Catching up with Montrealer running barefoot to South America

Joseph Michael Liu has already run from Montreal to Atlanta, but his trip has barely begun.

Liu has been averaging 250K per week since he began his 19,000K journey from Montreal to Ushuaia, Argentina, the most southern city on Earth. He’s even doing the entire journey barefoot.

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“I want to learn to put myself through these situations and push myself to the limit,” said Liu about his decision to run the distance of the North and South American continents. “I want to forge my spirit and acquire virtue. I want to do something that will transcend my life.”

The Concordia University grad will pass through 14 countries and is raising money for children’s education. He has teamed up with different charities in each country.

The runner recently passed through Atlanta and is on his way to New Orleans, where he’ll be in about two weeks. While in Atlanta Liu raced a half-marathon to top off the first 1000 miles, finishing in 1:34.

He hopes to spend the holidays with family.

“It will take another month to get to Houston and then another few days to get to the border [of Mexico],” said Liu. “So I will be in Mexico around Christmas and I have family there, In Houston and Mexico.”