Irish Forrest Gump to recreate “Little Run” scene at Dublin marathon

Ireland’s very own Forrest Gump has vowed to recreate the Little Run scene from the Oscar winning movie at next month’s Dublin Marathon.

Dubliner Tony Mangan made the pledge after he arrived home from a four-year 30,000 mile run around the globe.

Now the former builder has promised to recreate the "Little Run" scene when he ends his adventure at his hometown’s annual marathon.

The Irish Independent reports that the 57-year-old set off on his solitary east-west run across five continents, six deserts and 41 countries in October 2010 after running his home town race.

He wants to continue the adventure after inviting people to join him on stretches of a 45-day thousand-mile circuit of Ireland.

Mangan told the paper: “One or two people have actually asked me along the way does anyone mention Forrest Gump? But I always call him a coward because he never finished his run back across America.

“But I’m a slow runner so anybody can run with me for as many days as they want. Just come out and run – I didn’t want it to turn into a Forrest Gump session but it could well do.”

Friends and family greeted Mangan when he returned to Ireland on Saturday – and he tucked straight into a full Irish breakfast.

He told the Irish independent that he had endured many extremes on the four-year journey from crippling athlete’s foot, 120F temperatures, severe dehydration, a myriad of niggling injuries, mountain passes in the Andes and being driven off the road by lorries in India.

He added: “But I’ve had an incredible amount of luck on this run, incredible. It’s like there’s an angel looking after me.

“I still do believe, even though it has been a tough slog, that running is the best way to see the world, running or walking and I really do believe I was put on the planet to run around the world.”

Mangan ran the equivalent of 1,185 marathons, almost 300 a year, on his epic journey and now plans to write a book about his exploits.

With a lap of Ireland and one final marathon on the agenda Mangan added: “I only have another thousand miles to go!”