P.A.C.E. Run 2006
Paul's Thoughts One Year After Completing "The Run"

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2007
Current Location: Missoula, Montana
Next Scheduled P.A.C.E. Trek:
    April 28 - May 15, 2008

One year ago "Bob" and I ran into the Atlantic Ocean to complete the 3,260-mile journey across America.

I've spent the past several months reflecting back on many of the experiences I had during that trek. I find that no matter how much I write about it or share details of it with others, I simply cannot convey all that I experienced during those 108 days of running. There are simply some experiences in life that cannot be fully expressed or explained. I've come to the conclusion that no matter how hard I try to share the journey with others through presentations, pictures or stories... it will always be something that only I and a handful of other cross country runners will truly understand and fully appreciate.

During the course of the past year I've received many requests for a slideshow featuring pictures from my coast-to-coast run. For the one-year anniversary of P.A.C.E. Run 2006 I've created an 8-minute slideshow featuring pictures of both the Russell Elementary students' successful virtual run across America during the 2005-2006 school year and my actual U.S.A. run. The pictures are presented in the music slideshow in an alternating manner... showing a scene from the kids' virtual journey and then a scene from my actual trek. The slideshow is set up for the Windows Media Player and although it is 24MB in size, it's worth viewing! Click here to launch the slideshow now!

There has been a lot that has happened in my life since reaching the sand of the Atlantic on October 20, 2006. I turned 42 years of age... celebrated my 20th wedding anniversary... moved into a new home... enjoyed numerous sports and music activities of my 4 children... operated my small business... been a guest speaker to many groups... developed a new virtual trek curriculum... and so much more. Life has been running at a fast pace. However, today I'm stopping to reflect on last year's run and what it means to me. As I write this, my home is bustling with the typical activity of a Saturday. I'm in my home office, and 5 feet from me sits "Bob" - my sole companion for nearly 4 months of 2006. As I look at the stroller I recall the many times of packing and unpacking it as I crossed the country... staying in various locations... being picked up and dropped off by lodging hosts... and sometimes making a lean-to using Bob and a tarp to create shade on a 100-degree day. I remember the tears of pain as I pushed 65-pound Bob up and over the Belt Mountain Range in Montana with tendonitis stabbing at my lower right leg. I remember pushing Bob as fast as I could to race antelope along the roadside as the sun came up on the plains. I remember fixing several flat tires... jumping with Bob into ditches to avoid inattentive drivers who came into the shoulder of the road... and that wonderful day of pushing Bob into the waves of the Atlantic. Now the stroller sits in a corner of my home office, and any visitor would probably look upon it as just another stroller. However, to me it's what made it possible to run across the United States unassisted. In my eyes, it's far more than "just another stroller".

I took over 1,500 pictures while crossing America, and there are over 500 pictures included in this web site. I do wish, however, that I had made more videos while on the roads of America. Overall, the journey is well recorded through writings, pictures and videos - and this web site will stay online to tell the story of the run. The pacerun.com web site is my book... and is free for all to read. In the past year this web site has been viewed by over 35,000 people, according to the visitor tracking log. Also in the past year I've been contacted by nearly 100 people wanting advice, ideas, or assistance on doing a trek across America. That's nearly 2 people per week! I wish anyone well who wants to take on the challenge of running across the country. It's a journey like no other, and this web site has answered questions that many people have had. Countless hours have gone into creating this site in order for the story to be told. I want my children... and future grandchildren... to know the details of the run.

I still give presentations when invited, and I'm still surprised at how many people are astounded by the fact that I ran across America all alone to keep a promise. The 4th and 5th grade kids at Russell Elementary in Missoula, Montana did an amazing job of virtually running/walking across America within one school year during 2005-2006. My promise was to run their route for real if they could succeed at their own virtual journey (see their trek at www.seeusrun.com). I've lost touch with most of those kids and I'm sure that there are many who have never even been to this web site... and who don't truly know what I did to try and motivate them. That's okay, though. I'm the one who can look in the mirror each day knowing that I kept my promise to them and in return they gave me an opportunity to fulfill my ultimate dream in running. It was a win-win situation for all of us involved. This year I created a new virtual trek curriculum that my wife and I are doing at Russell Elementary. The kids are virtually covering the 2,278-mile distance of the historic Route 66 from Chicago to Los Angeles. You can read all about it at www.kids66.com. They're doing great... but I did not promise to run Route 66 if they were to succeed!

P.A.C.E. Trek 2008 will be a free, unique opportunity for children (grades Kindergarten through 12th Grade) in various locations worldwide to virtually race me 620 miles across the state of Montana while learning about health, fitness, goal setting, Montana, and more via a web site that I will update daily from the road during the journey. I'm asking everyone who reads this to pass along the web site address to at least one teacher you know. All of the details are at pacetrek.com.

For now, I'm just taking a moment to look back on P.A.C.E. Run 2006. If it wasn't for the dedicated efforts of Diana Sontag, Stacey Rossmiller, Robert Remler, Brett Rodli, and Tim Bamforth I can say that it is unlikely that my solo run across America would have been a success. Each of them worked behind the scenes to make it successful, and because of their efforts I reached the Atlantic and am now running forward with other projects to promote youth fitness. So, if you missed out on P.A.C.E. Run 2006, you can still be involved in what's ahead!

I just have to include some thoughts here about Diana Sontag and her husband, Steve. Diana contributed the most hours to the P.A.C.E. Run 2006 endeavor behind the scenes. Throughout the journey she made countless phone calls to line up lodging so that I would not have to be in a tent along the road somewhere. She sacrificed time with her family and juggled her voluntary responsibility to P.A.C.E. while working her job. Her husband had long been experiencing physical problems due to an unknown condition. After my run across America was over, Diana and Steve learned that he was suffering from Chiari Malformation. Steve underwent brain decompression surgery on May 31, 2007, and I am pleased to report that he is doing excellent and the pain and suffering that he endured for 10 years is now gone. There are many people like Steve in this world who are in a difficult ultra-marathon of physical or mental difficulties. It is a reminder to me of how fortunate I am to have my health, family and many wonderful memories... such as P.A.C.E. Run 2006.

Last year I ended my October 20th journal entry with a line that is as true today as it was then. I wrote, "I'm a blessed man... blessed beyond measure." As our teenage daughters mature before our eyes, and our sons continue to grow in their elementary school years, Vicki and I are truly blessed with our family. We can't always see what's around the next bend in life's road, or what may be waiting for us beyond the horizon stretched out in front of us, but we do know that God is watching over us each day and that He will give us the strength to endure. My family means more to me than anything, including P.A.C.E. Run 2006.

There are many more mileposts ahead for this runner, and I will aim to do my best to remain true to the intent and purpose of P.A.C.E. - and that is of Promoting Active Children Everywhere. Time to lace up the running shoes and reach for those telephone poles to pull me along. Please stop and say hello if you see a guy running along the edge of the road with a jogging stroller loaded with gear. Chances are... it's me!