and Türkiye on his way to London. The conditions will change dramatically. He expects the Kazakhstan desert to be particularly difficult in winter, with temperatures potentially reaching minus 20 degrees Celsius, while Kyrgyzstan is one of the places he is most excited to experience. 

But he says he wants to resist thinking too far ahead.

"I want to be present and enjoy every country," he said. "Before I know it I'll be back in London."

The run is also deeply personal. Jack is running in memory of his grandfather, who died from a brain tumor in 2007, and is raising money for brainstrust, a UK charity supporting people affected by brain tumors.

When the running gets difficult, he thinks about his grandfather.

"He didn't moan or feel sorry for himself," Jack said. "Compared to what he went through, running 50 kilometers a day is easy."

His approach to the challenge is summed up in another line: "If it was easy, everyone would do it."

There is still an extraordinary distance between China and London.

But every morning, before most of the world has started its day, Jack is out running it.

Editor's Note: Denique Daniëls is a multimedia editor for CGTN Digital. This article is part of China in Motion, a recurring column that explores contemporary Chinese life through movement – from running and walking to the design of public space, health culture and community. By observing cities at a human pace, the series captures how ordinary routines shape the experience of life in China.