Man on final leg of worldwide run

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Jan. 18 (UPI) -- A Danish man on a mission to run across the world said in Florida he is only 3,284 miles from finishing his 24,854-mile journey in Canada.

Jesper Olsen, 40, who is running this week along U.S. 1 in Florida in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, said his four-year trek, which he calls World Run II, has taken him running through Siberia, the Sahara, the Arctic Circle, Egypt, the Andes Mountains and hundreds of other locations, The Miami Herald reported Wednesday.

Olsen said he is planning to complete his run July 1, exactly four years after the start of his run, in Newfoundland.

"One lap around the world, it's the biggest challenge you can give yourself as a long-distance runner," Olsen said Tuesday in Fort Lauderdale.

Olsen has been chronicling his adventure on his Web site, worldrun.org.