“Run, Pete, run!” 
 
 Manhattan celebrated its very own Forrest Gump on Monday, when 29-year-old Pete Kostelnick reached City Hall, landing in the Guinness Book of World Records as the fastest man to ever run across the country. 
 
 Just like Tom Hanks’ beloved character in the 1994 classic “Forrest Gump,’’ Kostelnick started on one end of the US — on the steps of San Francisco’s City Hall on Sept. 12, his birthday — and just kept running. 
 
 By the time he hit the Jersey side of the George Washington Bridge on Monday, exactly 42 days and about 2,900 miles later, he had gathered a mob of 10 fans who started running with him. 
 
 As with Hanks’ character, when Kostelnick stopped for a minute, such as to retrieve a dropped water bottle, the crowd stopped. When he moved, they all did. 
 
 The group gathered steam as it ran south of West 125th Street and along Central Park, growing to about 25 people. 
 
 As Kostelnick neared Midtown, several men in business suits joined his journey, running for several blocks with him. 
 
 Bystanders chanted, “Run, Pete, run!” and “Forrest Gump!” 
 
 The fleet-footed financial researcher, an Iowa native who now lives in Nebraska, said he had been to Manhattan before and felt right at home running on Sixth Avenue — because he had once chased a bus along the street on foot. 
 
 When Kostelnick reached City Hall at around 5:45 p.m. — after 42 days, 6 hours, 34 minutes and 6 seconds on the road — he had shattered the previous record of 46 days. 
 
 As he crossed the line marking the end of his odyssey, Kostelnick quipped, “Well, I’m definitely not going to run back. 
 
 “All I want is a beer and my wife,” he said. 
 
 By Kostelnick’s own admission, he hardly began as a running prodigy. 
 
 ‘I would run 72 miles a day. So I’d break it up into 18 holes of golf, and every four miles was another hole.’ 
 
 He dipped his feet into the sport initially to lose weight but found that not only did he like to run — he was pretty good at it. 
 
 He swiftly conquered the marathon and found his true calling was super-long-distance ultrarunning. 
 
 One of the first races Kostelnick entered as an ultrarunner was the RAGRBRAI fund ride across Iowa — for bikes. 
 
 He ran 423 miles in seven days, finishing ahead of some cyclists. 
 
 He has since won the prestigious Badwater135 Ultramarathon two years in a row, setting the course record in 2016, and ran 163.68 miles in 24 hours in 2015. 
 
 Kostelnick then set his sights on running across country — and shattering the Guinness record while he was at it. 
 
 His route had spanned the altitudes of the Rockies, the windswept mid-American plains and the severe ups and downs of the Poconos before he hit the mean streets of Manhattan. 
 
 He ran at a consistent nine minutes per mile, occasionally walking up hills or slowing toward the end of the day to let his muscles cool down. 
 
 Kostelnick said he passed the time by thinking about sports and numbers. 
 
 “I would run 72 miles a day. So I’d break it up into 18 holes of golf, and every four miles was another hole,” he told a Post reporter who ran with him his first five days and then his final three. 
 
 For the past six weeks, Kostelnick and his crew assumed a workmanlike approach, but with no allowed vacation or sick days. 
 
 Kostelnick would typically rise at 3 a.m., consume a breakfast of plain oatmeal and milk and a protein-powder shake. He would then hit the pavement at 3:30 a.m., run about 40 miles, and then eat a second breakfast, this time high-protein and high-fat, usually including eggs, bacon and different carbs such as mashed potatoes or lasagna. 
 
 Kostelnick would then cover another 30 miles before stopping for the night around 6:30 or 7 p.m. and inhaling dinner. It usually included a meat such as steak or meatloaf, a carb including mashed potatoes or pasta and a possible legume and protein shake. 
 
 He allowed himself only two 15-minute breaks during his long stretches — to eat. 
 
 He estimates that he consumed roughly 15,000 calories per day — including 12 cans of Dr. Pepper, Mountain Dew and A&W Root Beer. He also guzzled water and Gatorade. 
 
 Kostelnick also burned a lot of rubber, going through eight pairs of running shoes. 
 
 At night, he would get a massage from professional masseuse, chef and RV driver Cinder Wolff, then enter a fitful sleep interrupted by bouts of hunger and restless legs. 
 
 Kostelnick’s veteran race crew of Dean Hart and Chuck Dale tracked his mileage and caloric intake while driving ahead of him and stopping either every mile or at every turn in order to ensure the runner stayed on course. 
 
 His data was confirmed by several GPS devices, a detailed physical mileage log kept by his crew and a Bible-thick stack of witness testimonials. 
 
 He sported two GPS watches and one satellite tracker at all times. The detailed recording was necessary to satisfy not just the Guinness Record organization but also legions of doubters. 
 
 The former record holder, Frank Giannino, who ran a similar route cross country in 46 days in 1980, said he was happy to see his achievement beaten by “an athlete at the top of his running game.” 
 
 “Records are meant to be broken,” he said. 
 
 In a testament to Kostelnick’s running prowess and mental perseverance, several all-time endurance athletes, including “Running Man” author Charlie Engle, have attempted a record crossing and failed. 
 
 Kostelnick said he was secretly hoping actor Hanks would show up at City Hall in Manhattan to cheer his feat. 
 
 As a consolation, he already has another trip planned — but it doesn’t involve running. 
 
 Kostelnick said he wants to drive the course next time — because he didn’t get to enjoy any of the sights. 
 
 “I eat, run, sleep,” he said. ||||| Though it's an election year, only one person can truly say they've run the country, and his name is Pete Kostelnick. 
 
 Kostelnick, a 29-year-old from Nebraska, became the fastest person to run the width of the United States on Monday, when he completed his 3,100-mile run from San Francisco to New York City in 42 days, 8 hours and 34 minutes. 
 
 Kostelnick's run is still waiting to be verified by the Guinness Book of World Records, but current record-holder Frank Giannino, who did the California-to-New York run in 46 days in 1980, was on hand Monday and greeted Kostelnick by saying, "Congratulations, brother." 
 
 Kostelnick said he fell twice during his journey and went through eight pairs of sneakers, and though he's not quite a modern-day Forrest Gump, he said he was occasionally joined by fans. 
 
 "Awesome people ... they drove 10 hours to run with me for 5 miles," Kostelnick said of his supporters. 
 
 Though a two-time winner of the Badwater Ultramarathon, a 135-mile race that starts in California's Death Valley, Kostelnick took up running a few years ago in an attempt to lose weight. 
 
 After he'd canvassed the country, Kostelnick said he wanted two things: to spend time with his wife, Nikki, and drink a beer. ||||| Previous record-holder Frank Giannino Jr. helped hold the finish-line banner at New York City Hall. After Pete Kostelnick ran through it, Giannino presented a gold baton to him, a symbolic passing of the record. Photo: Courtesy of Hoka One One, Justin Britton 
 
 When Pete Kostelnick set out from San Francisco on Sept. 12, his goal was to break a record that had withstood every challenge for 36 years. 
 
 To do it, he hoped to run at least 70 miles a day for more than two months to New York City, a feat of physical and mental endurance that some believed was nearly impossible. 
 
 But on Monday, Oct. 24, Kostelnick not only broke the record, he crushed it by roughly 4 days. 
 
 Kostelnick, 29, jogged onto the steps of New York City Hall late Monday afternoon in 42 days, 6 hours and 30 minutes, beating the mark of 46 days, eight hours and 36 minutes set in 1980 by Frank Giannino Jr. For the new record Kostelnick averaged just over 72 miles per day, covering a total of 3,067 miles. 
 
 Accompanied by a small group of runners who escorted him through the streets of Manhattan, Kostelnick looked almost fresh in his bright blue shirt, sunglasses and backward baseball cap as he finished off an 87-mile last leg that began at midnight. He finished his run at City Hall, the same location where Giannino finished his run decades ago. 
 
 After climbing the steps, accompanied by his wife, Nikki, they shared a kiss and a long, emotional hug. 
 
 “I am not running back!” Kostelnick said to those who had gathered. 
 
 “I think it was more mentally and emotionally challenging then physical,” he added. “Everyone who came out was incredible. That’s what got me through this run, meeting so many awesome people across this country. I couldn’t have done it without them … It was an incredible journey.” 
 
 Giannino, who was there to see the record-breaking finish among a crowd of Kostelnick’s family, friends and runners, had known for weeks that his record would fall. 
 
 “He’s at the top of his game,” Giannino said on Monday. “He has this thing completely measured.” 
 
 Giannino, in fact, helped hold the finish-line banner. After Kostelnick ran through it, he presented a gold baton to him, a symbolic passing of the record. 
 
 “Congratulations, brother!” Giannino said as he handed it over. 
 
 The run didn’t start out smooth for Kostelnick, a financial planner originally from Iowa. After six days, he needed to take a rest day because of problems with his ankles and shin. But after that, Kostelnick got back on the road and kept churning. As time went on, he said he felt stronger and stronger. 
 
 RELATED: Strava Data for Pete Kostelnick’s Record Run 
 
 Five years ago, Kostelnick first started thinking about going after the record when he met standout ultra runner Marshall Ulrich at a race in Colorado and they talked about Ulrich’s cross-country run. Kostelnick said recently that he knew he wasn’t ready to attempt it then, but he kept the idea in the back of his mind. 
 
 This year—after winning the Badwater Ultramarathon for a second straight year—he felt he was ready. 
 
 Ulrich didn’t know who Kostelnick was when he first met him. “I didn’t know him from Adam,” Ulrich said—but he followed his running progress with interest the last couple of years. 
 
 Now Ulrich, who ran across the U.S. himself in 52 days back in 2008 at the age of 57, says it’s hard to explain how amazing Kostelnick’s feat is. 
 
 “I’m in awe of it,” he said. “It almost makes me speechless.” 
 
 The fact Kostelnick chose to run essentially the same route that Giannino had run in 1980 is also impressive. Ulrich explained that route is longer and more difficult—because of crossings through the Sierra and Rockies—than a more southerly route. 
 
 Ulrich also said he thought someone might come along to beat Giannino’s record, but he never believed anyone could shatter it the way Kostelnick did. 
 
 “I’ll tell you what, this is probably, at least in my book, the most significant running feat that has taken place in probably the last three decades,” he said. “The combination of physical and mental challenges to run more than 3,000 miles is a high hurdle. 
 
 “The big question was: Did he have the mental prowess overall? And he’s proven over and over that he does,” Ulrich said. 
 
 Nikki Kostelnick hadn’t seen her husband since August. But she was there to greet him at City Hall on Monday. She’d stay in contact with him, making phone calls along the way, but it was hard to connect because of Kostelnick’s running and sleeping schedule. 
 
 Just before Kostelnick finished, she said Pete had been feeling “pretty rough” and “ready to be done.” But she said she always knew he could break the record once he started. 
 
 “Once he gets into his rhythm, he has no problems,” she said. 
 
 At the moment, Nikki says her husband is not going to be running anywhere for a while. “I’m going to force him to rest,” she said. “He needs to take at least a month off.” 
 
 RELATED: Strava HeatMap Tracking of Kostelnick’s Record Run ||||| No, that's not a scene from Forrest Gump — it's a photo from an actual marathon in the desert. With a 135 mile stretch, searing hot temperatures, and altitudes reaching as high as 8,300 feet, it's safe to say that the Badwater Ultramarathon is one of the most demanding footraces in the world. 
 
 The aptly dubbed ultramarathon takes place over a span of 48 hours, starting in California's Death Valley and ending in Mount Whitney, the highest summit in the United States. 
 
 This year, it will see 59 seasoned Badwater veterans and 38 rookies putting their legs to the test from July 28-30, taking on a distance that most of us wouldn't even attempt in cars, let alone on foot in a desert that is expected to see temperatures at a high of 113 degrees and lows of 80 degrees within the next few days. 
 
 The marathon's starting point, the eponymous Badwater Basin in Death Valley, marks the lowest elevation in North America, according to the National Park Service. 
 
 Badwater Ultramarathon's 2015 route. 
 
 Badwater is drawing competitors from "24 countries and 22 American states" this year, according to a pre-race press release. The competitors are made up of 29 women and 68 men, with the youngest runner being 22 years old (rookie entrant Breanna Cornell of Florence, AL), and the oldest being 80 (14-time competitor Jack Denness of Rochesteer, United Kingdom). In lieu of aid stations, runners rely on a support crew to help defend them against the elements. 
 
 The men's course record-holder is Valmir Nunez of Brazil with a time of 22:51:29 set in 2007, while the women’s course record of 26:16:12 was set in 2010 by Jamie Donaldson of Littleton, CO. There is no prize money, but those who finish in under 48 hours win the coveted Badwater 135 belt buckle. 
 
 The prize: a Badwater belt buckle. Image: Badwater http://www.badwater.com/blog/2015-badwater-135-pre-pr/ 
 
 The marathon is so strenuous that the course was re-routed last year as Death Valley National Park suspended race permits to conduct safety reviews. Instead of its usual path, the race ran along Owens Valley, dozens of miles to the west. 
 
 Steve Maliszewski, who hails from Texas, finished in 28th place out of 100 in last year's competition with a time of 35 hours, 49 minutes, 58 seconds, and he's back at it again even after developing tendonitis in his right ankle. 
 
 "The Badwater portion is like having a hair dryer blowing in your face continuously," he told The Chron. "We wear long sleeves and wet them with ice water. [The cooling effect] doesn't last long because of the low humidity, but that's the best method of cooling, along with ice packs on the head and neck." 
 
 Jorge Pacheco, of Mexico, runs in Kiehl's Badwater Ultramarathon in Death Valley, Calif., Monday, July 23, 2007. Image: Chris Carlson/Associated Press 
 
 Maliszewski also told The Chron that he had to be helped to his car after the marathon. 
 
 "Everything you had, you spent all the way up to the finish line," he said. "I describe it as the most awful thing and the best thing of my life, all wrapped up in one." 
 
 Pete Kostelnick of Lincoln, Nebraska, had a similarly painful experience at the trek last year. 
 
 Upon finishing, he told Lincoln Journal Star, “I was excited, but I sat down and I about threw up. They immediately drove me back down to Lone Pine (California) and I went straight to sleep for a few hours. But then once I woke up, I was ready to celebrate. Yeah, it was tough.” 
 
 Tough it may be, but not tough enough to keep him from coming back. 
 
 Kostelnick told Lincoln Journal, “I really would like to compete for a top spot this year. Not getting under 30 hours was part of it. I was a little upset with that. It never even crossed my mind. I wanted to come back the second I finished. I guess I’m kind of addicted to the pain of ultramarathons.” 
 
 His strategy this year, he says, is to walk up the hills and save his energy to run the rest. 
 
 Gary Hilliard, 52, of Sierra Madre, Calif. starts Kiehl's Badwater Ultramarathon running with an American flag. Image: Chris Carlson/Associated Press 
 
 This year, however, he may not have to deal with quite as many obstacles — Badwater is back to its original route, with a few stipulations in place. Instead of getting a running start in the morning, participants will now be running in waves at 8:00 p.m., 9:30 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. to best avoid the triple-digit temperatures. The evening start also coincides with the full moon in order to best take advantage of visibility. 
 
 According to the press release, at least 50 of the competitors are pushing themselves for a charity of their choice, including Hope So Bright (a non-profit for disadvantaged youth) and Challenged Athlete Foundation (a charity providing grants to athletes with disabilities). 
 
 "I think ultimately, it's just [about] pushing myself and seeing what I'm capable of doing," Maliszewski told The Chron. "If you don't think it's possible, then likely you will never try.
– Philippides, who? Pete Kostelnick has just made the Greek legend's marathon race look like a quaint sprint. Keeping an average pace of 73 miles per day, the Nebraska ultrarunner, 29, landed at New York City Hall on Monday having raced 3,100 miles from San Francisco in just 42 days, six hours, and 34 minutes, reports the New York Post. He smashed the previous record time for the trek, set by Frank Giannino in 1980, by four days, though Guinness World Records has yet to confirm the time. Kostelnick, who started running several years ago to lose weight, fell twice, per ESPN, but the only real casualties were the eight pairs of shoes he burned through running 15 hours per day, starting at 3:30am, with two 15-minute breaks. A financial planner and two-time winner of the 135-mile Badwater Ultramarathon, per Competitor, Kostelnick drew comparisons to Forrest Gump, not only because of his Bubba Gump hat. Like the fictional character, he was joined by fans—"awesome people ... [who] drove 10 hours to run with me for 5 miles," he says. When he reached Manhattan on Monday to chants of "run, Pete, run," a crowd of 25 was running with him, including men in business suits. "As with [Tom] Hanks' character, when Kostelnick stopped for a minute, such as to retrieve a dropped water bottle, the crowd stopped. When he moved, they all did," per the Post. "Well, I'm definitely not going to run back," Kostelnick said at the finish line. "All I want is a beer and my wife." (A runner just set an Appalachian Trail record.)