Forrest Gump with a British Accent? Veterinarian running to raise funds for wildlife

Dr. Rob Pope, an emergency veterinarian and marathon runner from Liverpool, England, runs on B Street through McCook about noon Tuesday. Rob runs for the World Wildlife Fund, the leading organization in wildlife conservation and endangered species; and for Peace Direct, an international charity dedicated to stopping wars, one person at a time. And, like movie character Forrest Gump, Rob says he’s out “for a little run.”

Connie Jo Discoe/McCook Gazette

McCOOK, Neb. — Who doesn’t love Forrest Gump?

How about Forrest Gump with a British accent?

Dr. Rob Pope DVM of Liverpool, England, is recreating the epic runs of movie character Forrest Gump and has run across America 3 1/2 times since September 2016, logging 11,663 miles — “give or take a mile or two,” he said, grinning on B Street in McCook just after noon Tuesday.

Rob, like Gump, decided to go “for a little run.” Unlike Gump, Rob’s running has a charitable purpose — he’s raising funds for the World Wildlife Fund and Peace Direct. But, Rob said with a chuckle, “Who doesn’t like Forrest Gump?”

On Sept. 15, (the same day of the year that Forrest started his run), 2016, Rob set out from Mobile, Alabama, for Santa Monica, California. He then turned around and ran east to Port Clyde, Maine. From Maine, he headed back west to San Francisco. On his way east to the Carolinas, on Monday, Rob stopped in McCook.

He hopes to reach the East Coast by the end of December.

Rob said his swing through Nebraska was kind of “a detour,” planning originally to run south out of Wyoming through Colorado and into Kansas. But, Tuesday, he said he was glad he made the detour; he’s come across amazing people during his three days through Nebraska, he said. “You have lovely, really friendly people,” he said.

“I spent the night in McCook at Marty and Jane Guthrie’s,” Rob said. “And the ladies at the McCook post office were so helpful.” There, too, he said, he ran into Nel Walker, of rural Trenton. “Nel made a very generous donation,” he said.

Rob said he would have loved to meet McCook’s Dr. Wayne Watkins, DVM, almost legendary throughout the area for his love and care of animals, but he had to reach Oberlin by nightfall.

To follow Rob’s cross country and cross-country again and again run of America, go to Facebook and find Going the Distance Run. To support his charities, go to goingthedistancerun.com or Google Going the Distance - Rob Pope.