14 DAY TRIAL // On Saturday, May 9, US student Barclay Oudersluys embarked on a cross-country run. He began his epic jog in California's Santa Monica Yacht Harbor and Pier and hopes to make it to Marshall Point Lighthouse in Maine by August 16.
For those of you who don't have a map close at hand, this means that he plans to run a total of 3,200 miles (about 5,150 kilometers). The allotted time for this adventure: 100 days.
The cross-country jog, which Barclay Oudersluys hopes to complete by running an astounding 32 miles (51.5 kilometers) per day, will have him visit a total of 15 states.
Apart from California and Maine, the other states the UC Berkeley student will jog his way through are Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont and New Hampshire.
To get a better idea of the route Barclay Oudersluys plans to follow to cover the distance between California and Maine in just 100 days, have a look at the map included in the gallery below.
The student trained long and hard for this ambitious run
The UC Berkeley didn't just roll out of bed, put on his running shoes and set off to jog to Maine by August 16. On the contrary, he says he trained long and hard for this adventure.
His training sessions boiled down to him jogging 15 miles (24 kilometers) in the morning and about 5 to 10 miles (8 to 16 kilometers) in the afternoon for 4 days a week for an extended period of time.
Besides, the young man says that, before beginning his cross-country run from California all the way to Maine, he made sure to book an appointment with a doctor and get an all-clear.
To complete his 100-day jog in good health, Barclay Oudersluys will have to consume a whopping 6,000 calories per day until he at long last reaches his final destination on August 16.
Following this adventure, the avid runner will rest for about a week and a half to give his body the chance to recover and then he'll resume classes at UC Berkeley, just like any other student.
The epic jog was inspired by Forrest Gump's marathon
In a recent interview, Barclay Oudersluys explained that his 100-day run was inspired by none other than Forrest Gump, who also jogged across the US. The only difference is that the student is not a fictional character.
“Forrest Gump is my favorite movie. And so when I decided to do this run, I looked up the two points where he had gone to and decided then,” he told the press, as cited by Oddity Central.
Although the run will certainly prove the experience of a lifetime, the UC Berkeley student didn't embark on this so-called Project Gump of his just for kicks.
Instead, he hopes the quest hill help him raise $10,000 (roughly €8,900) for Hall Steps Foundation, an organization that provides healthcare for people facing financial difficulties, via CrowdRise. As of now, he's raised $675 (€600).
