Man running a marathon in every US state says he's been blown away by one thing about Americans
Thomas Bamford
Featured Image Credit: Instagram/Henry Moores
Brit Henry Moores is taking on the Herculean effort of running a marathon in every US state, and he's revealed a surprising thing that's 'blown him away' about Americans.
Henry is taking on the huge challenge for Be More Fab, a children's cancer charity that helps young kids understand what a cancer diagnosis means for them.
He's traveling with two of his closest mates, Tom and Olivia, covering thousands of miles of American road between races, sleeping wherever they can, and somehow finding a way to tie up his laces again every single morning.
It sounds like the kind of thing someone promises to do over a few beers and then forget about. But Henry is as good as his word, and is currently bang in the middle of the gruelling exercise in endurance.
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After weeks on the road, crossing state lines and racking up around 14,000 miles in the car, there's one thing that's caught him completely off guard. The sheer kindness of the people he's encountered.
"What has surprised me most is probably how kind people have been," he says.
"We've met people who didn't know us at all but still wanted to help, feed us, put us up or just encourage us. That has meant a lot."
The moment that sums it up best came in Sacramento. Henry bumped into a man whose sister had helped him fundraise back in Paris in 2023, a total coincidence, thousands of miles from home.
The man took the whole group in, fed them, and kitted them out with supplies for the road ahead. "The next day ended up being my fastest marathon because it gave us such a lift," Henry says.
"If they ever come to England, they're welcome at my house any time."
Chicago delivered too, a crowd of young lads cheering him on when he needed it most. "When you're struggling, even a bit of support from strangers can give you such a boost."
It matters more than it might sound, because this trip has been genuinely brutal. Henry is doing this with zero preparation, no training programme, no athletic background, nothing.
"I've done absolutely no training," he says, almost cheerfully. "I'm definitely just overconfident." He's quick to reframe it though, this isn't about proving anything athletically.
"I'm not interested in getting a sub-two-hour marathon or anything like that, that's not the point. I'm not an athlete. I'm just a young lad who walks everywhere and decided to take on something a bit ridiculous for a good cause."
His legs are, in his own words, 'in bits', but he keeps going anyway.
For someone doing this so far from home, with his family on a completely different time zone and often asleep when he needs them most, that human connection on the road has been a genuine lifeline.
"The time difference from home has been really hard," he admits. "When I'm awake, my family are asleep, so I can't always speak to them when I need to. That's been one of the toughest parts mentally."
He says missing his family has hit harder than almost anything else about the challenge. "I love them so much that even thinking about them makes me upset because I feel like I need them here."
Not every moment has been a highlight. Vegas hit hard, both physically and emotionally. The heat made the running brutal, but it was something else about the city that really stayed with him.
"It was also difficult seeing so many homeless people there, especially in that heat. You can see people are really struggling, and that's hard to take in when you're moving through these places so quickly."
Life in close quarters with two best mates for weeks on end is, predictably, a mixed bag. "We're definitely all having little tiffs," Henry admits. "Like it or not, we're three adults spending a huge amount of time together, with no work, no other people and not much personal space to distract us."
He's quick to make clear it hasn't turned properly ugly, just the friction you'd expect from anyone running on fumes. "I'm so, so grateful to both of them. I genuinely couldn't do this without Tom and Liv."
The charity has become a genuine motivator rather than just a banner to run under. Henry has struck up a close friendship with Andy, one of Be More Fab's co-founders, who visits schools to help children understand childhood cancer in a way they can actually process.
"He's such a natural at it. The way he can talk about something so difficult in a way children can understand is really special. When the days are hard, remembering the work Be More Fab does gives me a reason to keep going."
He has Nashville and Florida ahead of him - "mainly for the food and the wildlife" - and is taking it one state at a time rather than letting himself think too far ahead.
When he eventually crosses the finish line in New York, he's not planning some grand gesture. "Honestly, I have no idea. I think I'll just feel really happy and relieved that I don't have to wake up and do another marathon the next morning. That will probably be the best feeling."
For now though, he wakes up in pain, puts his shoes on, and does it again.
You can follow Henry's journey on Instagram by clicking here. You can donate to his effort by clicking here.