Real-life Forrest Gump is halfway across U.S.
Barclay Oudersluys, a Birmingham native, recently hit the halfway mark in his efforts to run 3,200 miles from California's Santa Monica Yacht Harbor and Pier to the Marshall Point Lighthouse in Maine.
It was July 6, 1994, that Forrest Gump first premiered on the big screen.
Twenty years later, Barclay Oudersluys is carving his own path. The 23-year-old Birmingham native recently hit the halfway mark in his efforts to run 3,200 miles from California's Santa Monica Yacht Harbor and Pier to the Marshall Point Lighthouse in Maine.
It's essentially the same route Forrest Gump ran in the movie.
Oudersluys is a huge fan of the movie, which is the main reason behind the run. He's also raising money for the Hall STEPS Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 2009 by distance runners Ryan and Sara Hall to fight global poverty by improving health.
He started out May 9 and his goal is to complete the trip in 100 days. He spent the Fourth of July weekend in Illinois. If everything goes right, Oudersluys should reach Maine sometime in the middle of August.
Question: How many days on the road so far?
Oudersluys: Today was day number 60.
Oudersluys: I'd guess right around 1,900 miles, but I haven't been keeping track of that too closely.
Q: Are you still averaging 30 miles a day?
Oudersluys: Yep, still right around 31.
Q: What's been the wackiest day to date?
Oudersluys: Probably the day, I think it was the last one in Kansas, when it stormed all morning. I'm running through the rain and there's lightning striking fields around me and 40 m.p.h. winds blowing rain into my back. And then later in the day, the rain had stopped but some roads were still flooded and I had to cross one 20-foot section that was under a foot of water.
Q: What was the most unusual site you've seen out there?
Oudersluys: It's hard to remember all the way back to the beginning. Maybe some zebras out in Colorado?
Q: In the spirit of Twitter, can you name off all the states you crossed through and describe each one in 140 characters or less?
• California – hot, dry, lots of people.
• Nevada – I was there for about 10 miles so I don't have much of an opinion.
• Arizona – surprisingly cold and I started getting up in elevation here.
• New Mexico – I spent even less time here than in Nevada.
• Colorado – you're either in the mountains or in farmland.
• Kansas – flat, hot, lots of flies, no people.
• Missouri – lots of trees and some nice trails.
• Illinois – nothing but Abe Lincoln and flooded cornfields.
Q: Has anyone joined you on the run?
Oudersluys: Yeah, I've had a couple of friends who've joined me for stretches in different states. Just drive out and run with me for a couple days.
Q: Has Tom Hanks reached out to you?
Oudersluys: Nah, I haven't heard from him yet.
Q: Have you been chased by a dog or a bear?
Oudersluys: I've had lots of dogs, but no bears. You learn how to handle them pretty quickly.
Q: Are you still on schedule?
Oudersluys: Yep, still on schedule and hoping to finish on time.
Hometown Life reporter Jay Grossman can be reached at: jgrossman@hometownlife.com, 586-826-7030 or on Twitter: @BhmEccentric.