I had the opportunity to have dinner in our little
town of Tremonton with the real life Forrest Gump. 70-year-old Bjorn Suneson is
running across America for the sixth time. His run began at the Boston Marathon
(where he placed fourth in his age group) on April 16th and he has
continued running West since. On June 30th, Day 75 of his journey,
he stopped in Tremonton to sleep at the Marble motel and then headed out again
the next morning to run 39 miles to Snowville.
Bjorn is running across America in 100 days.
This isn’t the first time I’ve heard of Bjorn
Suneson. My parents actually met him on his fourth cross-country run in 2014.
My mom saw him running with his stroller (he uses it to carry all of his
supplies) in Deweyville one morning and later the same day saw him running in
Brigham City. She stopped him to see what was going on and then a friendship
started. My parents have been there for him when he needed some help in Utah
and Wyoming. My parents are big into the running world, so when they see one of
their own in need, they tend to band together.
I
am also very involved in the running world. I’ve run many marathons and have
been employed at many race companies. I’ve met a handful of “famous” runners,
but this is the first person I’ve been able to meet who ran across the country,
and it was everything I had imagined it would be. Bjorn is an inspiring and
humble person. When I asked him why he runs across America, he responded, “I do
it for myself.” He says, “It’s very hard work some days, but I never
have thoughts about quitting.”
He has a wife and five kids back in Sweden who
are incredibly proud of him. Two of his kids are actually going to be in
Newport, Oregon on July 24th when he finishes his run. Bjorn
averages about 32 to 35 miles each day, with 47 miles being the longest run so
far. This is the first time he is running from East to West, rather than West
to East, and he says that the face wind is worse than he thought it would be,
especially in Wyoming. He said it has been so bad that he has had to walk at
times.
Bjorn
prefers to run across the USA because of the support that Americans offer (and
because there are many more motel options than in Europe). He says that every
state has something special about it, but that Utah may be his favorite state
because the people are so helpful. Bjorn mentioned that Utah was one of his
favorite states during a previous endeavor across America. He jokes that
someone must have whispered something into the Utah Governor’s ear, because when
he arrived back in Sweden, he found a big package from the Governor that
included Utah souvenirs and many letters written to him from schoolchildren.
Bjorn is a one-of-a-kind type of
person who makes you feel good about life. He is out there accomplishing his
goals and he has a smile on his face while he’s doing it. He meets people from
all walks of life and he has so many stories to tell. I feel incredibly lucky
to have been able to meet such an amazing and talented man.
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