by Brett Hoover — posted on 9/27/2011

As Adelphi University seniors Adam Clark and Jeffrey Perez prepared for their final run at the Paul Short Invitational in Bethlehem, Pa. a year ago little did they know they'd still be running together a year later.

No longer teammates training on wooded trails during the fall or competing on The Armory track in the winter, they have hit the open road together, simultaneously discovering America and raising money and awareness for charities close to their hearts. Like Forrest Gump before them, they are indeed running across the country.

"You know, I have never seen Forrest Gump," said Perez during an afternoon break from the Hoosier National Forest, not far from French Lick, Ind.

Clark was the one who dreamed up the idea. "It started as an opportunity that I wanted to create for myself," he said. "I didn't have anything going on the job front, so I wanted to make something positive for myself. And open up an opportunity for others."

So late in the season at an Adelphi practice, during a 10-mile run, Clark mentioned the idea to Perez. Not thinking that the Transcontinental Project would ever happen, Perez committed.

They certainly won't be the first USA Crossers, but successful on-foot journeys across America are a tall order. More people have swum across the English Channel. A lot more.

Yet a month and more than 1,000 miles ago, the two set off from Long Island with Adelphi teammate Ian Leavitt and Clark's high school friend James Eastman providing support from a small cramped vehicle.

Clark — a native of Wantagh, N.Y. — is running on behalf of "Shannon's Fight," an organization committed to supporting those stricken with rare cancers. Shannon? That's his 15-year-old cousin Shannon Serkes. "Shannon is a fighter, I am a runner," said Clark. "Together, we will defy the odds and accomplish something monumental."

Perez — who hails from East Elmhurst, N.Y. — represents "Global Kids," a group that encourages volunteers to work with young people. "It was an after-school program that I was involved in during high school," Perez told Morgan Heyrman of the Wantagh Patch. "It actually motivated me to pursue college even further and taught me that there's more out there to experience."

The Transcontinental Project is certainly an experience of a lifetime. Taxing their bodies by day and finding places to rest by night, the team is "relying on the hospitality of the American people," according to Clark. That might mean camping out on a lawn or getting a night's rest in a church.

Through the challenge of the Appalachians they needed to rely on the inspiration of their chosen charities as the elevations wreaked havoc on their feet. "For me, it was significant amount of pain," said Perez. Now that they have moved on to the Midwest, things aren't exactly pain-free, but certainly much better as the duo chews up about 35 miles a day on flat ground.

"America is very green, very open and the road architecture is very repetitive," said Perez. "And I have seen more cows and horses than I have seen in my lifetime."

The plans are understandably fluid, but the route has been carefully mapped. The journey has taken the team into Illinois and among the projected stops ahead are Taos, Mo.; Ash Valley, Kan.; Romeo, Colo.; Beclabito, N.M.; Tuba City, Ariz.; and, finally, Huntington Beach, Calif., in mid- to late-November. It's not a sprint, but rather 125 marathons or so.

Upon their return, we hope to see them back in The Armory, a facility the two consider home. "It is our place," said Clark. "It is a very sentimental place for us."

View photos from their journey