Atlantic to Pacific | 3,055 miles | 191 days | 13 states | 9,000+ face-to-face meetings

Photo by Jacqueline Verdugo

After 191 challenging days and 3,055 gruelling miles running across America, Sam Bencheghib has at last reached the Pacific Ocean – ending with a grand finale event in Santa Monica that combined a beach cleanup and celebration with a ‘final miles’ run where adidas Runners and members of the public joined Sam to support him at the very end of his epic run.

The 22-year old athlete, environmental activist, Parley ambassador and co-founder of Make a Change World set out on his cross-country odyssey from Battery Park in New York on July 26th, 2019 in adidas x Parley shoes made from Ocean Plastic® to bring the cause to inland America.

Averaging 20 to 30 miles of running per day through urban landscapes, midwestern plains and the Rocky Mountains all the way to the deserts of Arizona and finally the beaches of California — the mental and physical struggles wore on him. Sam’s main motivation to keep going were the 9,000+ face-to-face interactions and meetings with government officials, students, athletes, and ordinary Americans he encountered across 13 different states.

“It's hard to put into words what finishing this journey across America and jumping into the ocean felt like. Between the injuries, the soreness, the fatigue and extreme temperatures, there were moments I thought reaching the Pacific was impossible.”

– Sam Bencheghib

On February 1st, 2020, Sam was joined by over 70 people including family, friends, adidas runners LA and other supporters for the last three miles of his run. Parley for the Oceans and local organization Heal the Bay hosted a beach clean up to welcome Sam and celebrate the culmination of all that he has accomplished along the way.

Through all the education and discussion events he hosted on the journey, Sam realized there is still a huge lack of awareness and misinformation on plastic pollution. Though his run may have come to an end, this is just the beginning of a larger movement – a call to action for other incredible individuals and groups to collectively take action and act on this global emergency.

Sam proved through this journey that no idea is too big or too crazy. Running day in, day out for over six months to educate thousands of individuals on the crisis of plastic pollution showed that anyone can make a difference if they take the first step.

“This run taught me so much about the plastic industry in this country and the lack of awareness, education and action going on when it comes to plastic. Going through such hardships in a moment of such environmental concern, I see it as a metaphor for how serious this plastic problem really is. This symbolic journey across the US may be over but my fight towards a cleaner planet is only beginning.”

– Sam Bencheghib

“Running across America, not giving up, focusing on this one goal is like driving change. At the beginning it looks impossible, but every step makes it more real, shows that it can be done. Completing this very personal challenge is an inspiration and encouragement to never give up, until your vision becomes a reality. Sam is an Ocean Legend in the making, a champion of the environmental movement. And I am grateful to count him as part of the Parley family.”

– Cyrill Gutsch, Founder and CEO of Parley for the Oceans

Video episodes

Over the course of his run, Sam and his organization Make a Change World produced a series of videos to document the mental and physical hardships of the journey and the people he met along the way. Catch up on all the episodes below.