Robert Pope (runner)
{{Short description|British distance runner and philanthropist}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
Robert Pope (born 1978) is a British veterinarian, athlete, author and charity fundraiser. He is an elite distance runner, with a number of successes at the marathon and ultramarathon distances. In 2016 he began a 422-day, 15,700-mile run comprising more than 4 complete crossings of the United States, and became the first person to trace the route run by Tom Hanks' fictional character in the film Forrest Gump. He has raised approaching £100,000 for the charities Peace Direct and the World Wildlife Fund.
Early life and education
Pope was born and grew up in Croxteth, Liverpool.{{Cite web|url=http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/watch-croxteth-vets-story-starts-11892714|title=Watch Croxteth vet's story as he starts Forrest Gump run across America|last=Fitzsimmons|first=Francesca|date=2016-09-17|website=liverpoolecho|access-date=2019-10-16}} He attended St. Edward's College, Liverpool. From 1996 to 2010 he attended the Royal Veterinary College, London, gaining a BVetMed(Hons.), a BScVetPath(Hons.) and finally a PhD in Veterinary Medicine.{{Cite web|url=https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-pope-82b814132/?originalSubdomain=uk|title=Robert Pope, LinkedIn|last=|first=|date=|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}} He has since worked as an emergency veterinarian.
Competitive running career
At age 37, Pope became the Australian Marathon Champion at the 2015 Australian Athletics Championships{{Cite web|url=https://www.westernathletics.com.au/news/316-rob-pope-australian-marathon-champion|title=Rob Pope Australian Marathon Champion|last=Mudie|first=Ben|website=Western Athletics|date=9 October 2015 |language=en-gb|access-date=2019-10-16}} with a time of 2:29:59.{{Cite web|url=https://www.starweekly.com.au/sports/werribees-unexpected-marathon-champ/|title=Werribee's 'unexpected' marathon champ|date=2015-09-29|website=Star Weekly|access-date=2019-10-16}} He subsequently won the Liverpool Rock'n'Roll Marathon in both 2015 and 2016, the latter with a personal best time of 2:27:13.{{Cite web|url=http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/thousands-run-sun-liverpool-rocknroll-11400820|title=Thousands run in the sun for Liverpool Rock'n'Roll Marathon|last=McHale|first=Kirsty|date=2016-05-29|website=liverpoolecho|access-date=2019-10-16}}{{Cite web|url=https://liverpoolexpress.co.uk/liverpudlian-celebrates-birthday-by-winning-rock-n-roll-marathon/|title=Liverpudlian Celebrates Birthday by Winning Rock 'n' Roll Marathon|date=2015-06-15|website=Liverpool Express|language=en-US|access-date=2019-10-16}} Pope holds the Guinness World Record for the fastest marathon dressed as a film character, set for running the 2018 London Marathon in a time of 2:36:28 (finishing 82 overall) while dressed as Forrest Gump.{{Cite web|url=https://www.letsrun.com/news/2018/04/meet-real-life-forrest-gump-rob-pope-nearly-completed-gumps-epic-quest-five-run-across-america/|title=This Guy Has Nearly Completed Forrest Gump's Five Runs Across America|date=2018-04-22|website=LetsRun.com|access-date=2019-10-16}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.indy100.com/article/forrest-gump-rob-pope-broke-london-marathon-run-world-record-charity-film-tom-hanks-8316946|title=A man dressed as Forrest Gump just broke a London Marathon record|date=2018-04-22|website=indy100|language=en|access-date=2019-10-16}}
In 2019, Pope competed in the 6-day Marathon des Sables ultramarathon, covering 156 miles (250 km) across the Sahara Desert while carrying all food. He finished 14th overall.{{Cite web|url=https://www.marathondessables.com/en/rankings/ranking-edition-2019|title=Ranking edition 2019 {{!}} MARATHON DES SABLES|website=www.marathondessables.com|access-date=2019-10-16}}
"Forrest Gump" run and charity fundraising
In 2016, Pope quit his job as an emergency veterinarian and began his Forrest Gump run which would see him run across the United States of America more than four complete times, in a bid to recreate the 15,300-mile route run by Tom Hanks' fictional character.{{Cite web|url=http://goingthedistancerun.com/|title=Going the Distance|website=Going the Distance|language=en-US|access-date=2019-10-16}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/article/e3f34651-212c-40d0-a210-5bf8a694eaaf|title=Meet the real-life Forrest Gump who 'just felt like running'|last=White|first=Catriona|date=2017-04-21|website=BBC Three|language=en-GB|access-date=2019-10-16}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-merseyside-43517715|title=Runner beats epic Forrest Gump 'record'|date=2018-03-23|access-date=2019-10-16|language=en-GB}} On May 11, 2018, after 422 days of running, he became the first person to complete this route, as well as the first person to cross the US four times on foot.{{Cite web|url=https://metro.co.uk/2018/05/24/british-man-runs-15000-miles-across-us-recreate-forrest-gumps-route-7573663/|title=British man runs 15,000 miles across the US to recreate Forrest Gump's route|date=2018-05-24|website=Metro|language=en|access-date=2019-10-16}} Pope is estimated to have run 15,607 miles (approximately 600 marathons), made more than 24 million total steps and averaged 37 miles a day.{{Cite web|url=https://www.today.com/health/real-life-forrest-gump-re-creates-film-s-epic-run-t126199|title=Real-life Forrest Gump re-creates the character's epic run across America|website=TODAY.com|date=30 March 2018 |language=en|access-date=2019-10-16}} Included in these totals are the New York, Boston,{{Cite web|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/specials/boston-marathon/2017/04/17/forrest-gump-successfully-runs-boston-marathon/hp7wqsZXFpNYtD93rHRvHK/story.html|title='Forrest Gump' successfully runs the Boston Marathon — with a beer - The Boston Globe|website=BostonGlobe.com|language=en-US|access-date=2019-10-16}} Manchester, Brighton{{Cite web|url=http://www.brightonmarathonweekend.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/BMW_Event-Programme_2019-1-1.pdf|title=Brighton Marathon Programme 2019|last=|first=|date=|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}} and London marathons, completed during various breaks within the 422-day period. His first act on completion of his run was to propose to his girlfriend, Nadine Strawbridge,{{Cite web|url=https://www.al.com/news/2018/05/man_dressed_as_forrest_gump_pr.html|title=Man dressed as Forrest Gump proposes to girlfriend after recreating run across U.S.|date=2018-05-15|website=al|language=en|access-date=2019-10-18}} who was waiting with their newborn daughter, Bee.
Pope sought sponsorship for the Forrest Gump run, raising nearly £38,000 for the charities Peace Direct and the World Wildlife Fund.{{Cite web|url=https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-display/showROFundraiserPage?userUrl=goingthedistancerun&pageUrl=2|title=Robert Pope Going The Distance Fundraising Page|website=uk.virginmoneygiving.com|access-date=2019-10-16}} In recognition of his charitable efforts, Pope attended Prince Charles' 70th birthday celebrations.{{Cite web|url=https://www.heart.co.uk/lifestyle/real-life-forest-gump-run-15000-miles-across-us/|title=Real-life Forrest Gump recreates the movie by running 15,000 miles across the US|website=Heart|language=en|access-date=2019-10-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180528165205/http://www.heart.co.uk/lifestyle/real-life-forest-gump-run-15000-miles-across-us/ |archive-date=2018-05-28}}
Pope's self-penned book recounting of his American run, "Becoming Forrest: One Man's Epic Run Across America", was published by Harper Collins in 2021.{{Cite book |last=Pope |first=Rob |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IZgfzgEACAAJ |title=Becoming Forrest: One Man's Epic Run Across America |date=2021-10-14 |publisher=HarperCollins Publishers |isbn=978-0-00-847251-1 |language=en}}