Jonas Deichmann: "German Forrest Gump" completes US tour
You can spend a few hours on an airplane or a few days in a car to get from one end of the USA to the other. Or you can be an extreme sportsman and not need a motor, but you do need four months.
German Jonas Deichmann cycled from New York to Los Angeles at the beginning of July - and then walked back. The 36-year-old got to know the United States like very few before him. And he now understands the country better, he says.
Physically, the more than 10,000 kilometers were not the biggest problem, says Deichmann to the German Press Agency after his arrival in New York on Saturday. He has just run the last few kilometers through Manhattan, through Central Park and across Times Square. Now he is standing on the edge of the East River, the skyline behind him. His beard is long, his hair disheveled under his red cap, his face weather-beaten. In fact, he is very reminiscent of the main character in his favorite film Forrest Gump, who makes a similar run in the Oscar-winning masterpiece.
Immense vastness - and big differences in the USA
And just like Gump, Deichmann ran through the spectacular Monument Valley in Arizona, through the incomparable landscape of Utah, jumped into the Pacific Ocean on the beach in Santa Monica and sweated in 50 degree temperatures in the Mojave Desert in California. What Deichmann realized during his weeks alone on the road, he says, was the immense vastness and great differences in the United States.
He now also understands better why the superpower is so divided exactly one year before a presidential election that is seen as fateful. Deichmann ran through rich areas where "everything works" - and through "extremely dependent" regions whose inhabitants are deeply frustrated. "It's the land of opportunity, but not for everyone."
Deichmann's preferred means of transportation is actually the bicycle, with which he made it into the Guinness Book of Records in recent years: he cycled 16,000 kilometers from Portugal to Vladivostok in Russia in 64 days. This was followed by tours from Alaska to Patagonia and from the North Cape in Norway to the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.
The "Triathlon around the World" - from September 2020 to November 2021, he spent more than 400 days cycling, swimming and running - brought Deichmann international attention. His 120 Ironman distances in a row inspired athletes all over the world. In contrast, Deichmann's USA adventure, with around 200 kilometers a day on his bike or over 50 kilometers on foot, seemed almost relaxed.
"Sometimes I call someone"
But the more than 2,000-kilometre run through cornfields in the Midwest that always looked the same was mentally challenging, says the Stuttgart native. "It's all about distracting yourself." He then listens to podcasts, music and audio books. "Sometimes, when it's really, really monotonous all day, I call someone."
Deichmann usually didn't have a team by his side on his tour, instead transporting his minimalist luggage, which weighed just a few kilograms, on his bike or in a cart that he pulled behind him while jogging. For the last distance in the USA, he ran in the famous New York Marathon on Sunday along with thousands of other people, as photos published on Instagram showed. Then it's back to Europe for him, where Deichmann is particularly looking forward to his favorite dish: cheese noodles.
After that, new adventures await. He will start his next project in May, says the extreme athlete. What it is will not be revealed for now. Just this much: it will be "a bit harder" than the USA tour. "No one has ever done that before."
Source: www.dpa.com
