By Melissa Soria

Pharos-Tribune staff writer

 Mountains, tornado watches, hail, gravel, tendonitis, blisters, scorching heat, rattlesnakes

... and he’s still running.

Paul Staso, 41, of Missoula, Montana, has been on the run of his lifetime: A 3,200 mile run across America.

The four-month run is called the P.A.C.E. Run (Promoting Active Children Everywhere), which “is the direct result of an amazing running/walking effort by 97 kids at Russell Elementary School in Missoula, Montana.”

Staso arrived in Monticello Monday night, having run more than 2,500 miles over a three-month period. He’s more than halfway through his journey. On Monday, he came to the Cass County YMCA to talk about his adventure. He ran through Logansport on U.S. 24 on Tuesday.

His run started in June and when finished, will have taken Staso across 15 states, which is more than a marathon a day. He has no support group, but has a 60-pound stroller on wheels he pushes throughout his run. Like Tom Hanks’ “Cast Away” volleyball named “Wilson,” Staso has named his dear stroller, “Bob.”

“This is one heck of a stroller,” he laughs. The stroller contains his essentials, such as a tent, along with shoes, IPod, cell phone and more. The stroller is yellow with ‘Run Across America’ signs draped across it.

On Staso’s Web site he writes, “The main purpose of this run is to fulfill a promise I made on Sept. 7, 2005, to the 4th and 5th grade students of Russell Elementary School in Missoula, Montana. That promise was that I would actually attempt to run 3,200 miles across the United States if either class could virtually do it first — during the 2005-2006 school year. Both classes accomplished the enormous task, running and walking through all kinds of weather conditions. They worked as teams to virtually traverse 15 states of our country. Now it is my turn.”

Staso, a family man with four children, admits that the major feat has been risky.

Running through mountains, desert, on painful gravel, through narrow tunnels with no shoulders, he says, “There is a lot of risk involved.” In fact, so much so, that he wouldn’t attempt the obstacle again for the sake of his family.

Staso has three and a half weeks left of the run that he says has put him in a general fatigue-like state. He runs an average of 30 miles a day. On Tuesday, he ran from Monticello to Peru, beginning at 7 a.m. He got into Logansport at 12:30 p.m. having been stopped several times.

Staso has always been a runner, ever since he was 11, but this is by far the longest distance he has ever run. He said he wasn’t worried about the distance, however, when he began in June.

“I don’t think you can go in with any doubts,” Staso says. Besides blisters and a short-bout of tendonitis, Staso is in good shape. He makes sure to get plenty of rest at nights and ice down his legs. He sleeps at either a hotel or place of residence.

He says that the run is not only a physical challenge, but more so a mental feat. He said the most likely time he could get hurt is when “zoning out.”

“At the end of the day, I’m more mentally tired than physically,” Staso says. “It’s become much more of a mental obstacle.”

The toughest part for him so far has been in South Dakota, which he ran in the middle of August. The scorching heat was bad enough, but also, “you could see forever,” he said.

“I had to stop … I started crying. That almost broke me,” Staso says. “I’m just thinking, ‘Can I make this?’ ”

“I’ve been very fortunate to get through those (experiences),” he said.

Staso admits that he has embarked on a adventurous journey, especially when staying at random people’s homes.

“You never know who you’re going to stay with,” he laughs. “I’ve been in some real odd places.” He said one was a “haunted” house he stayed at in Montana. But Staso says, overall, that he has met some fantastic individuals.

For now, Staso is counting the days in which the run will end.

He says the hardest part of the run is being away from his family.

“Four months is a long time to be away from my kids,” he said. “I missed a lot of things that I’ll never get back.”

He says that not a mile goes by in which he doesn’t think about his wife and children, all 13 and under.

Staso admits that he can’t wait to be a husband and father again.

“My love for my family far outweighs this,” he said.

What will get him to the finish line, is being reunited with his family and having the kids in Missoula share in his success of the finished run, he said.

“The motivation for me is those kids.”

Staso said his optimism has also helped him along the way.

A sign at the YMCA Monday night read, “Go Paul: Man on a Mission.”

He sure is on one motivational and inspiring feat.