I figured, since I'd gone this far, I might as well... keep right on going

That day, for no particular reason, I decided to go for a little run. So I ran to the end of the road. And when I got there, I thought maybe I'd run to the end of town. And when I got there, I thought maybe I'd just run across Greenbow County. And I figured, since I run this far, maybe I'd just run across the great state of Alabama. And that's what I did. I ran clear across Alabama. For no particular reason I just kept on going. I ran clear to the ocean. And when I got there, I figured, since I'd gone this far, I might as well turn around, just keep on going. When I got to another ocean, I figured, since I'd gone this far, I might as well just turn back, keep right on going.

(Forest Gump, 1994)

It was lunchtime at work and, as usual, I found myself relaxing in the staff room, eager for some adult company, if only for a short while. Inevitably, as we were sharing what we'd all been up to at the weekend, once the conversation turned to my weekend activities, it also turned to running; because it's January... and that's all I do!

"Are you still running every day in January?" One of my friends questioned.

"Yep," I replied "I've run for 23 days in a row now, although sometimes it's only a mile. I can't quite believe I've done it!"

"You've run some kind of crazy number of miles now haven't you?" Sara offered, "How many is it?"

"112 now, with the 10 miles I did yesterday." I confirmed.

"I wonder how far across the country you'd have got if you'd just kept running that and not stopped..." another friend mused.

"What like Forrest Gump?" someone else suggested; "Oh, yeah, you're Forrest Gump!"

Great.

Forrest Gump? Really? That's who I get compared to... FORREST GUMP?! Well thanks friends!

Anyway, I decided to ignore any of the connotations of 'being' Forrest Gump other than those connected with his ability to run very far, and got to thinking instead about the answer to one of the questions... how far WOULD I have run by now if I'd just kept going.

Unlike Forrest, who was running in the great US of A, the United Kingdom has substantially less land and therefore, at some point, If I 'just kept going' I might have to involve a bit of swimming (either that or I'd be turning around a lot more often than Forrets did).  With that in mind, using RunSaturday, I have plotted where I would currently be, depending on whether I had headed North, East, South or West and this is what could have happened...

North:

Had I set off from Manchester in a northerly direction, I would now be just outside of Carlisle.

This is quite handy as I have a very good friend who lives just near here and I haven't seen her since before Christmas; this was definitely a good decision to make... although those hills were tough and the M6 is quite a dangerous road to run along... I might plot my route a little more carefully before I set off next time!

East:

I would be at the seaside town of Mablethorpe, Lincolnshire. This seems very lovely as I like the sea, I think I would have had some fish and chips by now and maybe a little flutter on the amusements at the fairground; I would definitely be planning to visit the Seal Sanctury tomorrow and possibly pop down the bingo for a short while. However, tomorrow would be a problem, unless I learn to swim! So in hindsight, heading West was a bad idea!

South:



This choice would have me stranded in Great Malvern right now. I say 'stranded' because I don't know anyone at all in these rural parts and as such would be well and truly stranded. Also, the town centre is renowned for its hills... I don't like hills at the best of times, but after 116 miles of running (which include my 4.4 hill session at club today) the last thing I would need to contend with is the 'Malvern Hills'!

So South is out.

West:

West takes me to Wales... well, if you follow the roads, technically I had to head South-West a little but there were less than 60 miles before the sea if I went directly left, and I really can't swim, I would never have made it to Ireland, so Wales seemed like the obvious choice. I like Wales. And look, I would now be just outside the popular tourist resort of Bangor... quality! Right now, I could be relaxing in a static caravan, with my 'kiss-me-quick' hat perched precariously on my head, touching up my orange tan, ready for a fun night out on the tiles (stereotype?!... what stereotype?!).  Unfortunately, I have at least another 25 miles of running planned before the 1st of Feb so that doesn't work because the sea is in the way again... and if I turn around, I have to run back up that enormous mountain that's in the way!!



So, if I was Forrest Gump I would have chosen to run North which means at the end of Janathon, I| think I would be somewhere around the Scottish Borders. Of course, if I was Forrest Gump, I wouldn't stop there... Oh no, I'd keep going... Run Maggie, Run... and that's because Forrest Gump is a driven, determined and positive individual. Yes okay, he was stupid; but the reason it's such a lovely story, and the reason Forrest is such a likeable character, is because his glass is always half full. He sets his mind to something, and he does it.

...Maybe 'being' Forrest Gump isn't so bad after all!

Distance: 4.4 miles - Club run - 4 x Firwood Park hills loop + warm up and cool down.
Weather: cloudy with a chilly breeze
Feeling: okay.
See my run here.