Girl, 8, ends run at flag ceremony
Junk food and toys were on the mind of young ultra-marathon runner Zhang Huimin after the eight-year-old's controversial 4000km running odyssey ended yesterday in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.
Her nationalist-minded father, Zhang Jianmin, had planned her arrival to coincide with the dawn raising of the national flag - the completion of her ultra-marathon paying tribute to the Olympics and the 'motherland'.
But Huimin, in an orange running suit with stickers front and back promoting the Olympics and 'national honour', had different priorities once the flag was flying high.
'I would like to have some KFC!' she pleaded with her father as soon the strains of the national anthem had faded.
She showed no sign of tiredness after completing the final 6km of her run.
The short trip through the capital was a piece of cake compared to the 60km daily average she maintained on the astonishing tour, which started from her hometown in Hainan on July 3.
But the emotions surrounding her run did not impress her as much as the knick-knacks she came across near Tiananmen Square.
At her persistent pleading, Mr Zhang agreed to buy her a couple of coloured balls that had caught her attention.
'I'm usually against material incentive,' Mr Zhang said. 'But it is quite a special moment today.'
This run drew a fierce backlash from experts questioning the possible health effects on Huimin.
