Well I have certainly met my superior for positivity. And energy. And inspiration. And amazingness. You name it. Today you are going to meet Stan Cottrell, who is running across the country from L.A. to Washington DC. He already set the record for the fastest transcontinental run 41 years ago in 1980 in 48 days. Now he’s doing it for the third time at age 78. Yes, I said 78 years old. Stan was the real-life inspiration for Forrest Gump. His background includes being a college instructor, pharmaceutical executive, International VP of Business Development, and CEO of an international bio-technical/environmental firm with offices in 35 countries.
Stan was invited to appear last week at a high school track meet in the small town of Bennett CO, out on the plains about 25 miles east of Denver and we recorded this episode in his RV in the stadium’s parking lot, so you’ll hear a lot of voices and other noises, not to mention some interruptions. It was very hot that day, and there is no shade on the plains, yet Stan is out there pumping out 30 miles every day for 100 days on what he calls the Amazing Friendship Run. Some other running facts about Stan: he has been running for 73 years and racked up more than 270,000 lifetime miles. He has run across 40 countries. Not just IN 40 countries, ACROSS 40 countries. Including some like China before it opened up to the West; Vietnam before it re-normalized. Cambodia during the reign of the ruthless, genocidal dictator Pol Pot. Cuba, where as you’ll hear he met Fidel Castro. I wonder if he’ll run across North Korea with Dennis Rodman someday! He ran across Europe in 80 days. And a lot more. You know what, go to his Web site, friendshipsportsassociation.org, and see more of his amazing feats, and the charities he is supporting, including ones for kids and veterans. But more notably, you’ll see its tag line Positivity. Kindness. Unity. Stan runs to promote health and fitness, and to show how running can cross cultural and political boundaries. And you will hear through his rural Kentucky twang an incredibly powerful and motivational speaker. If you are like me, you’ll find yourself repeatedly rewinding this conversation to absorb the nuggets of wisdom Stan has garnered through the equivalent of running around the Earth more than 10 times.
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Stan Cottrell:
friendshipsportsassociation.org
e-mail: tarfwithstan@gmail.com
Facebook: Stan Cottrell, Cottrell Stan, The Amazing Friendship Run 2021
Instagram: @runstanrun2021