Northwest U.S. Parks Run...

The Northwest U.S. Parks Run curriculum was created during the summer of 2009 and implemented at Russell Elementary in Missoula, Montana during the 2009-2010 school year. Paul encouraged the 4th and 5th grade students to virtually run/walk the 2,266-mile route during the school year. It was an "active learning" project from start to finish.

HE'S DONE IT!
On May 1, 2011 Paul Staso Became The First Person
To Run 506 Miles Solo Across The Mojave Desert
In A Mere 17 Days!

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Historically, Route 66, better known as "The Main Street of America," offered those in the Midwest a chance at new life in sunny California and brought soldiers home from war. Most of all, it brought families out on the road to travel through the United States.

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There Is NO Fundraising To Do! There Is NOTHING To Purchase! Form A School Team & Virtually Pace Along With Paul By Adding Up Mileage Each Week. Requires Only A Few Minutes Per Day For About 3 Weeks!

During the 2009-2010 school year the 4th and 5th grade students of Russell Elementary in Missoula, Montana virtually found out what it would be like to run through all of the national parks of the Northwest United States. The two grades were actually two "teams", virtually running and walking along a winding course through the states of Montana, Oregon, Washington and Idaho. While on the journey they learned about fitness, various locations, and about the following U.S. national parks – in order: Yellowstone National Park (Montana); Crater Lake National Park (Oregon); Mount Rainier National Park (Washington); Olympic National Park (Washington); North Cascades National Park (Washington); and finally, Glacier National Park (Montana).

The kids completed their journey during the final week of the 2009-2010 school year at Glacier National Park, located in northwest Montana (only 160 miles north of their school). During May 2010, Glacier National Park had its centennial celebration – having been a national park since May 11, 1910.

The Northwest U.S. Parks Run web site chronicles the journey of modern "virtual" travelers as they ran to and through 6 national parks to improve health and fitness while learning about this significance of these national treasures. There were 54 fourth grade students and 41 fifth graders trekking along the course during the 2009-2010 school year. Each grade was a separate "team". They ran and walked the route while in a friendly competition to see which grade could complete it first... and both classes finished the challenge before the end of the school year!

This project remains online as a model for schools to use in developing their own virtual treks. Visit the Northwest U.S. Parks Run web site at www.pacetrek.com/parksrun.

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The purpose of each virtual trek is for students to run and walk toward greater fitness while at the same time learning about the locations that they virtually travel through. It's through this combination of fitness and learning that students experience places beyond their school boundaries in a unique and challenging way. The virtual trek web sites developed by Paul Staso regularly acquire visitor traffic from around the world. The www.pacetrek.com/parksrun site from 2009-2010 gets many visitors each school year, and Paul frequently receives e-mail messages from teachers asking how they can implement a similar program in their schools.

Paul's 7 Teaching Goals Through P.A.C.E. Trek Challenges

1. The importance of good health/nutrition, as well as the benefits of frequent and consistent exercise.
2. The benefits that can be experienced from running and/or walking (the original way to better fitness)
3. That if you take care of your body it can take you on some wonderful adventures.
4. Interesting information about the various locations that he runs through completely alone.
5. The importance of setting goals and pursuing dreams no matter what obstacles might be in front of you.
6. That a positive attitude and the desire to positively impact the lives of others can be very rewarding.
7. That perseverance can take you places that you never imagined you could get to.