Man runs through weather, illness to reach ‘Forrest Gump’ milestone
NORTH ATTLEBORO — For the sake of this feel-good story served up just in time for the 128th running of the Boston Marathon Monday, make that “Run, Jon, run.”
That’s because North Attleboro resident and North Attleboro High School Class of 1998 graduate Jon Duperron, 44, on Saturday tied the consecutive-days running streak set by the fictional character in the film starring Tom Hanks of running for three years, two months, 14 days, and 16 hours: 1,170 days.
His wife Kerrin, 43, a 2000 graduate of North Attleboro High School, gathered some family and friends outside of their Rosewood Lane home as Jon took off from the cul-de-sac on his record-tying journey, his fans cheering him on.
As amazing — or “spectacular and slightly insane,” as Kerrin calls Jon’s achievement — is, none of this was planned, Jon said in a phone interview.
It really just happened — and here’s how it all came about.
“I’ve really never been a diehard runner,” Jon said, noting he competed in track and field events, including sprints, while at NAHS to keep him in shape for hockey, which he said he played from age 3 to 18 in private leagues.
As an adult, Jon said he “always tried to maintain a healthy lifestyle, run on the treadmill a couple of miles. But “when COVID hit, the gyms were closed,” he said, so he decided to start running as a way of escaping the lockdown and “get some fresh air.” Running, he noted, “was the one thing I could control.”
That went on for a while, until one day, while building a fire pit in his backyard, he said the hatchet he was using to chop wood went straight into his knee.
“My first thought was I never was going to be able to run again,” Jon said. But six weeks later, he returned to running, and he gradually set goals, vowing to run 33,100 miles and 150 days straight.
He didn’t give up and marked his one-year consecutive streak by slogging through a blizzard.
Soon after, when people asked him how much longer he intended to keep up the streak, he jokingly mentioned running as long as Forrest Gump did in the film — and eventually one year became two and three years.
Jon has had to balance his running obsession with his work and family. He’s employed in the IT department of FM Global Insurance of Johnston, R.I., and he and his wife are the parents of Lana, 13, and Myles, 9. Kerrin works with contract support on the pharmaceutical side of Johnson & Johnson.
Jon has remained steadfast in his desire to run every day, getting out there despite injuries, two bouts with COVID, two more with the flu and numerous injuries.
After he ties and surpasses the Forrest Gump record, he said he expects to continue getting out there every day.
“I probably will,” he said. “My response has always been I’ll do it until my body won’t let me.”
As proof of his commitment to running, he said he ran a Boston qualifying time in last fall’s Cape Cod Marathon in 3 hours, 17 minutes and 5 seconds, but today’s race was already filled. “I’m hoping that (time) holds up for 2025,” he said.
He also plans on running in October’s Chicago Marathon, so the finish line isn’t on the horizon just yet.
Through it all, Jon has maintained a keen sense of humor. When asked what kind of reaction he gets from people, he said, “Two types: People who think I’m crazy, nuts” and some people who’ve told him that he’s inspired them to get in better shape.
But “the majority of people think I’m nuts,” he quipped.
Then, turning contemplative, he revealed the real reason he’s still on the run every single day.
“it’s just putting one foot in front of another. I don’t really want to quit,” he said. “If I can do this and challenge myself to do this hard thing every day, when something else in life that’s hard pops up, I’ll be ready for it.
“I have this never-stop philosophy,” he said.