John Lees, born in

Hove Hove ( ) is a seaside resort in East Sussex, England. Alongside Brighton, it is one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove. Originally a fishing village surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th century in respon ...

, Sussex, England in 1945, is a retired sports journalist who holds the record for completing the fastest coast-to-coast walk across the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Despite having

asthma Asthma is a common long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wh ...

, he walked the length of Britain from

Land's End Land's End ( or ''Pedn an Wlas'') is a headland and tourist and holiday complex in western Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, on the Penwith peninsula about west-south-west of Penzance at the western end of the A30 road. To the east of it is ...

at the southwestern tip of England to

John o' Groats John o' Groats () is a village 2.5 mi (4 km) north-east of Canisbay, in the historic county of Caithness, Scotland. It lies on Scotland's north-eastern tip and is popular with tourists. The northernmost point of mainland Scotland is ...

at the northeastern tip of Scotland in 1971. His walk covered 981 miles in 26½ days. The following year, when he completed his record-breaking 2,801 mile trans-America walk, he completed between 50 and 60miles per day, averaging 55 miles daily, overall, at average speeds ranging between 4 and 5mph. Starting at

Los Angeles City Hall Los Angeles City Hall, completed in 1928, is the center of the government of the city of Los Angeles, California, and houses the Mayor of Los Angeles, mayor's office and the meeting chambers and offices of the Los Angeles City Council. It is loca ...

on 11 April 1972, he walked for 53 days, 12 hours and 15 minutes to

New York City Hall New York City Hall is the Government of New York City, seat of New York City government, located at the center of City Hall Park in the Civic Center, Manhattan, Civic Center area of Lower Manhattan, between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway, Park R ...

, finishing on 3 June 1972. Lees became the sports reporter and

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

commentator for various BBC radio stations in the south east of England, including

BBC Sussex BBC Radio Sussex is the BBC's local radio station serving the counties of East and West Sussex. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios on Queens Road in Brighton. According to RAJAR, BBC Radio Surrey and BBC R ...

BBC Surrey BBC Radio Surrey is the BBC's local radio station serving Surrey and north-east Hampshire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at the University of Surrey in Guildford. According to RAJAR, BBC Radio Surrey ...

and

BBC Southern Counties Radio BBC Southern Counties Radio (BBC SCR) was the BBC Local Radio service for the England, English county, counties of Surrey and Sussex. The station also covered a large part of north-east Hampshire. It was the first BBC local radio station to in ...

, where he was often referred to as "the gentleman of sport". He retired from BBC radio in September 2017. He made a return visit to New York City Hall to mark the 30th anniversary of his amazing feat of endurance. This nostalgic event was covered by

. Lees is a keen birdwatcher.

References

* British sports journalists Living people Place of birth missing (living people) English male race walkers British male race walkers Year of birth missing (living people) {{UK-sport-bio-stub