The Trans USA Run Officially Started!

Sunday, 4th of July, 2010 – John Radich started officially his run across the United States! He started off at the Santa Monica Pier following Route 66. His crew team Captain Judy Maquire keeps things organized and running smoothly. John's motivation is to help and supports with his running the youth programs of the non-profit organization The Way to Happiness (www.thewaytohappiness.org). Get the full report by Sun Bernardino Sun newspaper. Pictures will follow!

Coast-to-coast runner makes a stop in San Bernardino
Wesley G. Hughes, Staff Writer
http://www.sbsun.com/ci_15453932?IADID=Search-www.sbsun.com-www.sbsun.com

John Radich has harbored a wish to run across the United States since high school, and he's got a good start. He reached San Bernardino on Tuesday with at least 75 miles behind him already, and he'll be headed up Cajon Pass this morning with a couple of runners from San Bernardino.

"It will take me two months to reach Chicago and then on to Atlantic City to dip my toes in the ocean as I did in the Pacific," the Monrovia man said. Radich used to live in Muscoy and ran frequently in Lytle Creek. The purpose of the run is to help kids and keep them out of gangs, Radich said. His run is under the auspices of The Way to Happiness Foundation, which is based on a book by L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of the Church of Scientology. Although he is a Scientologist, Radich said "the run has nothing to do with Scientology."

Radich began the run at the Santa Monica Pier and is following old Route 66 all the way to its
end in the Windy City. "From Atlantic City, it will be on to New York and then if I still have the horses I will end up in Washington at the Vietnam Memorial," Radich said. "If everything goes well, it will take 3 1/2 to 4 months. I expect to average 35 to 40 miles a day - at least 30," the runner estimated.

"The foundation gets kids involved. I'll be connecting with youth groups along the way," Radich said, admitting that he is in it for the recognition. "Making good works known" is part of the foundation's philosophy, he said. You can check it out online at thewaytohappiness.org.

It's not like Radich is new to running. "I've run across Europe three times. In 1999, I ran
from Athens to Hamburg. The cause was human rights." He's completed the 135-mile Death Valley to Mount Whitney run nine times, from 282 feet below sea level to an elevation of 8,000 feet, a climb of about a mile and a half. Radich is being followed by a support crew in a van, he said. Judy Maguire, 51, is his crew captain.

An Army veteran, he laughed and quipped, "When we get to Barstow, then I'm promoting her
to major."