The Greek “Forrest Gump”: Saint Emmanuel ran 2421 km to Glasgow for the climate | Skai.gr

In Lockdown last year, actor Agis Emmanuel was watching Sir David Attenborough’s documentary “A life on our planet” when he came up with the idea of ​​(again) using running as a climate awareness-raising tool – literally and figuratively – and the crisis facing the planet.

A runner with experience in marathons since 1996 (26 in total), nine super marathons and already a big action in his assets – the “240 kilometers for the coast” he ran in 2014 – decided to add several hundred more kilometers to his calendar and travel a 2421km route to be in early November in Glasgow for the United Nations Climate Change Summit (COP26). Thus was born the action “2421 kilometers for climate change”, which, although it seemed like a superhuman feat, finally succeeded despite the adversities and difficulties, and Saint Emmanuel sent the message that “nothing is impossible for anyone, as long as he makes a decision “, as he explained to the Athenian / Macedonian News Agency, a few days ago, through the ship returning to Greece.

From Pnyx to Glasgow, on a … road with obstacles

The calendar showed August 11, when St. Emmanuel began his long voyage from Pnyx to Glasgow, to be at his destination on November 1, where the world’s leaders would discuss the climate. The road was long and the obstacles often seemed insurmountable, but the actor and runner managed to overcome them and successfully cope even with the loneliness he experienced along the way.

“I started from Pnyx and I had support during the part of Greece. Then I went to Italy and as I was traveling alone I had my car with me, where I left all my things when I ran. I left it in a city-base and did some kilometers by train to and from the base. I preferred this unorthodox so as not to carry what I had with me. I had great support in Italy, but not on the road. On the road I was alone with the exception of two days. “So I had injuries, I had to do physiotherapy in Milan and then I went to France which I thought – as it turned out – would be the most difficult part as it was the biggest kilometer and I had no support”, he tells the Athenian / Macedonian News Agency Saint Emmanuel.

“I was alone for a month and a half, I went through very difficult situations. The fatigue was insurmountable. Sometimes I missed the train to the base station, another time I got lost in a forest, in another I heard a growl … I had not budgeted for all this, nor had I planned it. In the end, however, I succeeded, although the degree of difficulty increased dramatically. “There was no crew or any other assistance along the way,” he explains.

Where he really had to lay down his life, along with what was left of his physical stock, was in France, where “conditions were extremely difficult,” he describes. “What happened in France was very hard. And all this was done by a 52-year-old man. If I calm down and sit down and think about it, it will seem “weird”. “But I felt from the first moment that I would succeed”, he says and he remembers the relief that every cell of his body went through, when he arrived in Calais “because now I was close to England and there I would find my own people”, as he says characteristically.

This caring, the eternal need of man to feel the warmth of a fellow human being – and in this case the support of such a difficult and at the same time original project – was something he missed along the way. “I was sometimes angry about the indifference as everyone knew that there was a similar action in my CV. There was little support. That is why when I faced these difficult situations along the way, I put them with everyone because if there was the much bigger wave of support and admiration that exists now, I could have more support and film – for example – this unique journey “, explains with obvious frustration in the voice.

On the other hand, of course, as he emphasizes, in these difficult situations he owes the incredible experiences he has put to his “piggy bank”. “This loneliness made me feel vulnerable and I came to despair a couple of times, so it all got bigger. I went to depths and heights inside me but I managed. It is as if a roller coaster is passing over you and you are experiencing them all in incredible sizes. Both despair and joy. “The emotions were mixed and that’s how I experienced it”, he emphasizes, describing the rush of emotions that flooded him every step of the way.

Agis Emmanouil had material assistance from the Attica Region, who covered his expenses, but also from other sponsors (World Human Forum, Alliance for Greece, Ecological Alliance, Mizuno Greece, ELPEN, Sunwear stores, Allianz and ANEK).

“Nothing is impossible”

“Finally, did you manage to get the message you wanted?”, We ask him and the answer comes effortlessly, without a second thought. “I think I was able to show that nothing is impossible for anyone, as long as a decision is made. It is so simple and at the same time so difficult “, he answers.

“The issue of the climate crisis,” he continues, “is within us as we accept that we are responsible for it. So we must go within ourselves and look for the root of evil and not go to the symptom and correct it. In short, as I had said about the project with the seashore, I think that “we are wrongly Armenianizing …”.

Saint Emmanuel estimates that our world must “grow up”, but in order for this to happen, I am very afraid that there will have to be a shock “and here, as he says,” there is a danger, according to scientists, this shock to be final. Let everyone take their responsibilities “.

“This action is a proof that everything is happening. So, any leader who said that I can not change everything in one day, I would tell him that you can but you do not want and the proof is in front of you “, he points out.

Actor and runner in the role of a …

Agi Emmanuel’s relationship with sports could be said to be even older than that of acting. “I have been an athlete since I was 13 years old. I have never stopped playing “, he says and explains the beneficial effect of the exercise in his life but also in his career as an actor.

“When I was studying at the EMPROS theater, but also later when I participated in various performances, I discovered how much aerobic exercise helps – especially the preparation for a marathon – in the role”, he underlines, pointing out that the exercise helps to strengthen the diaphragm, but and in the very confidence of an actor.

“I always use aerobic exercise as a preparation, not only for the performances but also in general,” he says characteristically.

Hypermarathon and theater in the place where they were born

After the first super marathon of 2014, in the mind and soul of Agi Emmanuel nestled the idea of ​​”Run and Act”, an ambitious project of 2000km, which combined sports and culture – hypermarathon and theater – in the place where they were born, in Greece.

The script wanted a group of European actors and ultra-marathon runners to start on May 9th from the northernmost ancient theater, that of Maronia, and descend to the ancient theater of Epidaurus, uniting the ancient theaters of the mainland and as modern marathon runners – “Fei,” emphasizes- to play a play in every theater. “This was the project, this is what I fought for so many years, that’s why I kept myself in shape. I believed in it a lot, unfortunately it is very difficult to do as a production “, he underlines.

This project has not yet received “flesh and bones”, however Saint Emmanuel has not abandoned the idea. So, when we ask him what his next project is, he answers: the previous one! “It’s ‘Run and Act.’ That is, to bring Europe to Greece and not to go to Europe myself. “If all the actors are coordinated, it will not be just an individual vibration of a certain scope, but a coordination of an ensemble with – I hope – deafeningly positive results”, he emphasizes with enthusiasm.