You know what’s common between Forrest Gump and his real-life version, Rob Pope? You guessed it: both of them like running a lot.
He might belong to Liverpool and not to Greenbow Alabama, but Rob Pope – a.k.a. the real-life Forrest Gump – has everything else in common with his Hollywood counterpart.
We came to know about Rob Pope after he decided to run in the London Marathon, an annual event in which runners partake to raise funds for their favorite charities. While he was doing that, Rob did something special which attracted our attention; he ran the race dressed as Forrest Gump.
Ahead of running in the marathon,  Rob – with a huge Forrest Gump style beard – tweeted: “Never ever ever stop!!! More carbs! So hyperactive!!”
With no disrespect to London Marathon, it is actually a jog for Rob, and a light one at that given what he has been doing of late. For instance, it was only a few months ago that Rob completed the route which Forrest Gump was shown taking on during the movie. It means that he ran more than 15,000 miles.
Here's @runroblarun crossing the finish line at #LondonMararthon today, achieving a new record for the fastest marathon in a film character costume – Forrest Gump – 2:36:28 https://t.co/1PvyzUqgN3
— Guinness World Records (@GWR) April 22, 2018
In fact, at the cost of sounding too technical, we have to say that he ran 15,348 miles, for it seemed wrong to us to rob someone of their 348 miles. After all, it is still a considerable running distance.
What’s more, it took Rob 13 months – or 409 days to be precise – to run a distance which is equivalent to 509 London marathons. And in case you are wondering, he is the first person who has taken on the route and went on to complete it.
That he spends a good portion of his life on the road doesn’t mean that Rob doesn’t have a day job, for he works as a veterinarian whenever he isn’t running, which means not most of the time.
Judging by the days he remains away from the office, it seems to us that even his employers are fans of Rob who wanted to see him fulfilling his life’s dream. Otherwise, which employer in their right mind gives their workers a 1-year leave?
As you might expect, his journey – or whatever you call it – wasn’t void of injuries. Rob says that he suffered from exhaustion, Achilles tendon infection and muscular tears.
Add food poisoning to the list, which Rob claims he suffered during his journey, and Rob’s efforts earn him the title of the real-life Forrest Gump.
