The legendary charity runner Rosie Swale Pope has jogged (慢跑) her way across Europe to Istanbul, Turkey, as she continues her 6,000-mile journey from Brighton in the U.K. to Kathmandu in Nepal. The 73-year-old took on the challenge in an effort to raise support to improve health, education and living of local communities in Nepal, which was destroyed by a destructive earthquake in 2015.

“It is not about just giving people food. It is about helping these talented people to grow their own food,” she said as she jogged by the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia, the top tourist attractions in Istanbul.

Pope, from Tenby, Wales, began her journey to Kathmandu from Brighton, a town on the English Channel, in July 2018. Turkey is the 13th country she’s jogged through. The Republic of Georgia is next on her itinerary.

Recognized as one of the world’s longest solo runners, she ran around the world in 2004 to raise money for charity, and in 2015 she ran across the United States — from New York to San Francisco — to honor her late husband, Clive, who died from prostate cancer.

Her adventures also include sailing alone from the U.K. to the U.S. in a 17-foot boat. She described herself as “just an ordinary person, and I am old,” but she’s made special connections all over the world. “I meet people I would never meet any other way and actually it is a way of giving more to life because I have more. You don’t go out and you don’t wait for the world to come to you,” she said.

In 1928, James Braddock was a successful boxer who broke his hand in several places during a championship fight. He lost the fight but continued to box with an injured hand because he needed the money. As a result, his career floundered and he eventually lost his boxing license (执照) when he was considered as a shame to the sport.

Out of work, Braddock found himself in a difficult situation as the Great Depression swept the country of its wealth. Along with millions of other Americans, Braddock went under, with no money or career to put food on the table of his young family. During this difficult time, the family struggled with little food and even had their electricity cut during the winter.

In 1934, with government assistance, Braddock was asked to fill a spot as a temporary boxer. Out of shape, Braddock was seen as an easy opponent (对手). In what was considered a big upset (爆冷门), Braddock beat his higher ranked (排位较高的) opponent much to the amazement of boxing fans. With the help of his ex-manager, his license was eventually restored (恢复).

Braddock won fight after fight and managed to eventually come back from a dead career. He finally went on to fight the World Heavyweight Champion of the time — Max Baer. A tall, powerful boxer, Baer had actually killed a few of his opponents in the ring. As he was a small boxer, fans hoped Braddock wouldn't be killed during the fight. Most believed that his fairy-tale revival would end on the night he fought Baer. It was a difficult fight for Braddock. He took heavy beatings and even suffered broken ribs during the match. However, he fought until the end of the fight and eventually won the World Boxing Heavyweight Championship, much to the amazement of the whole country.

Jesse Owens thought deeply of what he went through after the Berlin 1936 Olympic Games and said, “People say it was shameful for an Olympic champion to run against a horse, but what was I supposed to do? The fall from glory was hard to take and it surely troubled me. But at least it was an honest living. I had to eat.”

The four­time gold medal winner refused to accept an invitation to compete in Sweden immediately after the Games with fellow 1936 stars, and he received good commercial (商业的) offers back in the USA. Shortly after his athletic career ended, the commercial offers dried up and with no chance to remind the public of his good skills in sports, his life became difficult.

After getting married and having his first daughter, he had to earn money. He first took part in the local races and won easily because of his special talent. He then raced against motorbikes, cars, trucks and finally horses. In the following years, he worked as a lift operator, petrol station assistant, playground doorkeeper and manager of a dry cleaning firm.

It was in the 1950s that things started to change for Owens and his family. He began to give speeches to corporations and bodies including the Ford Motor Company and the US Olympic Committee. He opened his own public relations business, travelling across the USA to stress the importance of behaving in a fair and respectful way towards the opposing team or player. In 1976, President Gerald Ford awarded Owens the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 1979, President Jimmy Carter presented the Olympic champion with the Living Legend Award. In 1990, George H. W. Bush posthumously awarded Owens the Congressional Medal of Honor.