Get To Know 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 runners to solo runs involving thousands of miles. In 2006, he ran 3,260 miles solo coast-to-coast across the entire U.S.A.!

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!

Home

Get To Know Paul

Meet Stroller "BOB"

In 2008 he ran 620 miles solo across the state of Montana, and in 2009 he ran 500 miles solo through Alaska. In 2010 he went overseas and ran 500 miles solo across Germany. In 2011, he ran 506 miles solo across the Mojave Desert, becoming the first person to run solo from the Grand Canyon to Death Valley.

Kids Worldwide Virtually Ran Too! Learn More >

Miles By Kids Since April 2008

Check Out Paul's Runs

Free Team Registration

School Team Guidelines

Fun School Assemblies

Paul Answers Questions

Set Goals & Be Positive

Health & Fitness Info

Running Tips & Info

Walking Tips & Info

P.A.C.E. in the Media

Pictures & News Videos

"This Is Not About Me"

Contact Paul Staso

SEE THE PICTURES! During the Annual P.A.C.E. Treks Paul Takes a Lot of Pictures. Have a Look! CLICK FOR PACE PICS

WANT TO RECEIVE P.A.C.E. E-MAIL UPDATES? ENTER YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS:

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!

Why does he do it? For personal adventure and the opportunity to encourage kids to be healthy and fit! While attending the University of Montana in the mid-1980s Paul 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).

Paul, age 48 and the father of four children, has been a 5th grade teacher, coached high school track and field champions in Montana, and was selected as a Torchbearer for the 2002 Olympic Torch Relay. In 2010 he was inducted as the first European PTA Youth Ambassador for his efforts in promoting youth fitness globally. He 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.

Paul aims to inspire and educate children to be more active. He considers his 2006 run across America as his most special and meaningful running achievement... mainly because with each step he kept a promise to 97 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. “In June 2005 my then 10-year-old daughter, Ashlin, and I had a 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.” (Scroll down to read more...)

Paul developed an web site for the kids’ year-long undertaking, which remains online at www.pacetrek.com/seeusrun, 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.

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), 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 80 pounds when it was fully stocked. It truly lived up to its name! Paul became the 5th 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 (Promoting Active Children Everywhere) and watched online by people of all ages.

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 curriculum for elementary kids along the 2,278-mile course of historic Route 66 (www.pacetrek.com/kids66), and for the 2009-2010 school year a 2,266-mile trek was created to and through the national parks of the Northwest United States (www.pacetrek.com/parksrun). 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 an educational web site. It was the inaugural "P.A.C.E. Trek" and set the stage for Paul's other annual journeys, which to date have included: a 500 mile run through the challenging terrain of the largest U.S. state, Alaska (an 18-day endeavor involving over 22,000 school children located in 10 countries who logged over 118,000 miles); a 3-week, 500-mile solo run across Germany with over 22,000 children from 9 countries virtually running with him; and, a 506-mile solo run across the Mojave Desert in 17 days – once again being accompanied by thousands of school children from 9 countries. His next adventure starts April 28, 2013 and will be Space Run 2013 – an out of this world running adventure!

Paul is the recipient of the 2008 Distinguished Service Award from the Montana Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. He has also received a Healthy Hero Award from the Mayo Clinic's CardioVision 2020 program for his work in promoting childhood health across the U.S.A., and was inducted as the first European PTA Youth Ambassador. Paul's ultra-endurance treks have been featured in numerous print, television and radio reports.

Paul truly enjoys meeting and speaking to people of all ages. His message of learning to persevere through life with a healthy body and positive attitude is one that any audience can enjoy – regardless of age.

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. He aims to encourage, educate, inspire and motivate children worldwide to adopt life-long habits toward a healthy lifestyle. Through his running he also aims to expand children's knowledge of the world around them and to encourage young people to pursue their goals and dreams with the abilities they possess.

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.