Lights... Camera... RUN! The Role of the Media in My Running.

With all of the miles I logged between 2006 and 2011 doing "P.A.C.E. Treks" across states and countries, dealing with the media is something I never truly got used to. It wasn't that having a television camera in my face made me nervous, or having a newspaper reporter ask me all sorts of questions made me uneasy. It was just that my running has always been rather personal, but my efforts to try and promote youth fitness (combined with the uniqueness of what I was doing) ultimately put me in the media spotlight as I reached for the mileposts.

I've been featured in Runner's World magazine, the U.S. Military's Stars & Stripes, the Washington Times, and various other newspapers, publications, radio stations, and television news broadcasts for my ultra-endurance endeavors. I've done podcasts, interviews for blog authors, and have even been mentioned in foreign press. It was always important to me to try and turn the focus from me to the reason for my running -- that being to promote youth health and fitness. I'll never forget my first television interview, which was impromptu! I was running through eastern Washington state only about 400 miles into my 3,260-mile solo run across America in 2006 when a news media vehicle pulled up and the reporter asked to interview me for a news segment to be aired that evening. I was surprised that what I was doing was deemed "newsworthy" and I thought that it would be a rare occurrence. Well, it was just the start of what would be countless miles of doing interviews and having a microphone and/or camera pushed toward my sweaty face.

I never sought out media interviews. I just figured that if they happened... they happened. When a news story about me would appear in print or on television, I could typically expect to be stopped a lot the next day by people wanting to meet the guy they read about or saw on television. Suffice it to say, every day after a news broadcast I could count on it taking much longer to get my daily mileage accomplished. I'd experience more people stopping me, honking their car horns, and yelling encouraging words out of their windows after a new story about my running aired on local stations. I must admit, it did help to encourage me through the endless miles from one side of a state to another, or from one ocean to another.

I do appreciate the media coverage that I received during my P.A.C.E. Trek running endeavors. Some of my undertakings received very little media -- such as the Alaska run or the solo crossing of the Mojave Desert. Regardless, I pounded out the miles with the satisfaction that I was hopefully encouraging a young person somewhere to set goals, take care of their body, and to aim to always do their best in whatever they wanted to pursue. Ultimately, I just wanted to be an example. You can see some of my television news stories at my YouTube channel.

It would appear that my media days are now behind me, but I will always have fond memories of the opportunities I had to speak with reporters and to try and cast a wider net in encouraging young people.

From Him, Through Him, For Him (Romans 11:36),

Paul J. Staso

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Visit my YouTube channel -- https://www.youtube.com/user/pacetrek

Click on any of the links below to see some of my adventure photos:

• United States in 2006 (3,260 miles solo in 108 days at age 41)
• Montana in 2008 (620 miles solo in 20 days at age 43)
• Alaska in 2009 (500 miles solo in 18 days at age 44)
• Germany in 2010 (500 miles solo in 21 days at age 45)
• The Mojave Desert in 2011 (506 miles solo in 17 days at age 46)
• Various Photos From Mileposts Gone By
• Students Worldwide Who Ran With Me Virtually
• Roadside Sights From My Running Adventures
• Some Cycling Moments From The Past