Frenchman Serge Girard on Tuesday completed an epic 260-day run from Paris to Tokyo, making him the sole runner to have raced the distance across all continents. The 52-year-old insurance worker also breaks the previous world record of the longest journey without a full day of rest.

Girard was greeted by a small crowd and his three children, when he arrived at a hotel in Tokyo. He ran about 45 miles a day, guided by satellite through the Global Positioning System, to complete the 11,840 miles journey in over eight months. Girard set off his marathon from Paris on December 18.

"This is a great joy. This incredible feat was accomplished with a team. It wasn't just me," tanned, tired but an otherwise fit Girard told reporters.

"There is a certain feeling of sadness as it's true that this was a fabulous adventure that comes to a close," he added.

The previous world record for longest journey without resting was held by the Australian Gary Parson who ran around his own country for 11,799 miles for 276 days.

Girard ran through 19 countries - France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Croatia, Bosnia, Slovenia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Albania, Greece, Turkey, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, China and finally Japan.