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Register now for the Run Forest Run Virtual |
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The "Virtual Run Forest Run" starts Saturday, May 23rd at 7:00 AM. Runners have 140.7 days to complete the 717 mile race. The official end is October 10th at Midnight. That's just a hair over 5 miles per day average. All miles you run or hike, count. All finishers will receive a finisher shirt and finisher award.
Run/walk when you want to, run 5.1 miles every day, run 36 miles once a week, "run 717 nonstop" and try to set a new FKT! Or, swim the entire 717 miles. It's all up to you, however if you choose to run or swim 717 miles straight through, we will want to see your GPS file! We do reserve the right to request proof of distance from anyone at any time. Save those Strava files please! Those at the top of the leader board must provide proof of all runs.
Registration is $55 per runner. This includes race shirt, finisher awards and shipped to you, in the US.
Registration for runners outside the US, registration is $65, including race shirt, finisher medal and shipping.
You are about to embark on the "Journey of a Lifetime." You will follow in the footsteps of one of America's iconic and best loved folk heroes and a true running legend, Forest Gump. No, not the movies Forrest Gump, the REAL Forest Gump! Forest never ran across the United States 5 times, or even once. He did not create a company called "Bubba Gump Shrimp." He did not live in Greenbow, Alabama. (There is no such place.) What he did, was "JUST RUN!" Your Run Forest Run Virtual race will follow the 717 miles route Forest Gump ran more than 50 times over the 30 years he lived in or near Bayou La Batre, Alabama. You will start at his Childhood Home in Greenboville, Alabama and run a little over seven hundred miles to Bayou La Batre, Alabama, following Forest's route. Your adventure will end at the original location of Gump Seafoods, Inc. , later renamed Consolidated Seafood, International.
View the course map on Google Maps: |
Download the Mileage GPX File: |
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Run Forest Run Mileage Map
For 30 years Forest ran between his boyhood home in Greenboville, in the far corner of northwest Alabama, to his home in Bayou La Batre where the company he founded in 1972, Consolidated Seafoods International, is located. (There was no Bubba-Gump Shrimp.) As you follow his running route, you will also follow his life from his youth right up to his final fateful swim across the Mouth of Mobile Bay in 2001. Your can follow your progress on the interactive map. See where you are. See what's there and what is coming up next. As you progress through the 717 mile journey you will also be following Forest's amazing career as a runner. Although he was never was an "Elite" Runner, he was close. He was also very good friends with many of the "true world class runners" of the day. I know of no other runner that could have accomplished what he accomplished, or run so effortlessly for "virtually" endless miles, as he did. (Endless Mile - That would be a good name for a race.)
Do you know anyone that could, while in the middle of a 700 mile run, decide to take a 160 detour? Let me give you one small example. About 314 miles south of his home in Greenboville, his running route crossed over Flagg Mountain at the southern terminus of the Pinhoti Trail. Often, he would leave the CC Camp Rd and turn off on the Pinhoti trail to run over to Cheaha State Park just to view the sunset from Bald Rock. After the sun set, he would stop at the park restaurant for a quick dinner and run back to Flagg Mountain to continue his trip. That's 80 Miles. (80 Miles each way!)
Do you know anyone that could, while in the middle of a 700 mile run, decide to take a 160 detour? Let me give you one small example. About 314 miles south of his home in Greenboville, his running route crossed over Flagg Mountain at the southern terminus of the Pinhoti Trail. Often, he would leave the CC Camp Rd and turn off on the Pinhoti trail to run over to Cheaha State Park just to view the sunset from Bald Rock. After the sun set, he would stop at the park restaurant for a quick dinner and run back to Flagg Mountain to continue his trip. That's 80 Miles. (80 Miles each way!)
The Sunset from Cheaha is Amazing. Is it worth 180 extra miles? Forest though so.
A brief history of the REAL Forest
Forest was born in Greenboville, Alabama. (There is no Greenbow in Alabama.) I don't know what was wrong with his legs as a child but at that time, most kids that ware braces had contracted polio. Forest did wear braces as a child. That's all I know about that! Obviously, since he played football at both Alabama and Auburn, he overcame the problem. Oh, you didn't know he played at Auburn? He played 4 years at Alabama while working on his Bachelor's degree in Business and three more years at Auburn earning an MBA, graduation magna cume lada from both schools. (They must have forgotten to include that in the movie)
He never talked about his time in the army. No one knows what happened in Vietnam. All that is know is that he was wounded while there. As soon as he returned to Alabama, he went straight to Bayou La Batre and purchased a shrimping boat and created Gump Seafoods, Inc. Soon after starting the company he was joined by Lieutenant Dan Taylor, his commander while in Vietnam. Then, in 1974, Hurricane Carmine, a category 3 hurricane, hit Bayou La Batre and decimated most of the shrimping fleet. Within months, Forest and Lt. Taylor became incredibly successful. He soon changed the company name to Consolidated Seafoods, International. He went on to build a worldwide fishing empire owning hundreds of fishing, crabbing and shrimping boats with thousands of employees. When he sold the company in 1990 for an estimated $280 Million, (over one Billion Dollars today) he split the money three ways. $93 million went to each, Forest and Lt Taylor and $93 million to Mrs. Blue. She lived in Bayou La Batre and was the mother of Benjamin Blue. Benjamin (known as Bubba) was also a member of Lt Taylors platoon who was killed in Vietnam.
But more than anything else, Forest was a Runner! He loved to run. He often just "disappeared" from his office. He would return hours late, or days later, sometimes weeks later. When asked where he went, he just said "I felt like running!" Now, he did love cars. He always drove a new, high performance Corvette. He had quite a collection which included a 1966 Corvette Stingray convertible, a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO, 1960 Ferrari 250 GT California LWB "Competizione Spyde," 1961 E-type XKE Convertible, 1960 Rolls Royce Four Door Convertible and a 1966 Ford GT40 Mk II. But they stayed parked in is Garage most of the time. Forest "RAN just about everywhere he went!" Forest also ran every race he could find. He ran hundred milers, he ran 50 milers, he ran Marathons, Half Marathons, 10K's 5K's. Road races and Trail races. It's really hard to find vantage photos or race results of Forest because he never used his real name. I have attached a few pictures below and a couple of race results that I was able to locate because he frequently ran with his friends, Bill Rodgers, Martin Liquori, Steve Prefontaine, Rick Trujillo, Frank Shorter, Jim Ryun and many others. If you found a race any of these guys were running, there was a good chance Forest was there too.
Forest was born in Greenboville, Alabama. (There is no Greenbow in Alabama.) I don't know what was wrong with his legs as a child but at that time, most kids that ware braces had contracted polio. Forest did wear braces as a child. That's all I know about that! Obviously, since he played football at both Alabama and Auburn, he overcame the problem. Oh, you didn't know he played at Auburn? He played 4 years at Alabama while working on his Bachelor's degree in Business and three more years at Auburn earning an MBA, graduation magna cume lada from both schools. (They must have forgotten to include that in the movie)
He never talked about his time in the army. No one knows what happened in Vietnam. All that is know is that he was wounded while there. As soon as he returned to Alabama, he went straight to Bayou La Batre and purchased a shrimping boat and created Gump Seafoods, Inc. Soon after starting the company he was joined by Lieutenant Dan Taylor, his commander while in Vietnam. Then, in 1974, Hurricane Carmine, a category 3 hurricane, hit Bayou La Batre and decimated most of the shrimping fleet. Within months, Forest and Lt. Taylor became incredibly successful. He soon changed the company name to Consolidated Seafoods, International. He went on to build a worldwide fishing empire owning hundreds of fishing, crabbing and shrimping boats with thousands of employees. When he sold the company in 1990 for an estimated $280 Million, (over one Billion Dollars today) he split the money three ways. $93 million went to each, Forest and Lt Taylor and $93 million to Mrs. Blue. She lived in Bayou La Batre and was the mother of Benjamin Blue. Benjamin (known as Bubba) was also a member of Lt Taylors platoon who was killed in Vietnam.
But more than anything else, Forest was a Runner! He loved to run. He often just "disappeared" from his office. He would return hours late, or days later, sometimes weeks later. When asked where he went, he just said "I felt like running!" Now, he did love cars. He always drove a new, high performance Corvette. He had quite a collection which included a 1966 Corvette Stingray convertible, a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO, 1960 Ferrari 250 GT California LWB "Competizione Spyde," 1961 E-type XKE Convertible, 1960 Rolls Royce Four Door Convertible and a 1966 Ford GT40 Mk II. But they stayed parked in is Garage most of the time. Forest "RAN just about everywhere he went!" Forest also ran every race he could find. He ran hundred milers, he ran 50 milers, he ran Marathons, Half Marathons, 10K's 5K's. Road races and Trail races. It's really hard to find vantage photos or race results of Forest because he never used his real name. I have attached a few pictures below and a couple of race results that I was able to locate because he frequently ran with his friends, Bill Rodgers, Martin Liquori, Steve Prefontaine, Rick Trujillo, Frank Shorter, Jim Ryun and many others. If you found a race any of these guys were running, there was a good chance Forest was there too.
A few more photos from Forest Gump's life
I little about Jenny
Bits and pieces of the movie "Forrest Gump" were accurate. Forest did own a shrimping company, he did grow up in Alabama, he was in Vietnam, he did run about everywhere he went, and he was friends with Jenny Curry all his life. (Her movie name was Jenny Curran.) There the reality ends. Jenny was actually the daughter of a very wealthy Chattanooga business man who lived 3 miles upstream on the Tennessee River from the Gumps. The grew up together and were always very close. Jenny's father would fly Jenny down to Forest's hour to play. Later, Forest would swim the 3.5 miles to her house. The problem was, he was swimming upstream. Sometimes it took his a "LONG" time to get to her house. (He didn't have a car until he graduated from Alabama.) There is no evidence they ever dated but all through high school and college they "ran around" together. They frequently double dated!
With summers off from school, she would travel over to Muscle Shoals and hang out at Rick Hall's FAME Studios. She would be called on to sing backup with various groups and individuals like The Rolling Stones, Aretha Franklin, George Michael, Wilson Pickett, Willie Nelson, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Joe Cocker, Levon Helm, Paul Simon, Bob Seger, Rod Stewart, Tamiko Jones, If you know her distinctive voice, you can hear her singing on albums produced by many of these name. Listen carefully to "Brown Sugar" and "Sweet Home Alabama."
She had several offers join groups while helping out at FAME. Apparently Mick was quite interested in her (not as a band member) and was seen going in and out of the airport at Chattanooga on several occasions. Jenny was not interested in the life of a musician. She wanted to finish her education and go on to do great things. She attended the University of Texas and earned an MBA and a Masters in Voice. While in school at Austin she frequented a club called "The Armadillo World Headquarters. She became a regular and had a huge following. The club became quite famous and attracted quite a list of artists and performers Many were destine to become huge start. She often was joined on stage by Ry Cooder, Captain Beefheart, Taj Mahal, Dr. John the Night Tripper, Frank Zappa, the Flying Burrito Brothers, the New Riders of the Purple Sage, Bill Monroe and Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen. She also teamed up with her old friend from FAME Studios, Will Nelson and sometimes, Jerry Jeff Walker.
There is a lot of speculation the Forest was always in love with her. That is partly because of the names he selected for his fishing boats. Just before selling his company, Consolidated Seafoods International, his fleet contained 397 boats. Most were shrimping boats but he owned about 50 crabbing boats an 75 commercial fishing boats of various types. Every single boat had Jenny in the name. Look at the image above that shows several shrimp boats from his Bayou La Batre fleet. There is a "Jenny Goddess," "Jenny XXXI," "Jenny XXVI" and "Jenny VI." His schooner was named "Jenny I" and his Mega Yacht was "Jenny II Much." I would guess there was more to the story than we know.
So what happens to Jenny? After college, she opened a very popular nightclub in Guntersville, where she was frequently performed. Apparently she became bored with the club and sold it. She moved to Albuquerque, NM to work for Bill Gates and Paul Allen. The had a little software company called"Micro-Soft." She stayed with them until 1986, the year "Microsoft" went public. In the early days, Gates didn't always have enough money to pay employees on payday so the received shard of Microsoft stock. When Jenny left Microsoft, she was wealthier than her dad! (More to come)
Bits and pieces of the movie "Forrest Gump" were accurate. Forest did own a shrimping company, he did grow up in Alabama, he was in Vietnam, he did run about everywhere he went, and he was friends with Jenny Curry all his life. (Her movie name was Jenny Curran.) There the reality ends. Jenny was actually the daughter of a very wealthy Chattanooga business man who lived 3 miles upstream on the Tennessee River from the Gumps. The grew up together and were always very close. Jenny's father would fly Jenny down to Forest's hour to play. Later, Forest would swim the 3.5 miles to her house. The problem was, he was swimming upstream. Sometimes it took his a "LONG" time to get to her house. (He didn't have a car until he graduated from Alabama.) There is no evidence they ever dated but all through high school and college they "ran around" together. They frequently double dated!
With summers off from school, she would travel over to Muscle Shoals and hang out at Rick Hall's FAME Studios. She would be called on to sing backup with various groups and individuals like The Rolling Stones, Aretha Franklin, George Michael, Wilson Pickett, Willie Nelson, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Joe Cocker, Levon Helm, Paul Simon, Bob Seger, Rod Stewart, Tamiko Jones, If you know her distinctive voice, you can hear her singing on albums produced by many of these name. Listen carefully to "Brown Sugar" and "Sweet Home Alabama."
She had several offers join groups while helping out at FAME. Apparently Mick was quite interested in her (not as a band member) and was seen going in and out of the airport at Chattanooga on several occasions. Jenny was not interested in the life of a musician. She wanted to finish her education and go on to do great things. She attended the University of Texas and earned an MBA and a Masters in Voice. While in school at Austin she frequented a club called "The Armadillo World Headquarters. She became a regular and had a huge following. The club became quite famous and attracted quite a list of artists and performers Many were destine to become huge start. She often was joined on stage by Ry Cooder, Captain Beefheart, Taj Mahal, Dr. John the Night Tripper, Frank Zappa, the Flying Burrito Brothers, the New Riders of the Purple Sage, Bill Monroe and Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen. She also teamed up with her old friend from FAME Studios, Will Nelson and sometimes, Jerry Jeff Walker.
There is a lot of speculation the Forest was always in love with her. That is partly because of the names he selected for his fishing boats. Just before selling his company, Consolidated Seafoods International, his fleet contained 397 boats. Most were shrimping boats but he owned about 50 crabbing boats an 75 commercial fishing boats of various types. Every single boat had Jenny in the name. Look at the image above that shows several shrimp boats from his Bayou La Batre fleet. There is a "Jenny Goddess," "Jenny XXXI," "Jenny XXVI" and "Jenny VI." His schooner was named "Jenny I" and his Mega Yacht was "Jenny II Much." I would guess there was more to the story than we know.
So what happens to Jenny? After college, she opened a very popular nightclub in Guntersville, where she was frequently performed. Apparently she became bored with the club and sold it. She moved to Albuquerque, NM to work for Bill Gates and Paul Allen. The had a little software company called"Micro-Soft." She stayed with them until 1986, the year "Microsoft" went public. In the early days, Gates didn't always have enough money to pay employees on payday so the received shard of Microsoft stock. When Jenny left Microsoft, she was wealthier than her dad! (More to come)