His hair was groomed into a “high and tight”, as the barber described it, and he was decked head to toe in Gump attire: chinos, checked shirt and a brand new pair of white Nike Cortez sneakers. Photograph: Nadine Pope/PRĪ brisk buzz later, Pope stepped out on to the street. Shore to shore: Pope as Gump at Bayou la Batre, Alabama. Before she died she asked him to make a promise: “Do one thing in your life that makes a difference.” These words echoed in his mind as he sat in that Alabamabarbershop, awaiting his turn beneath the clippers. To Pope she was a best friend, a rock, an inspiration, a support-crew leader. Cathy would take him to his races, which soon became marathons. He’d shown promise at the sport since his school days when he took part in the oft-dreaded cross-country and excelled at it. She raised Pope with grit, determination and heartfelt support of his passion: running. Cathy was a medical laboratory scientific officer and a single parent. That was the year Pope’s mum, Cathy, died after a cancer diagnosis. In many ways, the seed for this adventure was sown in 2002. He quit and, along with his partner and fellow vet, Nadine, headed west. As his job became ever more miserable – he was working 13-hour days, five days a week – the urge to escape became insurmountable. He’d spent countless hours daydreaming about it, building the momentum to go. It had taken years of planning for Pope to embark on this trip to America, to make it to this barber’s chair. “So what would you like?” the barber asked him. O n 15 September 2016, Rob Pope, a chipper veterinarian from Liverpool, sat down in the chair of Fluke’s Barbers in Mobile, Alabama, and readied himself for a haircut.

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