A Californian man who is celebrating his 66th birthday by jogging 2,448 miles along Route 66 has been chased by dogs, mugged and almost hit by several cars.

　　Geores Buttner-Clevenger says he has also been harassed by police, attacked by ticks and struck down by arthritis and repetitive stress syndrome.

　　He planned to jog between Chicago and Santa Monica - six miles in the morning and six miles in the afternoon - and complete the journey in six months and six days. He wanted to run each six-mile stretch in 66 minutes and finish in Santa Monica on October 12 at six minutes after 6pm. But after being targeted by criminals in Oklahoma three times, he warns that the journey is not for the faint hearted. "Oklahoma made me a faster runner," he joked.

　　Mr Buttner-Clevenger says he suffered bumps and bruises from muggers and lost a camera and a backpack to thieves. "Every step I take I'm hurting," he said.