‘Run, Forrest, run!’ — or is it Stan and Seb?
STAN COTTRELL and supporter Dan Olsen pose before one of the two RVs that are accompanying the runner as he heads east.
STAN COTTRELL is 78 years young.
What is it with Forrest Gump and running?
In May, our local neighborhoods welcomed not one, but two, self-described Gump-like men who were either embarking upon, or just completing, runs across America (on foot!).
I met the first on a cool morning in the parking lot of our own Pan Pacific Park Recreation Center (exterior architecture modeled after the late, lamented Pan Pacific Auditorium of the Auto Shows of my youth).
Stan Cottrell had gathered with friends and sponsors for the beginning of his 100-day run from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. On foot! And I should mention that he was embarking on this journey on his 78th birthday.
Cottrell, a delightful Southern gentleman, was not confronting the challenges of this supreme athletic effort unknowingly. He has done things like this before.
As reported on the website for this latest undertaking, Cottrell has run “across 40 different countries and has accumulated more than 250,000 miles of running in his 63-year career. That’s more than 10 times around the earth.” Learn more about him, the 2021 Amazing Friendship Run and the nonprofit organization that Cottrell founded in 1983 to use runs like these to build international friendships: facebook.com/AmazingFriendshipRun
Yet another runner
Certainly warranting comparison to the 78-year-old runner who is heading east to Washington, D.C. is 39-year-old Seb Cam, who arrived in Los Angeles in mid-May — after running west across the United States from Miami to Hollywood, basically all alone, for about 600 days.
RUNNER SEB CAM, from England, and his utility belt in San Francisco prior to ending his cross-country run in Los Angeles in May.
Cam describes himself as an “ultra-running fruitarian athlete.” He is notable for the clear contrast he presents to 78-year-old Cottrell’s entourage that includes two RVs and medical and other support staff. Cam has only a utility belt that carries everything he says he needs!
What a difference 40 years can make!
Cam left his native England in 2019, arriving in Miami. He has been
THE REAL FORREST GUMP (actor Tom Hanks, of course) ran back and forth across America in the 1994 movie from Paramount Pictures.
running ever since, and he says his goal is to run around the world. After enjoying his U.S. visa a bit more by staying with friends in Los Angeles, Cam says his next target may be “Down Under” — possibly Australia or New Zealand. Whether he succeeds in his ‘round-the-world quest will be interesting to learn, but I can attest that he is a very interesting conversationalist. Cam also has managed to generate sufficient publicity, together with the unexpected kindness of strangers, to support him in his quest. He also provides frequent updates about his activities on YouTube channel youtube.com/SebCam.
So … “Run, Stan, Run!” And “Run, Seb, Run!”
Category: Entertainment
