Montana Kids "Running and Walking across America" need your words of support. Please take a moment to give them words of encouragement.

As some of you may know, Vicki and I are three months into a year-long physical education curriculum that we created for the 4th and 5th grade students at Russell Elementary School in Missoula, Montana – where Vicki is the P.E. teacher.

Essentially, the 4th grade students (55 kids) are trying to run/walk the 3,200 mile distance across the United States by the last day of school on June 9, 2006 – and the 5th grade students (40 kids) are trying to accomplish the same task. We combine the weekly distance achieved by each student for each class and move the students forward on our "virtual run/walk" map. You can read all about this at our official web site at http://www.seeusrun.com.

Currently, the 4th grade class is slightly ahead of the 5th grade class and has completed 946 miles. The 5th grade class has completed 935 miles. Both classes are about 40 miles behind the pace needed to complete the trek by the end of the school year. In order for either class to be successful, each student must run or walk a total of 2 miles per week during every week of the school year. That is certainly not much, but it does take perseverance! Our research has shown that no individual elementary class has successfully completed the entire trek in one school year.

Although our web site receives hundreds of visitors each week from across the U.S., Europe, Africa and elsewhere, the students did not receive any notes of encouragement last week. Vicki and I have been their cheerleaders and coaches for the past three months, but we are in need of some people to visit our web site (www.seeusrun.com) and to click on the "Encourage" link to send the kids a word of encouragement.

The temperatures here have gotten colder, and the snow is piling up. This week we will drop below zero for our low temps. The kids need encouragement, and we are at a turning point in this curriculum. If they can get through the holidays on pace, they stand a good chance of completing the trek! Encouraging words are like fuel that keep them going.

Please consider visiting our site and sending a word of encouragement. It doesn’t need to be long, and you don’t need to know any of the kids to send a note of encouragement. You would be helping to motivate 95 kids in a very challenging task.

Here are a few highlights from the past three months – all of which you can learn more about at our http://www.seeusrun.com web site:

* The kids have completed the states of Oregon, Washington and Idaho (and are halfway across Montana) – with 2,200 miles and 11 states left to go.

* Linda McCulloch, Montana State Superintendent of Public Instruction, wrote to us and described our efforts as "Truly inspired teaching".

* Dr. Jim Clark, Superintendent of Missoula County Public Schools, came and ran with the students.

* University of Montana’s "Monte" came and ran with the students.

* Frito-Lay Company and Rosauers Supermarkets have sponsored celebrations for states that the students have completed.

* The Missoulian Newspaper printed an article about this curriculum on September 30th (available through our web site).

* Runner’s World magazine published information about this trek on their web site and on their children’s running web site.

* Teachers from across the U.S. have contacted us about setting up a similar program in their schools, and several schools are now doing their own virtual trek!

* Our web site shows numerous ways that you can help support this unique curriculum.

* If either class is successful in completing the entire trek by June 9, 2006, then I (Paul) will actually attempt to run their route beginning on June 23, 2006.

This is a cross-curricular trek where the students are learning about numerous locations on their route. It is combining physical fitness with learning in geography, history, and much more. If you want to send an e-mail directly to Vicki, you can do so at [email protected]. You can send me (Paul) e-mail at [email protected].

Thanks so much for taking a moment to encourage the kids. Lives are being impacted in a positive way both at Russell Elementary in Missoula and at schools in various locations across the United States, and your encouraging words make you a part of that wonderful process!

Please consider forwarding this to family members, relatives, co-workers, teachers you know, and anyone else that you believe might take a moment to send an encouraging word!

With appreciation,

Paul Staso

Run/Walk Across America

http://www.seeusrun.com

The 4th and 5th grade students at Russell Elementary School in Missoula are Running & Walking Across America With A Superintendent, A Bear and The Army! http://www.matr.net/article-16649.html

Healthy workers make good business sense – Companies are jumping on the fitness wagon by sponsoring employee health programs http://www.matr.net/article-16369.html

Russell Elementary students find inspiration in running competition, virtual travel – "Run Russell, Run!" http://www.matr.net/article-16243.html

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Montana one of only 22 states meeting government physical activity goal

Montana is one of only 22 states and the District of Columbia that is meeting the government’s goal of getting at least 50 percent of adults participating in some physical activity each week, a new federal survey shows.

Montana had the highest rate of activity that year at 58.6 percent in 2003, the latest year for which results were available, while Kentucky had the lowest at 33.7 percent, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Nebraska had the highest increase _ improving from 34.2 percent in 2001 to 44.5 percent in 2003, the study found.

By EMILY FREDRIX of the Associated Press

http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2005/12/05/breaker/doc439471ec9af0e223322640.txt