Steve Vaught, the self-proclaimed "Fat Man Walking," arrived in New York on Tuesday after a nearly 3,000-mile walk across the country to lose weight and find happiness.

17,300 miles is the distance from Los Angeles, California to New York, New York — seven times. It is about 5,000 miles less than the entire circumference of the Earth. It is a number I had only seen on the odometer in my car.

After several years working as a presenter and interviewer for BBC Radio 4, Vernon's first travelogue series was Fat Man On A Bicycle. As the title implied, Vernon was obese and the first episode followed the health tests he had to undergo before setting off on his journey, which took him from Muswell Hill to the Mediterranean coast of southern France. He would repeat this journey fifteen years later for the TV series, Fat Man in France.

Jessica Watson, OAM (born 18 May 1993) is an Australian sailor who was awarded the Order of Australia Medal for completing a southern hemisphere solo circumnavigation at the age of 16.

In November 1986 he completed the New York City Marathon, taking four days to complete the 26 miles (42 km) race. He "ran" across America on his hands, taking three years, eight months, and six days to travel from coast to coast and raise money for Vietnam war veterans.