Bob Brown
Last night's Christmas party was unforgettable, but for rather different reasons than I'd expected. I didn't get to speak to the Queen – there was a three-deep throng wherever she turned and I felt a bit bashful about elbowing my way in, but the Man of the Match for me was a self-effacing Cornishman called Bob Brown.
This summer, Bob Brown won the 2004 Run Across America, a 3,100 mile ultramarathon, from Huntington Beach to New York. The equivalent of two marathons a day, for 71 days. Five hundred and ten hours, forty seven minutes and twenty four seconds of running.
Wow.
'Do you work with a nutritionist?' I asked, keen to keep the conversation going. Bob laughed. He was sponsored by Ginsters and averaged eight cornish pasties a day during the run. What amazed me most was Bob's modesty – the writing on his website is inspirational stuff, his achievements in the rarified world of ultra-ultra-endurance events are astonishing, and yet he describes his 'proudest moment of 2003' as 'seeing my tag-rugby team at school (Bob is a teacher) winning the county championships.' What a hero.
— Filed under Inspiration