A British man stepped into the shoes of Tom Hanks fictional character from his 1994 Hollywood blockbuster Forrest Gump. The man, identified as Rob Pope, became the first person ever to take the same route as Gump. It was back in 2016, when Pope who was 39 at the time, set off from Mobile, Alabama. The runner hailing from Liverpool ended up marking the milestone of more than 15,000 miles and his story instantly became viral on social media.
According to a report by New York Post, Rob Pope spent more than 19 months running across the country before he finished the humungous feat in the month of May. Running approximately 37 miles a day, Rob completed 15,607 miles within a span of 422 days which culminated in 24 million steps. Rob is an athlete who ran marathons in Boston, London, Brighton, and even Manchester before deciding to try the Forrest Gump run. He used up 33 pairs of running shoes to complete the milestone.
During the 2018 London Marathon, the athlete dressed as Tom Hanks character also achieved the world record for being the fastest runner wearing the costume of a film character. He completed the marathon within approximately 2 hours and 36 minutes. Rob did not just run for running’s sake. By doing so he has also been supporting charities and raising money including the London-based Peace Direct and WWF(World Wide Fund for Nature).
After finishing the US marathon in 2018, the first thing that Rob did was propose to his girlfriend Nadine. He shared a video of the proposal on Facebook and stated, “So, you thought the last post was the big finish… Not quite! I couldn’t have done this run without the help of a lot of people, but no one has been there for me more than this one. I may not be a smart man, but I do know what love is! Fortunately, Nads does too and she said yes! I’m the happiest guy alive. Now if you’re the romantic type, I’m sure you can show your approval by donating to my two wonderful charities.”
Nadine met Rob at the finish line of the marathon with their infant daughter Bee in tow.
Forrest Gump, directed by Robert Zemeckis, is one of the most iconic films ever made. The film won five Oscars, including the Best Director, Best Film and a second Best Actor trophy for Tom Hanks. Forrest Gump recently got an Indian version in Aamir Khan’s Laal Singh Chaddha.
Read all the Latest Buzz News here