On Paul Stasso's solo run across the country, he's opted to face down the four-wheeled threats. Jogging along the left shoulder of highways and backroads, he can at least see them coming.
“You couldn't go sit under a bush for shade because of the snakes,” the Missoula Web site developer said Wednesday during a hero's welcome to his hometown. “I had to make a lean-to out of a tarp for shade.”
The Stassos tallied the daily totals and showed the students where they'd virtually reached each day. Along the way, they sneaked in some geography, history and math lessons related to the travels.
And the big payoff was a promise that Paul Stasso made to the students. If they made it from Oregon to Delaware by the end of the school year, he'd run their route for real - by himself.
“When people stop and talk with me, they always ask what charity I'm raising money for,” Stasso said. “When I tell them I'm simply fulfilling a promise I made to these kids, they're always surprised. I guess keeping a promise is not as common as it was. I'm not picking anyone's pockets.”
In 23 days of running, Stasso has crossed four states and about 650 miles. That's about one-fifth of his goal. Another fifth will come just by crossing Montana's roughly 600-mile midsection.
His only daily companion has been “Bob,” the bright-yellow jogging stroller that carries 65 pounds of his gear. It's draped with a flexible solar panel that powers his GPS unit, stereo and cell phone. His water supply weighs 20 pounds, fully stocked.
“When I got to Portland, I dropped about eight pounds of gear that I wasn't using,” Stasso said. “I've still got my tent, but I haven't used it yet. The people setting up my lodging each night are determined to keep me out of that tent.”
Those people are sisters Diana and Stacy Sontag, who on Wednesday wore bright yellow T-shirts declaring themselves to be “Bob's groupies.” They were surrounded by dozens of Russell students, teachers and other supporters who lined U.S. Highway 93 to see Stasso's arrival from Lolo.
At 10 a.m. sharp, Stasso crossed Buckhouse Bridge. A Missoula police motorcycle escort was waiting for him at Wal-Mart, along with a gaggle of sign-wavers. He hoofed it up to McDonald's restaurant, where about two dozen kids, adults and TV camera crews joined him for a final lap down McDonald Avenue to Russell School.
Soon-to-be fifth-grader Jonathan Linton was cell-phoning his best friends, Hunter and Nick, to alert them about the arrival. After running the last several blocks with Stasso, he discovered that Hunter McKenzie was already waiting at Russell School.
Nearby, Lindsay Bixler was holding a hand-painted sign that read “You Rock! Keep on running!” She said running with the Stassos in class made it fun to be active.
“I ride my skateboard and my bike all the time,” Bixler said. “I just like to run around.”
Once at the school, Stasso had some inspiring words for the kids who were his inspiration.
“I've met a lot of teachers on this run who've seen what you guys did,” he said of the student's virtual cross-country trek. “And they are so impressed. You guys triggered a really neat thing.”
Stasso built a Web site that logged the students' progress all last school year. It drew attention from schools across the nation, many of which borrowed the curriculum idea for their own virtual runs. His own progress is monitored on a new site, www.pacerun.com.
After an initial plan of jogging 34 miles a day proved too ambitious, Stasso has scaled back to a more comfortable average of 30 daily miles. Depending on weather and terrain, he's ranged between 20 and 40 miles, pushing his jogger all the time. He's only had one flat on the jogger, and is about due to swap out his first two pairs of running shoes.
“I'm going to keep pressing on to Delaware,” he said. “Hopefully by mid-October, I'll be there. But for now, I'm going to take a couple of days and just relax.”
Reporter Rob Chaney can be reached at 523-5382 or at rchaney@missoulian.com.
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