P.A.C.E. Trek 2009
An Adventure In Alaska


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Paul Staso

Paul Staso

Paul Staso

Paul Staso

Paul Staso

Paul Staso

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Get To Know 43-Year-Old Endurance Athlete Paul Staso

 

From the time he was 10 years old – running past moose
deer and other wildlife along trails near his childhood
home in Alaska – Paul Staso has been on the run.
Paul's footprints have included everything from road
races with thousands of participants to solo runs
involving thousands of miles. In 2006 he ran solo
coast-to-coast across the United States, and in
2008 he ran solo across the state of Montana. Why
does he do it? For both the personal adventure and
the opportunity to encourage kids toward greater
health and fitness. He began running competitively
at a young age and participated in cross
country and track & field in his teen years.

While attending the University of Montana in the mid-1980s he began to explore his endurance limits... and never looked back. In years gone by Paul has run to promote various charitable organizations, including: the American Cancer Society; World Vision International; and, the National Marrow Donor Program – with which he is a member.

Since 1983 Paul has called Montana his home, where he lives with his wife, Vicki, and their four children - Jenna, Ashlin, Kyler and Brian. He has been a 5th grade teacher, coached high school track and field champions, and was selected as a Torchbearer for the 2002 Olympic Torch Relay. Paul prefers not to race the 26.2-mile marathon distance - which he admits he's not fast at, but enjoys running farther... testing his personal limits with challenging solo endurance treks.

He aims to inspire and educate children to be more active and considers his 2006 run across America as his most special and meaningful running achievement... mainly because with each step he kept a promise to 96 children back home.

“My coast-to-coast run across 15 states was to keep a promise to 4th and 5th grade students at Russell Elementary School in Missoula, Montana,” Paul says. “My wife is the P.E. teacher there and in June 2005 my then 10-year-old daughter, Ashlin, and I had a bedtime discussion about the fitness level of today’s kids. She wanted to do something to help get the children in her class more active and fit, so we created a virtual run/walk across America curriculum – from the Oregon coast to the Delaware coast.”

Paul developed an extensive web site for the kids’ year-long undertaking, which remains online at seeusrun.com, and many schools across the nation adopted the curriculum. The project that Paul and his daughter brainstormed eventually drew the attention of governors and senators, who wrote letters of compliment and encouragement, and local media sources followed the kids’ progress during the 2005-2006 school year. He’s quick to note, however, that the curriculum would not have been introduced at Russell Elementary School had it not been for the supportive efforts of his wife who implemented the project.

In an effort to motivate the two “teams” participating in the daunting 9-month trek (which were the 4th grade and 5th grade students at Russell Elementary in Missoula, Montana), Paul made a very unique promise to them. If either class could accomplish the journey before the end of the school year, he would run their route for real… solo. It was a promise that Paul was willing to work hard to keep should the kids be successful. So, as the kids ran and walked throughout the year, Paul prepared for the possibility of a solo U.S. crossing.

Both classes proved to be very determined and each completed the virtual U.S.A. trek in the spring of 2006 ─ a few weeks before summer vacation, the students acquiring an average of 3 marathon distances per child (78 miles) during the school year. As a result, Paul ran all alone from Oregon to Delaware, a total of 3,260 miles in 108 running days (averaging 30 miles per day).

His grueling coast-to-coast trek took him over the Northern Rocky Mountains, traversing barren plains, into numerous towns and cities, across the steep Appalachian Mountain Range, and through the second hottest summer ever recorded in the U.S.A. – all while pushing "Bob", his sole companion (which was a jogging stroller containing his gear, food and water). "Bob" stands for Beast Of Burden and the stroller weighed a total of 65 pounds when it was fully stocked. It truly lived up to its name!

Paul became the 6th person in history to run solo from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean across the United States, completing his journey on October 20, 2006 after conquering the most northerly route ever attempted. His trek was termed P.A.C.E. Run 2006 (Promoting Active Children Everywhere) and was watched by people of all ages at his web site.

Paul continues to promote youth fitness through an array of activities. He frequently gives presentations to motivate others toward greater health, fitness and the pursuit of their dreams, and he commits time to developing new fitness curriculum challenges. For the 2007-2008 school year he developed a virtual run/walk trek curriculum for elementary kids along the 2,278-mile course of historic Route 66 (kids66.com). The idea behind each virtual trek is for students to run and walk toward greater fitness while learning about the locations that they virtually travel through. Paul believes that through this combination of fitness and learning students experience places beyond their school boundaries in a unique and challenging way.

Continuing on his course of promoting youth fitness, Paul completed a 620-mile solo run across Montana during the spring of 2008. He virtually raced over 8,000 children who were in teams around the globe, sharing the adventure through a site (pacetrek.com/montana). It was the inaugural "P.A.C.E. Trek" and set the stage for Paul's current project slated for spring 2009 - a 500 mile trek through the challenging terrain of the largest U.S. state - Alaska.

Through each endurance trek he undertakes, Paul aims to teach children a simple idea: If you take care of your body it can take you on some wonderful adventures. When not running along the edge of America's roadways, Paul owns and operates OnTrack Designs, which specializes in web site design and Internet marketing (ontrackdesigns.com).


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"I am awed by what you accomplish. I am glad that there are people in the world that are doing good for
others the way you are. You are an inspiration and a positive force in the world."

Amanda Iowa

Click Here To Read Messages Sent To Paul During P.A.C.E. Trek 2008