|
 Fun
School Assemblies
Paul
Answers Questions
Set
Goals & Be Positive
Health
& Fitness
Info.
P.A.C.E.
in the Media
Pictures & News Videos
P.A.C.E.
Supporters
What
Paul's Wife Thinks
"This
Is Not About Me"
Contact
Paul Staso
|
Also, you can download the
official P.A.C.E. Trek 2010 logo for use in classrooms,
newsletters, media stories, etc.:
High Resolution Logo
(8MB) |
Good Resolution Logo
(1MB)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Kids Worldwide To Virtually Trek With Ultra-Endurance
Athlete Through Germany
President of The P.A.C.E. Fitness
Foundation to run 500 miles solo through Germany to promote
youth health and fitness globally.
 Paul Staso, Founder and President of
The P.A.C.E. Fitness
Foundation (P.A.C.E. being ‘Promoting Active Children
Everywhere’), has run solo across the United States in 2006,
solo across Montana in 2008, and solo through Alaska in
2009. Now, the 44-year-old husband, father of four and
ultra-endurance athlete will push a jogging stroller of gear
and virtually trek with thousands of children worldwide over
a 500-mile course through Germany between March 8 and March
30, 2010.
"The Germany challenge, called P.A.C.E. Trek 2010, is my way
of trying to make an impact in the decline of youth health
and fitness," Staso says. "The trek through Germany will
require me to average nearly a marathon per day for 21 days.
I'll be virtually traveling with teams of school children
from across the U.S.A. as well as many other countries as
they access my “online classroom”,
www.pacetrek.com/germany,
and learn about the locations we're trekking through via my
writings, pictures and media files." Free school team
registration is now open. For the most recent P.A.C.E. Trek
(Alaska in May 2009), Staso had 22,515 school children from
10 countries participate – logging a cumulative distance of
118,002 miles during the three-week endeavor.
Through P.A.C.E., Staso has accomplished a 3,260-mile solo
coast-to-coast run across the
United States in 108 days; a
620-mile solo run across
Montana in 20 days; and, a 500-mile
solo run through
Alaska in 18 days
─
virtually trekking with
teams of school children using his unique approach to
promoting youth health and fitness. To date, Staso has
logged the equivalent of 168 marathons in 146 days of
P.A.C.E. Treks
─
a total of 4,380 miles
─
averaging 30 miles per day.
"Since completing my solo run across America in October
2006, I've had opportunities to speak to many audiences
about the purpose of P.A.C.E. and what I believe needs to be
done to turn the tide on the continuing decline of youth
health and fitness," Staso says. "Kids need to see that if
you take care of your body it can take you on some wonderful
adventures
─
far more satisfying than staring at a
television or computer for hours on end. By the reactions I
receive from children, I know that my message and endurance
journeys intrigue and inspire many."
Staso, a former 5th grade teacher, has developed an
extensive web site at
www.pacetrek.com so teachers and
students globally, from kindergarten through 12th grade, can be
involved in his annual treks. There is no cost for a school
to register a P.A.C.E. Trek team and teachers can sign up
teams at pacetrek.com until March 6, 2010. Public,
private, charter, and military schools can sign up teams for
free, as well as home school groups. "We've set it up so
that teachers will have everything needed at the pacetrek.com web site and the Germany trek will not take any
more than a few minutes per day for 17 school days in March
2010 – generally a commitment of less than 3 hours total,"
Staso says.
The selection of Germany for the next P.A.C.E. Trek was
decided after Staso was contacted by educators in Germany
who teach at Department of Defense Dependents Schools (DoDDS)
and asked to consider a journey run there. Staso has had
many DoDDS schools from numerous countries take part in his
previous P.A.C.E. Trek endeavors. This will be the first
P.A.C.E. challenge he’ll attempt outside of the United
States.
“DoDDS schools have shown a lot of enthusiasm for P.A.C.E.
over the past two years and I’m honored to have an
opportunity to run through Germany and give assemblies at as
many DoDDS schools as possible,” Staso said. “Several DoDDS
schools in Germany will be contributing financially via
their Parent-Teacher Associations in order for P.A.C.E. Trek
2010 to take place there.”
DoDDS schools are a network of schools, both primary and
secondary, that serve dependents of United States military
─
and other non-U.S. personnel outside the United States. The
schools themselves are operated by the Department of Defense
Education Activity. DoDDS began operating schools in 1946.
Once again Staso will push a jogging stroller to carry
essential equipment, including: food, water, GPS,
computer/ video/camera equipment, running gear, and more
─
even a solar panel for charging electronic gadgets. Also,
for the first time during a P.A.C.E. Trek challenge people
will be able to track Paul’s progress live on the Internet
via a satellite tracking device that uses Google Maps
technology. Nightly
lodging will primarily be at the homes of teachers and in
hotels along the route. He will begin in the town of Grafenwöhr and run a course of 500 miles (805 kilometers) to
the finish line in Landstuhl.
The P.A.C.E. Fitness Foundation is sponsoring a $500.00
healthy
school award which will be awarded to a participating
school's P.E. program via drawing after the journey is
finished. Only those teams that report to Staso as having
completed the 500-mile trek by 6:00 p.m., PST, on March 30,
2010 will be eligible. Last year’s winner of the “P.A.C.E.
Healthy School Award” was Hohenfels Elementary, a DoDDS
school located in Hohenfels, Germany.
A 27-year resident of Missoula, Montana, Staso is committed
to doing what he can to inspire, educate and motivate
children toward greater health and fitness. Staso also wants
kids to set personal goals and reach for their dreams. As he
says, "Your dreams are beyond the horizon, and you have to
persevere to the horizon in order to realize those dreams."
That is why Staso created the non-profit organization, The
P.A.C.E. Fitness Foundation. He’s hoping to
inspire children one milepost at a time.
When not on the road training for – or doing – a P.A.C.E.
Trek, Staso oversees his public benefit foundation and
develops virtual trek curriculums which many schools have
either adopted or imitated, including a Run/Walk Across
America trek (www.seeusrun.com); a fitness journey along
historic U.S. Route 66 (www.kids66.com); and, a virtual
national parks run through the Northwest U.S.A. (www.parksrun.com).
You can learn more about P.A.C.E. Trek 2010 and register
school teams for free at www.pacetrek.com.
# # #
About The P.A.C.E. Fitness Foundation, Inc.
Founded in 2009, the mission of The P.A.C.E. Fitness
Foundation, Inc. is to encourage, educate, inspire, and
motivate children worldwide to adopt life-long habits toward
a healthy lifestyle; to expand their knowledge of the world
around them; and to pursue their goals and dreams with the
abilities they possess. The Foundation’s nine-member Board
of Directors is committed to organizing youth-focused health
and fitness opportunities for children worldwide.
The P.A.C.E. Fitness Foundation
P.O. Box 3404, Missoula,
Montana 59806
www.pacefitnessfoundation.org
|
|
