PAUL Wheeler, a former soldier from Wootton, is more than two thirds of the way into a charity run across America.
In May, former soldier Paul, 35, set off from his home in Mary Rose Avenue, to do a run from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, to New York’s Statue of Liberty, to raise money for the Royal British Legion.
This week, Paul had completed around 2,200 miles of his epic 3,000-mile trip, despite struggling with a shin injury.
He has crossed into Indiana, running roughly the distance of a marathon every day.
He has posted updates and video on Facebook about his trip and has been helped by people he has met along the way.
Like the Tom Hanks film character Forrest Gump, Paul is encouraging people to join him for a day or two while on his transcontinental run.
He is pushing all his water, food and equipment in a stroller he has named Wheelson — in homage to Wilson, the volleyball which was Tom Hanks’s desert Island companion in another film, Cast Away.
To donate to Paul’s effort, visit his Gofundme page, accessed via his website, run-across-america. com where you can also track his progress through his blog and Google Maps tracker.