Using the 1928 Bunion Derby as his inspiration, John Radich recently completed his transcontinental run from Santa Monica to Atlantic City, N.J. — two-thirds of it on Route 66.
The Pasadena (Calif.) Star-News caught up with Radich, who lives in nearby Monrovia.
It required four months, 20 days and seven pairs of shoes for him to finish running the 3,500 miles. He did it to raise money and bring publicity for the anti-drug Way to Happiness Foundation founded by the Church of Scientology.
“Running across America is dangerous,” he said, referring to the traffic he encountered. “I never had a bad experience with people and I was never in a situation where I felt threatened, but it was much harder than I thought.”
Radich said his next cross-country running goal is to go from Fairbanks, Alaska, to Mexico. Radich also has a website about the run here, but hasn’t updated it since late November.