German “Forrest Gump” in USA
Man with beard runs 100 ultramarathons, pedals 5500 kilometers
November 6th, 2023, 6:09 p.m
Jonas Deichmann has completed his unique duathlon across the USA. To regenerate, he ran the New York Marathon immediately after his arrival. The man who looks like a superstar of the US folk circus could just keep running, he says.
After months of lonely toil, Jonas Deichmann treated himself to an ordeal on the big world stage to crown his daring mission. The “German Forrest Gump” began his recovery phase after the duathlon through the USA with the legendary New York Marathon and was celebrated by the crowds at the finish line in Central Park after almost four hours. “Short day in the office,” Deichmann joked: “It was incredible. The end of my big adventure couldn’t have been better.”
On July 29th he set off from New York by bicycle for his unique project and cycled 5,500 kilometers to Los Angeles on the west coast within three weeks. From there it was 100 days of running with ultra marathons over the same distance. At the weekend, the 36-year-old finally reached his destination in the Big Apple and clearly enjoyed the small reception in Brooklyn Bridge Park.
“I could keep running,” said Deichmann, “but I’m happy that it’s done.” It was “a big dream come true. The USA is just so huge. The West in particular is incredibly spectacular. It’s something very special to run through there. When you run, you get a feeling of how big everything is. It’s a great way to get to know a country.”
During Corona times he had to move to Mexico
Sometimes the police joined Jonas Deichmann in Mexico in 2021.
(Photo: picture alliance/dpa/Ravir Film)
The Stuttgart native had already wanted to jog through the United States during his triathlon around the world, but had to move to Mexico because of Corona restrictions. There, local media gave him the nickname “German Forrest Gump.” He even received police protection on one passage. In total, he lost ten kilograms of body weight during his duathlon and used nine pairs of running shoes. But the reward for the hard work was countless “magical moments”.
The passes in the Rocky Mountains, sunrises and sunsets in the Mojave Desert or Monument Valley: “It’s incredibly spectacular. I experienced an incredible number of highlights,” enthused Deichmann. Despite extremely physically demanding sections of the route and temperatures of up to 50 degrees at times, it was primarily the mental aspect that pushed him to his limits.
“The biggest challenge was definitely the monotony in the Midwest,” explained the extreme athlete: “In Kansas, for example, there is simply nothing. Every 30 kilometers there is a grain silo and a few houses. That’s it, everything looks the same for weeks. ” But he successfully distracted himself with podcasts and audio books. “I never thought about giving up,” he emphasized emphatically.
Now it’s time for a vacation, but he’s already planning his next big adventure for May 2024: “This will be the hardest project I’ve done so far. A completely new challenge,” said the Munich resident: “But it’s still top secret.” He will certainly want to push the boundaries of what is supposedly humanly possible again.