How I went out for a run... and crossed a continent
IT sounds like the story of Forrest Gump, deciding to go for a run ‘for no particular reason’ and ending up crossing a continent.
Yet Jamie Ramsay is no character in a Hollywood film but a real-life Scot on a mission to see the world.
The 35-year-old spent 12 years working behind a desk for a financial communications firm before deciding he needed to expand his horizons dramatically. So he set off in August last year for Canada, with plans to run from Vancouver through the USA and across South America.
On Tuesday, he finally reached Panama. Mr Ramsay has now covered more than 5,000 miles and plans to run a further 6,000. All his equipment and supplies are carried in a baby stroller which he pushes while running, and so far he has raised more than £10,000 for several charities.
Mr Ramsay, originally from Whittingehame, East Lothian, said: ‘People ask me why I am running away, or, more importantly, what am I running away from.
‘I personally don’t like to view this expedition as running away – I see it as running towards something. I am running towards an adventure that could f undamentally change my life. Having spent 12 years sitting behind a desk, I wanted to achieve something I could be proud of while I still had it in me – and realised time was running out.
‘So many people live with regrets, and I didn’t want to end up being one of them. This expedition has taught me that you can achieve anything if you believe in yourself and have the courage to follow it through.’
Mr Ramsay has so far covered nine countries by running for 209 days out of the last 285, covering the equivalent of 210 marathons by averaging around 26 miles a day.
‘ I run wearing a Bubba Gump Shrimp cap,’ he adds, in reference to the movie starring Tom Hanks.
‘I love that “for no particular reason” Forrest decided to go for a run. He wasn’t trying to set records or do a first – he just wanted to run.
‘While I’d love to raise as much money as possible, the main motivator is I love running.’