Remember the story a couple of weeks ago about Isle of Wight runner, Paul Wheeler, preparing for the last day of his mammoth 3,000 mile run across North America?
Well, Paul finished his run from San Francisco to New York on Friday, 22nd September 2017.
The 35 year old set off across the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco on 1st June after deciding to run across the USA to New York within four months. Paul finished the equivalent to 115 back-to-back marathons over a week ahead of schedule.
British Army veteran
As reported, Paul undertook the personal challenge of running crossing the USA, “to see what I’m made of,” and to raise awareness and money for The Royal British Legion, a charity that is close to his heart, as a 12-year British Army veteran.
Pushing all his equipment (camping gear, food, water) in a stroller named “Wheelson” (a nod to Tom Hanks’ inanimate companion in “Castaway”) Paul has run an average of 27 miles per day, with one rest day per week, and mainly camped along the way, or been hosted by generous strangers.
Staying sane a bigger challenge
According to fellow cross-country runner, Jim McCord, who completed his run in 2002,
“Thousands more people have climbed Mt. Everest than have run across the country. The physical part isn’t the biggest hurdle – the challenge is keeping your sanity while you’re doing it.”
Paul said,
“Seeing America, literally on foot, and meeting so many amazing and generous people has helped make this the most incredible experience. Wonderful people have reached out and helped a complete stranger along the way, for no other reason than they wanted to help.
“From those who let me sleep in their guest room or shared a meal – to the Iowa Police who found me sleeping rough, and put me up in a motel room – I am blown away by America’s generosity.”
Following completion of the challenge, Paul spent time in New York and Philadelphia before flying to Ohio and then back to San Francisco.
If you would like to support Paul, you can donate via Just Giving or Go Fund Me.
For further updates or to read the background, head over to Paul’s Run Across America Website.
Image: © Paul Wheeler
