AFTER 114 days on the road, former soldier Paul Wheeler was celebrating completing a gruelling 3,000-mile run across the width of America for charity.
Paul, 35, of Mary Rose Avenue, Wootton, crossed the finish line at Brooklyn Bridge, New York, last Friday after running around 3,000 miles from the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, on the continent’s western seaboard.
His extraordinary journey to raise funds for the Royal British Legion began in May.
Just like Tom Hanks in the hit film, Forest Gump, he encouraged people to join him during the run, and grew a lengthy beard at the same time.
He was accompanied on his journey by ‘Wheelson’, a stroller named in homage to ‘Wilson’ — the volleyball which was Tom Hanks’ desert island companion in another movie, Cast Away.
During his gruelling trip, Paul has posted regular updates and video on Facebook, including an emotional post when he glimpsed the skyline of New York last week before the final day of his marathon run.