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With tears in his eyes and his fists raised in the air, Paul Staso took the final steps into the Atlantic Ocean on Friday, Oct. 20, to complete his solo run across the United States.
As only the eighth person to ever run without a support team across the United States, Staso, 41, said he fulfilled a promise to some students and also completed a dream set in motion two decades ago.
He ran the final 100 yards to the beach with his wife and four children, which is the same way he started the PACE, Promoting Active Children Everywhere, Run Across America on June 23 when he left Cannon Beach, Ore.
Over the past 17 weeks, Staso ran solo across 15 states pushing a modified jogging stroller complete with a solar panel to charge his cellular phone and GPS.
“This is really overwhelming,” he said, as he fought back tears. “It’s a huge relief for sure. I have a mixture of emotions. It’s something I’ve always wanted to accomplish.”
He tried the trek once before, 20 years ago, and didn’t make it after getting injured only 36 miles into a race across the country.
Staso said he stayed true to the motivation for the run – all 3,260 miles and 120 days of it.
“From the beginning, it was to keep a promise to the kids. I was under some pressure to tweak the purpose, and at times I was forced to defend the intent of the run. But we did it, and stayed true to the purpose of the run,” he said.
The promise he is talking about is one he made to students in his wife Vicki’s fourth- and fifth-grade classes at Russell Elementary School in their hometown of Missoula, Mont. when they designed a project to complete a virtual run-walk across the United States.
The ultra marathoner and former teacher promised students he would run the route to promote their fitness program to other students if they could meet their goal within the school year. The students completed the virtual project during the 2004-05 school year, and he set out on his PACE Run Across America.
During the run, Staso took 14 days off to rest, averaging 33 miles a day – that’s more than a 26.2-mile marathon almost everyday for 17 weeks.
His top mileage for one day was 48 miles, and the least amount of mileage he compiled was the final day when he ran 17 miles from Georgetown to Lewes. During the last quarter of the run he ran 900 miles during a 27-day span - without a day off.
He spent about eight to 10 hours a day on the road.
Staso said most of his focus was on staying healthy, and he was able to run without any major injuries. “You get to know your body very well,” he said. “I had a ritual of icing down my legs every night. I used a lot of Advil, some supplements and really paid attention to my fluid and caloric intake.”
He burned up as many as 4,000 calories per day, but only lost three pounds during the journey.
“The risk of injury was always there; I was very fortunate,” he added.
The cost of the run, estimated to be around $7,000, was covered by donations and the Staso family.
He stopped along the way for media interviews and to speak at schools about the Russell Elementary students’ fitness program. “It was all spontaneous,” he said.
Each day’s journey and night’s stay was planned in advance with the help of two women in Montana, Diana Sontag and Stacey Rossmiller, who volunteered their services.
“Without them, I could not have touched the sand at Cape Henlopen,” he said. “They became very determined to help me get to the Atlantic Ocean.”
The local Seashore Striders also helped with logistics and lodging during the final two weeks of the run.
Staso ran into a minor roadblock during the last week of his run when he was denied a request to run across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. He had to be driven across the bridge.
In a journey filled with highlights, Staso said one of the greatest moments in his odyssey was arriving in Lewes and finally meeting the students at Shields Elementary School.
Thanks to the efforts of Tim Bamforth, the school’s physical education teacher, students at the school have started their own virtual run/walk across the United States – from Cape Henlopen to Cannon Beach, Ore.
When students learned about the efforts of Staso, they began posting daily emails of encouragement on his www.pacerun.com web page.
“The Shields’ kids have supported me all the way across, and it was special to finally meet them,” he said.
He made a small detour during the final three miles of his run on Friday to jog in front of the school to greet students who were outside cheering – even though it was raining.
Members of the Seashore Striders, friends and family members, and Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach, greeted him on the beach at the park.
During his stay in Lewes, Staso returned to Shields Elementary School twice on Friday.
He spoke with students during an afternoon assembly and then attended the school’s Family Fun Night. On Saturday morning, he was the official starter for a Seashore Striders’ cross-country meet and also handed out the awards.
The Staso family left Lewes Sunday to visit the Washington, D.C. area, and was expected back in Montana Oct. 26.
Staso, who heads a web development business, said he is anxious to get back to a normal routine, but he will continue to promote the importance of youth fitness.
“I will continue running, in short races,” he said. “Hitting that sand along the Atlantic Ocean was the pinnacle; it was the biggest thing I’ll ever do with my running.
“I want to keep visiting schools and continue to share the journey.”
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