ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla., Oct. 5 (UPI) -- The U.S. Coast Guard made a rescue 70 miles off the Florida coast Saturday, fishing from the water a man in an inflatable bubble who claimed he was running to Bermuda.

The Coast Guard first received reports of Reza Baluchi, 42, on Wednesday. The Iranian-born American was allegedly floating in a hydro pod bubble, disoriented and asking for directions to Bermuda.


A USCG Cutter made contact with Baluchi and advised him to cancel his plans due to scant supplies, including a satellite phone, protein bars, bottled water and a GPS.

Baluchi refused, but days later he became fatigued and activated a positioning beacon. Coast Guard units out of Clearwater, Fla. found him and pulled him from the ocean.

According to Baluchi's website, he is a marathon runner with a goal to run through the nearly 200 recognized states of the world "to inspire us and unite us as a people."

He was attempting the 1,033-mile run to Bermuda to "raise money for children in need," a decision inspired by a 135-mile foot race he completed in Death Valley, known as the Badwater Ultramarathon.

The site noted that conditions inside of the bubble would be very hot and humid, and that Baluchi had been preparing with long runs in the 120-degree Florida weather -- the same temperature expected inside of the hydro pod.