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- - - - DAY 16 - TUESDAY, May 12, 2008 - - - -

  Today's Distance: 32 Miles
  Today's Route: Townsend to Helena, MT
  Today's Weather: Partly Cloudy, Wind For Only 5 Miles!
  Current Elevation: 4,058 Feet (216' More Than Yesterday)
  Total Distance Traveled: 447 Miles
  Total Distance Remaining: 173 Miles

Paul's Thoughts For Today:

Hello from Montana's capital city - Helena! I arrived at around 4:00pm and rested for about one hour before heading out to get some dinner and some supplies to restock "Bob". I'm now back at the hotel and am relaxing. The day was pretty uneventful. It was actually a comfortable 32 miles to Helena. The skies were partly cloudy and the temperature reached up to 65 degrees. Also, I had NO WIND for the first 27 miles of the day! However, the last 5 miles tried to make up for that by giving me a strong headwind. Tomorrow morning, at around 9:00am, I'll be heading out of Helena to go up and over the Continental Divide on my way to Elliston. I do have a concern about wind advisories for tomorrow (30mph winds from the west). There's also supposed to be some rain, with the high temperature being 63 degrees. So, there may be some weather issues as I work to get over the Continental Divide. The weather for Thursday through the weekend is for a significant warm up... and Missoula (my hometown) is forecasted to be near 90 degrees on Saturday when I arrive. By the way, for those of you in the Missoula area I am planning on arriving at Russell Elementary School at 5:30pm this Saturday (May 17). The school is located on Russell Street right next to the YMCA. My family will be there and I want to extend an invitation to anyone who may want to come out to Russell Elementary to say hi. It will be the last time that "Bob" and I will run into Missoula.

There are a few things that I want to write about today...

I've received some messages from a few team leaders, and other people, about some teams struggling with trying to get enough miles in to beat me to Idaho. I've also received some messages about some children getting injured from "running" during P.A.C.E. Trek 2008. I've also received some messages about team enthusiasm starting to fade. These are certainly important matters and ones that I want to address.

Let me begin by stating that P.A.C.E. stands for "Promoting Active Children Everywhere". The focus is "active"... and that does not mean just "running". Active can be walking, hoping, skipping, and any other forward movement. The idea is for kids to be moving forward, learning as they go, and working as a team toward a goal. The journey is called "P.A.C.E. Trek" and I chose the word "trek" specifically because it is defined as a long and difficult journey usually by foot. Trying to cross 620 miles of Montana within 3 weeks is certainly a trek!

Please understand that the friendly competition of virtually racing me across Montana is just a fun component. It is not the emphasis and I certainly don't want children to be pushed beyond what is reasonable for their age level in order to try and acquire mileage. Based on some messages I've received, it appears that there are some issues arising with smaller teams who are finding it difficult to gain mileage to keep up. I'm asking all team leaders to promote the "journey" rather than the fun race against me. It's more important to me that a team safely do their best to run and walk to gain mileage rather than overexert in an effort to beat me to Idaho. I realize that for many locations the school year is drawing to an end and some teams may not complete all 620 miles before summer vacation. That's just fine. The important thing is for the kids to be involved in the journey and to learn what they can. Sure, it's nice to be able to accomplish the goal of virtually crossing Montana. However, those teams that cannot accomplish that are still winners in my book because they took on the challenge and did their best to trek from the North Dakota border to the Idaho border. Doing your best is what is important, and that "best" effort comes in various forms - running, walking, skipping, etc.  Remember, it's all about forward movement while learning about Montana, Native Americans, Fitness and more. Each child, regardless of his or her abilities, contributes to the team's overall goal. There should be no comparisons in ability going on within teams, and I truly hope that "team" is being promoted over "I".

I can tell you that I've certainly done more walking on this "trek" than I did when I crossed Montana in 2006 during my run across America. Part of the reason for that was due to the tendon injury I sustained on the second day. However, there's nothing wrong with walking. In fact, it is more gentle on the joints and recovery time on the body is much quicker. So, walking is a great means for "trekking" from one location to another. Go walkers!!

With respect to some teams losing enthusiasm for the three-week project, that can certainly happen. There are some days that I find it difficult to roll out of bed, bandage up my feet, and get onto the highway to face mega distances in some extreme conditions. Endurance endeavors can be very difficult. However, during the moments of waning enthusiasm there are opportunities for teaching! Perseverance can be discussed and thoughts shared about what can be acquired from enduring through a challenge. We live in an instant world of microwaves, remote controls, Internet, drive up windows, and other fast service items. P.A.C.E. Trek is an opportunity to teach about persevering through a commitment that may be challenging or just plain hard. I would encourage team leaders to have a discussion with their teams about the importance of persevering to a goal.

That's all I have to say about those items for now. Please share any thoughts with me that you may have. Today was my 14th day on Montana's highways and I've logged 447 miles - which is 72% of the 620-mile distance. I'm looking forward to arriving in my hometown of Missoula on Saturday, and I'm truly excited about the finish line getting closer. This is a very difficult trek for me. The weather conditions have been extreme and my body has certainly paid a price. Since I'm only off the highway about 12 to 13 hours at a time it's not possible to heal up blisters, or to fully repair any muscle discomfort. Covering 30 to 40 miles per day is certainly difficult, and I cannot fully explain what I feel when going through something like this. What's important for kids to know is not to try and imitate me by attempting to conquer large distances - particularly to try and impress someone. Be smart, run/walk smart, eat/drink smart, rest smart, and you'll truly have more success as you learn to be the best trekker that you can!

Please take a moment to look at some of the team photos that I've posted in the column to the left. If you click on the small version, you'll get a larger image in a separate window. Please feel free to send me photos of your teams... and your teams in action walking and running. I haven't received very many and if I can get enough I plan on putting together a music slideshow after this is over that can be downloaded from this web site.

Today's Montana "Did You Know?"...
In 1804, a hopeful Thomas Jefferson sent Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to find the fabled River of the West. From the time of Columbus, explorers and statesmen had dreamed of a Northwest Passage, an all-water route connecting the trade routes of the Pacific to the Old World of the Atlantic. The Northwest Passage was not Jefferson's only priority. In fact, of the tasks assigned them, Lewis and Clark accomplished the most within the modern borders of Montana. Contact and negotiations with native tribes; the reconnaissance of suitable sites for trading posts and forts; and, scientific accounts of the land's plants, animals, and scenic resources were all in keeping with Jefferson's hopes for the expedition. Today, much of the Montana landscape that Lewis & Clark crossed remains unchanged.

Today's Native Americans "Did You Know?"...
Montana is home to several Indian reservations. Take a moment to learn more about each. Click here to visit the official State travel site.

Today's Fitness "Did You Know?"...
National statistics show: The average child consumes at least 20 ounces of soda pop a day... Nine out of ten parents think their children are fit, when only one out of three are... Thirty percent of youths (10-19 years) have negative or neutral attitudes towards physical activity... In a typical physical education class, only 27% of actual physical education time is devoted to motor activity... Children exercise less as they get older, boys about 3% less each year; girls, 7½%... The average U.S. child spends 20% of his/her waking time watching TV... Fifty-four percent of students claim that their physical education class is very important to them.

Your Turn! Share Your Thoughts With Paul...
Click here to sign the official P.A.C.E. Trek 2008 guestbook!

Thanks for stopping by this milepost update. Run back here tomorrow!

Keeping on PACE,

Along The Way...

WINSTON, Montana was on my route today. Winston, a village of about 75 people, was developed as a result of the Northern Pacific Railroad platting the area and the Duncans, who opened the Duncan Hotel (a restaurant, rooming home), promoting the area. Gold, silver, copper and lead mines were active in the area from 1908-1918, which caused further growth. One of Winston's first settlers was George Beatty, who came to Montana from New York as a young man with tuberculosis hoping to extend his life with the fresh mountain air. He was so certain of his imminent death that he brought his tombstone with him. However, it was not put to use until his death at the age of 92.

Paul's Current Position In Montana