Two adventurers have told of their elation after finishing a 2,700-mile run across the United States.
Grandmother Jan Dupree, 57, and Kurt Charnock, 50, started their daring challenge in October and ran through mountains, snow and 41C deserts from San Diego in the west to St Augustine in Florida.
The two friends burnt around 4,000 calories a day and crossed three time zones on their challenge.
Last Friday they reached their finish line, the Atlantic Ocean, cheered on by loved ones who flew out to see them.
“The feeling of elation when I finished was amazing. My friend arranged bagpipes for when we arrived,” said Jan.
“My dad Frank ran from Land’s End to John O’Groats when I was 11. At the end of that he had bagpipes as he ran across the line.
“Kurt arranged bagpipes for me when we completed that run two years ago. We could hear bagpipes in the distance, I thought it was Kurt but it was my other friend. It was incredible running on to the beach.
Use the slider above to see Jan and her father Frank at the finish line of their runs with bagpipes.
“My granddaughter and son were there, cousins from South Carolina came down. Lots of other people were there too.
“The feeling of finishing, running into the sea and getting a hug from my granddaughter was amazing. It was amazing to realise we had done it, it’s still sinking in.”
Jan, from Wivelsfield Green, and Kurt, from Hove, finished their run about a month ahead of schedule.
Jan has raised more than £3,600 for St Peter and St James Hospice in North Chailey.
She added: “It was such an adventure, every day was so different. I saw a photo from day one of the challenge and we look like different people. In a way we are different people, you can’t go through that 120 days of adventure and meeting people and not be a changed person.
“If you can do that every day for four months, you can do anything. I think Kurt said ‘you have become the person that can’ and for that I feel changed.
“I’m an ordinary granny, I’m not an experienced ultra marathon runner. I started running just over ten years ago. People might see me as that now, but every single day took something to muster the courage up and realise you can do it.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel