By Holly Nine
Have you ever thought about traveling the world? There are a lot of people who travel whether it be for work, visiting, or for pleasure. Usually, most people travel by plane, boat, car, etc. There are some who want to run or walk for travel. Rosie Swale Pope is one who had the desire to travel the world and she travels by foot! Rosie was born in Switzerland and as a baby she was given to the postman’s wife by her mother who was ill with TB. Rosie was then brought up by her grandmother in Ireland. Her grandmother was bedridden but taught Rosie to reach for her goals and to never give up.
Rosie has accomplished many goals in her life and has enjoyed being athletic and adventurous for many years. She accomplished many marathons in several different countries and from those experiences she learned to survive off of a small budget and from a backpack and a tent she carried on her back. When Rosie’s husband passed away from cancer, she was determined to travel around the world in his memory to raise awareness for cancer and to raise money for cancer research. A trip that took over 4 years and was over 20,000 miles. Rosie has also accomplished 27 marathons in 27 days, a record breaking solo voyage across the Atlantic Ocean in a 17ft boat, and several others.
Currently, Rosie is running from New York to San Francisco. She first came to America as part of her sailing trip across the Atlantic, but once she got here, she was blown away at how friendly America was. Rosie has run day and night from city to city and town to town and she just so happened to be traveling through Clay. I got to sit with her and listen to her inspiring story and I could tell how enthusiastic she is about life and everything it has to offer. Rosie could travel through the United States quickly if she wanted to get this journey over with but she really enjoys taking her time and meeting new people. Rosie loves America. Rosie pulls her shelter with her everywhere she goes. She calls her shelter ‘Icebird’ which is bright orange and equipped with enough room for her to sleep and cook. Every night, Rosie will find a place beside the road or a church or somewhere to park “Icebird” so she can get some rest before continuing her journey.
Rosie wrote a book ‘Just a little run around the world’, which is an international best-selling book. If you would like to follow Rosie on her journey, she is on Face Book as ’Rosie Swale Pope’ or at http://rosieswalepope.co.uk/
