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- - - - POST-TREK THOUGHTS - - - -

Click to download the music slideshow of P.A.C.E. Trek!

A couple of days have passed since I ran across the finish line at the top of Lolo Pass at the Idaho border. I've used that time primarily for rest, and to include some additional content on this web site. You don't want to miss the page of team results!

I've received some further mileage reports from team leaders and to date the reporting teams have logged approximately 37,000 miles since P.A.C.E. Trek 2008 started on April 28 - which is 1½ laps of the planet! It's a wonderful feeling to know that my idea of trekking across Montana with thousands of kids virtually running and walking with me would result in so many active miles that included learning about fitness, Montana and Native American culture. My personal accomplishment of conquering the 620 miles across Montana through 20 days of running and walking on Montana's roads is certainly one that I'll always cherish. But more important to me is that my idea caused a ripple effect that got kids around the world moving toward greater fitness and possibly thinking about setting some goals of their own.

I haven't received many team pictures or digital photos of kids actively involved in P.A.C.E. Trek 2008 - which is unfortunate. I understand that teachers are very busy (I used to teach 5th grade) and that taking some photos and getting those images sent to me is not necessarily a priority. I was hoping for more images to develop a music slideshow of teams in action, but would certainly need to acquire more to do so. For now, I'm working on a music slideshow of my personal Montana trek and will make that available through this web site. I'll also use it in school presentations that I'll be doing in the next couple of weeks. If you haven't yet seen the KPAX Channel 8 News coverage of my P.A.C.E. Trek 2008 finish, you can do so by playing the first video in the column to the left. There's also a larger version of the video on the news page. You can also download the 10MB news video here.

After I ran 3,260 miles across the United States in 2006 I had a rather difficult time summing up my thoughts in a final journal entry. I'm finding myself in that same difficulty as I try to sum up this Montana journey. In short, my east-to-west trek across Montana this spring was harder than my west-to-east Montana crossing in 2006. What was the main struggle? The wind! I seemed to have persistent headwinds nearly every day on the road, and those winds would dehydrate my body and certainly cause damage to my skin. The effort I had to expend in order to make progress through a 35 to 42 mile day was often indescribable. I burned many more calories due to the amount of exertion needed to accomplish the large daily distances, and my energy levels were often operating below what is usually acceptable for such ultra-endurance treks. My recovery time at night was shortened due to the extended amount of time I had to be on the road each day to accomplish the distances in order to complete the 620-mile course in 20 days on the road. It was truly exhausting and it will take a little time to fully recover from the effort. So, why did I run east to west? I had already run across Montana west to east and wanted a different challenge. I knew that I would likely have headwinds because the jet stream naturally goes west to east; however, I didn't know just how difficult it would be to successfully complete mega-mileage days while pushing a 80-pound jogging stroller through such winds!

I had many people say that I looked so strong throughout the journey, and there certainly were a lot of times that I felt strong. However, there were definitely times when my body was working in an extreme energy deficit. I lost 10 pounds in 3 weeks and persevered through the left-foot tendon injury that occurred on day two. I averaged 31 miles per day from the Great Plains in the east to the top of the Bitterroot Mountain Range in the west - crossing the Continental Divide in the process. I always made it to my planned daily stopping points, although there were some days that I truly struggled to reach those points (for instance, reaching Ingomar, Montana at the end of a 42-mile day from the town of Forsyth - battling strong headwinds through a barren, dry and hot landscape). Antelope, deer and cows were often the only life forms I saw during my day in the desolate portions of the state. As I got further west, people and cars began to outnumber the amount of animals I saw - and that required me to be more alert for safety reasons.

The weather tossed at me everything I could have imagined. I ran through two snowstorms, many moments of cold sleet, rain, and days of heat that were so intense that I couldn't keep the sun block lotion on well enough to fully protect my skin. I burned my left ear, my nose, my left collarbone, and my left shoulder blade. By "burn" I mean literally bubbling up the skin on my body in those locations due to heat so hot that it cooked my skin. Since I was always facing west, the sun would come up in the morning behind me and slowly work its way around my left side (the south side) and eventually end up right in front of me. As a result, the right side of my body was spared the damage that the left side received. I'm still working on recovering my skin from the intense heat. After eastern Montana, the heat did not return until my final three days, when I would see the temperatures soar up to 90 degrees. In all, I trekked through temperatures ranging from 19 degrees to 90 degrees.

The snowstorm I went through during my third day on the road was bone chilling. The day began with a cold rain blowing hard from the north, which after two hours had penetrated my high-tech rain gear. Then the temperatures dropped and the snowstorm blew in. It was a 26-mile day (a marathon distance) and by the end of that day my core body temperature had dropped so low that my hands were shaking involuntarily. I immediately had to submerse myself into a hot tub while drinking hot liquids to get my body temperature back up. I was truly on the edge of hypothermia. Due to the left-foot tendon injury that I had sustained just a day before, I couldn't "run" through the snowstorm - which would have generated more heat. I had to walk 26 miles through the freezing cold storm. I felt the effects of that day for several days afterward.

The people that took me in for an evening and provided a meal, shower and bed were absolutely wonderful. I was so fortunate to have quality places to stay and I appreciate each and every person who provided the necessities I needed at the end of each long day on the road - including bags of ice for me to treat my feet and legs. There was quite a bit of damage to my feet on this trek, and that damage started during the rain, slush and eventual snow of day three. My feet got soaked in my running shoes and began to deteriorate. From that point on, I never had enough time off the road to repair my damaged feet (there were some very large, intense blisters). I would spend 20 minutes each morning just bandaging my feet to push them into my shoes for another day. The pain for the first three miles of each day was intense at times and I would walk slowly and try to mentally block out the discomfort. After awhile, my feet would become numb. However, if I were to stop for 20 minutes or more, the pain would return with a vengeance due to the blood flow increasing in my feet (part of the body's damage control process). At the end of the day I dreaded having to take off my running shoes to discover what else many have happened with my feet that day. The frequently alternating days of rain, snow and heat truly caused foot issues that made me wonder if I would be able to go on.

I always had food and water on "Bob" and would eat/drink as frequently as possible. Drinking was the most important - particularly with the dehydrating headwinds. However, I simply was not able to put in the number of calories that I was burning every day. As a result, I lost weight. I wouldn't recommend this as a weight loss plan! Bob did great throughout the entire trip. The stroller never had one flat tire and it held up once again. It now has about 4,000 road miles and I'm not sure which frame will hold up longer... Bob's or mine! The stroller truly is my life-support system on these solo journey treks.

Finishing at the top of Lolo Pass (only 41 miles from my home) was great. Having my family there was very special and I had flashbacks to October 20, 2006 when my family was at the Delaware coast for the finish of my run across America. We were all wearing our "Trek Across Montana" shirts and the day was absolutely beautiful. Blue sky, dry roads and pleasant temperatures. It was the kind of day I had hoped for. As you'll see in the video coverage of the finish, I let out a rather loud yell at the end of the trek. I did the same at the end of my U.S.A. run. It's completely involuntary and I can only describe it as something that is released after weeks of intense focus on reaching a goal like this. I had pushed my body through extreme conditions, through extreme mileage, and through extreme discomfort. It is a complete relief to the body and mind to finally arrive at the point that you've been working toward... that point which has been the target since the first step. Yep... I was excited, relieved, happy, and experiencing so many other emotions all at once. It's a great feeling!

Now my family has me back and I'm going back to work. Yes, I have a job! I own and operate OnTrack Designs, a web site development and Internet marketing business. Summer will be spent enjoying time with family. We'll have to see what P.A.C.E. Trek ideas arise in the future, but for now I'm going to give some school presentations and recover properly from this intense effort. I've had many school teachers tell me that they would definitely want to participate in another P.A.C.E. Trek, so we'll have to see what opportunities come along down the road. I'm 43 years old and will have to evaluate things as I consider the next road for P.A.C.E.

I want to thank Mr. Robert Remler of Portland, Oregon for helping me to keep this web site updated during the endeavor. Rob made all of the audio files for the site from voice mail messages I would leave on his cell phone. He would also place text onto the journal pages during the few times I wasn't able to do so. Thanks Rob! I also want to thank my parents for being incredibly supportive throughout the journey. We would often talk on the phone as I was ending my day on the road and my mother would communicate some directions from Internet-based maps that she had of the areas I trekked through. Most importantly, I want to thank my wife, Vicki, and my four children (Jenna, Ashlin, Kyler and Brian) for their wonderful support of P.A.C.E. - dating back to 2005. I could never accomplish the things I do without their love and support and I am blessed beyond measure to have them in my life.

I truly appreciate each and every teacher and student who participated in this endeavor. You are all champions! I hope that you enjoyed the trek and that you learned something along the way. Remember, if you take care of your body it can take you on some wonderful adventures. I've been fortunate to experience such adventures, and it was a real joy to bring you along virtually on this one. I'll likely be adding some more content to this web site in the future, so you may want to check back. I hope everyone has a wonderful summer and be sure to drink well, use sun block lotion, have a good diet, and do some physical activity each day. Life's real adventures and experiences are right outside your door. They're not inside a television or computer. Set a goal, work hard toward it, open the door, and go out and find your adventure! It's out there waiting for you.

Keeping on PACE,