How many mpw did Forrest Gump run when he ran across the USA?

Ugh.

It's not so much the MPW, but the quality that hurt him. I think with more modern training methods-a long tempo run, and one interval session per week, in addition to the big miles he put in running across the US-he might have been able to better compete with the Rogers and Shorters of the 1970s-and maybe the movie would have had some different twists. It would have been interesting to have a scene where he led the Boston Marathon for five or six miles. How many former SEC running backs could do that?

RobinWrightPenn wrote:

How many former SEC running backs could do that?

Bo Knows Marathoning.

Is it just me, or did it look like he was hitting pretty close to 5-minute miles towards the beginning of his run (fully-clothed no less)?

Did the movie actually specify that he ran from the Atlantic Coast the Pacific Coast? I only recall that he ran west from the Atlantic until he hit what he thought to be another ocean. One could do this without crossing the whole country. For example, starting from Alabama he could have drifted south and hit the Gulf Coast before turning around. Heck, you could pretty easily get disoriented and end up running right back to the Atlantic Ocean. The guy was supposed to be a moron, so maybe he just ran in circles for a while and ended up back at the Atlantic.

RobinWrightPenn wrote:

It's not so much the MPW, but the quality that hurt him. I think with more modern training methods-a long tempo run, and one interval session per week, in addition to the big miles he put in running across the US-he might have been able to better compete with the Rogers and Shorters of the 1970s-and maybe the movie would have had some different twists. It would have been interesting to have a scene where he led the Boston Marathon for five or six miles. How many former SEC running backs could do that?

This. Forrest really wasn't in a position to up his mileage so quickly, seeing as he'd spent the majority of his time previously sitting on a lawn mower. He moved far too quickly into T/M-pace intensity.

He ran for 3 years, 2 months, 14 days, and 16 hours.

I think it was implied that he ran ocean-to-ocean. That's roughly 2,800 miles, so you do the math. I'm lazy.

He started in Alabama and ran to the Pacific. Then ran to the Atlantic and then headed back and somewhere in the middle, looks like Montana he called it quits.

I'm sure if you asked him, he'd say: "9,422, plus or minus a few. And that's all I have to say about that."

It's a movie... he did not run anything. The story was not true.

I have 166 weeks in that 3 yrs, 2 months, 4 days line.

Greenbow Alabama doesn't exist, so I'm guessing he starts near Tuscaloosa, goes to San Fransisco, to Myrtle Beach, to Montana.

My maps of his route (only 7,480 miles):

http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=Tuscaloosa,+AL&daddr=San+Francisco,+CA+to:Myrtle+Beach,+SC+to:Montana&hl=en&ll=40.178873,-100.634766&spn=38.571527,51.328125&sll=39.97712,-100.634766&sspn=38.677493,51.328125&geocode=FfG9-gEd68zH-ilnQMKRLq-IiDFYK4kW_furrA%3BFVJmQAIdKAe0-CkhAGkAbZqFgDH_rXbwZxNQSg%3BFeQNAgId2khM-ykBIVU7lWgAiTEYltC1FbEPvA%3BFcJTywIdOgBs-SnTinstnCtBUzEYbCrPWNZx9Q&oq=tusca&dirflg=w&mra=ls&t=m&z=4

It's only 45 miles a week. He had plenty of time to sight see along the way. No need for him to look that ragged.

Forget this Forest Gump dude.

Billy Joe and Bobby Sue have been running since 1976 and they're still running today. Not only that, but they got the money too.

T.C. wrote:

It's a movie... he did not run anything. The story was not true.

Darn you! Darn you to HECK!!!

It's been a while since I've watched the movie, but didn't it show him running to the Santa Monica Pier in CA? And then the Portland Lightouse in Maine? And then running through Glacier National Park on Going to the Sun Hwy? And didn't he stop running in Valley of the Monuments in Northern Arizona?

When running across America, he ran far and wide. His abilities were underestimated. He was one of the greatest distance runners of all time, but did not care for the fame or fortune. His unique story should hit home with all of us. It is not about the miles or the pace, it is about the story behind the run and the pure passion for the run itself - nothing more, nothing less.

someone made a map of his run:

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR73VUlNjWzg16xlR45Iz0l5LZkyge0BlLruiUNqPACLfXncC71Olq9LS4K

forrest gump

I think Ventolin needs to tell us what his marathon potential was.

Okay, so this can be figured out... Most of you didn't pay very close attention to the scene (with the exception of "details details details"), which is sad. This is about as close as we distance runners are ever going to get to an Oscar Winning film portraying our lifestyle.

I also want to point out that the map that "cross the country" posted is off. Hell, Forrest lived on the coast, yet the map starts in the middle of Alabama.

There is no Greenbow AL, but there is a Bayou LaBatre, AL, which is mentioned as a neighboring town where Bubba was from.

So, if Forrest ran from Bayou LaBatre to the Santa Monica Pier, he ran about 2,020 miles according to the "walking" tool on Google Maps:

http://g.co/maps/zftvj

From there, he turned around and ran to the Marshall Point Lighthouse in Port Clyde, Maine. Not the Portland lighthouse. This leg of the journey is approximately 3,180 miles according to Google Maps:

http://g.co/maps/43946

From this point, it gets a bit tricky. Forrest seems to pop up all over the East Coast, making it difficult to track his progress. He is seen in North Carolina, on the Blue Ridge Parkway, shortly after what appears to be a midwestern wheat field. This leads us to believe that he crosses the country numerous times. Our beliefs are quickly confirmed by the newscaster who is sitting in front of a map that shows Forrest's progress. It clearly shows that Forrest has crossed the country at least 4 times. A 2nd newscaster (Male) clearly states that Forrest has crossed the Mississippi River 4 times, so we know that he has done this at LEAST 4 times. He does stop in Monument Valley (I think the location is actually in Utah based on the background).

I think it is difficult to state exactly how far he ran, but using the information and landmarks that we do have, his overall trip was probably around 13,600 miles with an average mpw of ~82.

Not too shabby.