A Gainesville man finds joy in weekly runs as the god of thunder
Eggleston says he loves everything about running, including the way it makes him feel like a kid. He got back into running after his divorce during a self-described mid-life crisis. “Instead of going out and buying a Corvette, I bought a pair of running shoes because I could afford those,” he says.
February 8, 2023 | Photo essay and vignette by Lauren Witte
This article is part of Atrium’s Winter 2022 issue. To view the print edition online, visit our Issuu here.
Maybe you’ve seen him running through the streets of downtown Gainesville or ordering a horchata latte and waffles at 4th Ave Food Park. Maybe you even saw him that one time he decided to run from his apartment to the Oaks Mall and back, a whopping 7 miles.
His path varies, but, for the most part, he only emerges on Thursdays — or, as he calls them, Thorsdays. The rest of the week, Thor, the god of thunder, swaps his cape and helmet for scrubs and a bandana.
On those days, Thor is better known as Robbie Eggleston, a patient transport manager at UF Health Shands Hospital. There’s no traversing the streets in costume. Instead, he settles disputes, works with upper management and walks patients up and down lonely hallways or across busy Archer Road.
That Eggleston has assumed the persona of Thor, the Marvel comics superhero, should come as no surprise. Like Thor, Eggleston is of Scandinavian descent, sports a bushy beard and has long dirty blond hair.
But why? Why does Eggleston don a helmet and take up Mjolnir, the magical hammer of the thunder god, once per week? Why does he run through the streets of Gainesville?
The answer is simple. It makes others happy. It makes him happy.
Eggleston’s wig and helmet rest on a pedestal beside the window in his apartment. He bought a new wig because his old one “smells like wet dog,” he says. “I can’t seem to run a comb through it anymore.” In the meantime, he plans to research wig maintenance.
Eggleston owns three full Thor costumes based on the Marvel movies and two hammers, Mjolnir and Stormbreaker.
A caricature of Eggleston and his daughter, Andaleese, hangs on his apartment wall.
When everything shut down in 2020 during the pandemic, Eggleston was furloughed and then let go from his job as an on-air radio personality. He used to run five times a week, but his motivation waned with COVID-19.
A video from one of his less frequent costumed dashes in July 2020 made it onto the Instagram account @onlyingainesville. The post reminded Eggleston why he first chose to galavant through the streets as Thor — to find joy. To help others find joy. He decided to bring that back.
Firefighters smile as Eggleston waits patiently for them to move off the sidewalk.
Eggleston slides on his sunglasses and gets ready to finish his run after eating waffles at Satch Squared.
Eggleston takes a sip of his latte at the 4th Ave Food Park. “Thor runs on Opus,” he says.
“Maybe, you know, this will not only put a smile on my face, but maybe brighten somebody else’s day,” he says.
On his runs, he waves at passersby, hoisting Mjolnir in the air. “Happy Thorsday!” he exclaims to all he sees.
Eggleston raises Mjolnir while waiting to cross an intersection in downtown Gainesville. His love of Thor was born of Saturday morning cartoons in the ’80s and Marvel comic books. One of his favorite comics, “Thunderstrike,” features Eric Masterson, who resonates with Eggleston. “He was an architect, and he just kind of stumbled upon Thor powers,” he says. “And he wasn’t really good at it.”