'Supergranny' Runs Around the World
Fighting fit at 61, a Welsh woman is poised to break world records.
LONDON, June 20, 2008 — -- Rosie Swale Pope, a 61-year-old grandmother from Tenby, Wales, has almost completed her round-the-world run.
Nearly five years and 45 pairs of shoes after she began, Pope has reached the last stretch of her 20,000-mile, record-breaking journey, which she is using to promote cancer awareness.
At 5 a.m. on June 18, Pope arrived by ferry at Scrabster, Scotland.
Back on home shores, she is commencing the final part of her run. She will finish in her hometown Tenby on August 25.
"I cannot believe I'm back in Great Britain," Pope told ABC News. "It's a dream come true."
Pope's Route
In a worldwide loop starting and finishing in Wales, Pope covered the maximum possible distance on land.
Her trip took her to Holland, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Russia, the United States, Canada, Greenland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic Ocean.
She was completely self-sufficient, carried all her possessions in a cart attached to her waist, and camped almost every night in a tiny tent by the side of the road.
Of the nations she visited, Pope was most emphatic about her love of Americans.
"I think Americans are wonderful," she said. "I have the greatest respect for them; they are very friendly, extremely hard-working and treated me as their own."
She shared a tale of American generosity: "The minus-65 degree Siberian temperatures had cracked all my fillings, but when I reached America a dentist fixed my teeth free of charge," she said. "I was extremely touched. I'm far too vain to arrive home toothless."
Trials and Tribulations
Freezing temperatures proved to be the toughest obstacle for Pope. She suffered from frostbite and contracted double pneumonia.
She said said she had "at least six near-death experiences," including being hit by a bus in Russia because she was disorientated as a result of the pneumonia.
Other ordeals included being accosted by an axe-wielding Siberian and being followed by a pack of wolves.
But the incident that stands out above all was in Alaska, where Pope endured temperatures of minus 62 degrees when traveling between the Berlin Sea and the Yukon River.
Related Stories
ABC News Live