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BHUBANESWAR, India -- Cheered by thousands, a 4-year-old boy dubbed "India's Forrest Gump" ran 40 miles to enter the country's foremost record book.

"I loved running today. I can run as much as I want," Budhia Singh told reporters Tuesday after the run. Then he sucked his thumb.

Budhia had planned to run 43 miles, but doctors stopped him after 40 miles when he showed signs of extreme exhaustion. His coach, Biranchi Das, said he completed the distance in seven hours and two minutes without a break, a record for someone so young.

Officials of Limca Book of Records, India's best-known record book, witnessed the run and said it would be included in its 2007 edition, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.

Budhia's father has died and his mother, unable to support him, was about to sell him to another villager two years ago when he was rescued by the coach.

The coach had earlier seen Budhia's talent when the boy accidentally entered a sports ground without permission. He ran laps as punishment. When the coach returned five hours later, the boy was still running.

Budhia has gained swift popularity in India. He is being likened by the Indian media to Forrest Gump, the fictional book and movie character who is ridiculed by peers for using leg braces, but overcomes his disability when he discovers that he can "run like the wind blows."

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