Charity runner passes through the Panhandle during Forrest Gump - KFDA - NewsChannel 10 / Amarillo News, Weather, Sports

A man named Rob Pope, stopping only to sleep and eat, has been running across America for charity.

Pope's friends would always tease him about wanting to run across America. When he finally decided to do the run, he wanted to do it for a cause.

"I wanted to turn this into something really big, and then you think, well, that fella Forrest Gump did quite a long run I remember," said Pope.

Pope is running in support of World Wildlife Fund & Peace Direct.

If you would like to follow Pope's run and donate to his cause, you can visit his Facebook page.

With Forrest Gump as inspiration, I guess you could say he had a lot to live up to.

"When Forrest was running over the Mississippi for the fourth time, reporters asked him, 'Was he running for world peace, women's right, the homeless, the environment, or animals,?'" said Pope. "And those two charities through various aspects of their work embody all those things."

Pope started his run in September of 2016 in Mobile Alabama, with a buzz cut and a fresh clean shave.

From there, he was running.

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Eventually Pope made his way through Pampa and Panhandle, on his the road to Amarillo.

"Yesterday was fantastic, I loved running through town. I had a lot of people waving and saying hello," said Pope.

Alongside Pope for certain legs is fellow runner and Veteran John Peele.

Peele ran across the country in 1975 and when he heard about Pope, he wanted to pitch in to make sure he stayed healthy.

"I know what you have to go through when you run anywhere from 30-50 miles a day," said Peele.

Peele is also running in support of multiple charities. He believes through exercise and a good diet you can extend your life and your outlook on the world.

"When you're running, you really get in tune with your body," said Peele. "Every step is another way of feeling this and feeling that. Next thing you know, you understand it."

They say you can tell a lot about a person by their shoes, where they go, where they've been. Both pairs of these shoes tell a story.

After the journey is over, both men well have left their mark on America.

For today, they're leaving their mark on Amarillo.

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