The mission of the foundation was to encourage, educate, inspire, and motivate children worldwide to adopt life-long habits toward a healthy lifestyle; to expand their knowledge of the world around them; and, to pursue their goals and dreams with the abilities they possess. While President of The P.A.C.E. Fitness Foundation, I spoke to thousands of school children in the United States and Europe through assemblies with the hope that my message would spur them on toward a healthier lifestyle. Now, 13 years after forming the foundation, I am dissolving it and retiring from actively promoting health and fitness to a national and global audience of children.
I'm about to turn 57 years of age and my focus has now shifted. These days, my running is much more personal and has a stronger spiritual component than in the past. Also, rather than aiming to encourage or inspire young people who are several decades beneath my age, I would like to try and challenge those who are 50+ in age.
The P.A.C.E. Fitness Foundation saw participation from nearly 100,000 school children from 12 countries in numerous PACE Trek running/walking challenges across states and countries. Those children logged a total of nearly a half million miles – enough to circle the globe 20 times!
As I lead the foundation I had seven teaching goals:
- The importance of good health/nutrition, as well as the benefits of frequent and consistent exercise.
- The benefits that can be experienced from running and/or walking.
- That if you take care of your body it can take you on some wonderful adventures.
- Interesting information about the various locations that I ran through completely alone.
- The importance of setting goals and pursuing dreams, no matter the obstacles in front of you.
- That a positive attitude and the desire to positively impact the lives of others can be very rewarding.
- That perseverance can take you places that you never imagined you could go.
The P.A.C.E. Fitness Foundation also participated in child-focused health and fitness seminars, as well as presentations at schools, conferences, and other settings. Educational curriculums were also developed by the foundation to benefit school children, such curriculums promoting an active and healthy lifestyle.
I am closing the doors on the foundation with great satisfaction in my heart for what was achieved over the years. It will be the only non-profit organization that I will form in my lifetime and to know that it reached children around the globe means a lot to me. Now, it's time to run forward into the next chapter of my running life. For those of you who take time to stop by this blog now and then to read the words of this runner, I thank you.
From Him, Through Him, For Him (Romans 11:36),
Paul J. Staso
- 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
