Pacer Bios

Pace Teams Presented by Champion

3:20 GOAL FINISH TIME (7:38/Mile) Pace Team Leader

Name: Pacer Mike

Home: Bay City, MI

Age: 43

Occupation: Educator

First Marathon: Columbus, Ohio 2000

Fastest Marathon: Nashville, TN 2004 (2:49)

Marathon Finish you are most proud of and why: My first Boston Marathon.  Why - It is the pinnacle of marathons and it took a lot of discipline, devotion, and hard training to qualify for it.  What a tremendous experience.

Hobbies: cycling (road and mountain), tennis, paddleball, and soccer.  I also enjoy reading, playing classical guitar, and coaching kid's soccer and basketball.  When it comes to relaxing I enjoy some cinema therapy with my girlfriend Molly (watching movies).

3:30 GOAL FINISH TIME (8:01/Mile) Pace Team Leader

Name: Pacer Ron

Home: St. Louis, MO

Age: 35y

Occupation: Litigation Attorney

First Marathon: World's Second Smallest Marathon (4:13:00), a 2-man fundraiser for cancer research.

Fastest Marathon: Chicago 2002 (2:53:56)

Number of Marathons Completed: 14

Marathon Finish you are most proud of and why: Chicago 2002.  It was the marathon for which I trained the hardest and one of the few in which I've managed to run negative splits.

Hobbies: Reggae music, global travel, trout fishing.

Anything else you think your pace group would like to know about you: For the past 4 years, I've enjoyed coordinating and/or assisting with the Saint Louis Track Club's Marathon Training Program.

My favorite quote: "If you're going through hell, keep going," Winston Churchill.

3:40 GOAL FINISH TIME (8:24/Mile) Pace Team Leader

Name: Pacer Bob

Age: 44

Occupation: Electrical Engineer

First Marathon: 1990 Chicago Marathon

Fastest Marathon: 2:55 at Twin Cities

Number of Marathons Completed: around 75, including one in every state

Marathon Awards: I won one marathon (small race in a torrential downpour when most of the other runners had the sense to switch to the half marathon), and have a handful of age group trophies.

Marathon Finish you are most proud of and why: The 100th Boston.  I stepped in a pothole at mile 3, and ran the last 23 miles in a lot of pain.  It turned out I had broken my ankle and was in a cast a day later.  It is also the last time I beat my little brother in a marathon.

Number of ultra marathons completed: 1 - I ran my first 50 miler last year.

How many Boston Marathons? 2, the first I qualified and the 100th.

Pacing experience: I have paced Chicago a half dozen times and Jersey Shore once.  Paced 3:20 at Chicago last year and finished 3:19:52.

Hobbies: Who has time for hobbies with two small kids? When I actually have time, I like to brew beer, and play sand volleyball and poker.

3:50 GOAL FINISH TIME(8:49/Mile) Pace Team Leader

Name: Pacer George

Home: Valparaiso, IN

Occupation: Math Teacher

First Marathon: Chicago LaSalle Bank Marathon (1998)

Fastest Marathon: 3:15 in 2000 and 2001

Number of Marathons & Ultras: (13); Chicago 9, Boston 1, Fort Wayne 2, Tecumseh Trail 1; and HUFF Ultra 1

Marathon Finish you are most proud of and why: Boston, 2002 -- first time to qualify. Fort Wayne 2001 -- 1st place in age group.  HUFF Ultra, 2004 -- 1st place in age group.

Other Pacing Experiences: Chicago, 2002 - present at 3:30.

Hobbies: Marathon Running Coordinator for OE Running Charity in Valparaiso, cycling instructor, triathlete, co-host of a local radio show in Valparaiso on Wellness, and race director.

4:00 GOAL FINISH TIME (9:10/Mile) Pace Team Leader

Name: Pacer Molly

Home: Bay City, MI

Age: 21

Occupation: Student/Coach

First Marathon: Traverse City, MI 2003

Fastest Marathon: Detroit, MI 2005 (3:34)

Marathon Finish you are most proud of and why: Detroit was most memorable because at the 17 mile mark I was on target for a 3:20 finishing time; sounds awesome, right?  Well, the weather was chilly and I stopped to use the Johnny on the Spot.  When I tried to resume my running, my knee wouldn't bend. I continued running straight legged, all 9.2 miles until I reached the finish.  The best thing about that day was that I ran my PR, hurt and all.

Hobbies: Next to running I enjoy biking (road and mountain), taking my dog, Springer, for long walks and of course runs.  I am currently coaching girls' basketball at the college level as well as a 6th grade boys' team.  I love spending time with my family; I have 5 sisters and a bunch of little nieces and nephews.  I love spending time with my boyfriend, Mike, who is also a pacer (3:20).

4:15 GOAL FINISH TIME (9:44/Mile) Pace Team Leader

Name: Pacer Paul

Home: Columbus, OH

Age: 48

Occupation: Public Relations agency owner and college instructor

First Marathon: Columbus, OH 1981

Fastest Marathon: 2:36 (Detroit, 1987)

Favorite Marathons: Walt Disney World & Detroit Free Press

Number of Marathons Completed: 73

Marathon Finish you are most proud of and why: Ohio Wolfpack 50KM Champion and course record holder, 3:16:07.  Ran alone the last six miles to break course record.

Anything else you think your pace group would like to know about you: Doctoral Candidate at Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado.  Enjoy almost any form of music.  Worked on the Internet in late 1970s before the Internet was the Internet.

My favorite quote: "Mongo only pawn...in game of life." Alex Karras as Mongo in the Mel Brooks classic move Blazing Saddles.

4:30 GOAL FINISH TIME (10:18/Mile) Pace Team Leader

Name: Pacer Beth

Age: 53

Occupation: Director, Run Illinois

First Marathon: Chicago, 1983. 5:02:22

Fastest Marathon: 3:22:12

Number of Marathons or ultras Completed: 76 Marathons and 25 to 30 Ultras

Pacing Experience: Chicago 1998 and 1999, Columbus 2004, New York 2004, Mad City 2006, Tampa 2007

Hobbies: Travel and home renovation.  I enjoy travel because there is so much to learn from other's experiences in other parts of the country.  I enjoy home renovation becuse the changes and improvements are tangible.  In my job with computers, I only know that I've done a good job if nobody complains.

Anything else you think your pace group would like to know about you: I was involved with the CARA's LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon Training Program for 10 years and am now involved with the Run Illinois Marathon Training Program and in that time I hae helped to successfully get thousands of runners to the finish line of their first marathon.  My goal for them is that they get through their first marathon experience feeling so good that they will want to do another one again.

Other Hobbies: Traveling and dancing.

5:00 GOAL FINISH TIME Pace Team Leader

Name: Pacer Larry

Home: Los Angeles, CA

Age: 52

Occupation: Insurance Agent

First Marathon: Marine Corps, 2004    4:47:33

Fastest Marathon: 4:23:21 at Air Force in 2005.  My first experience in a pace group; just before the race I saw this tall man with flaming orange hair named Pacer Jim.  I thought a guy with orange hair would have a lot to talk about, so I ran in his pace group most of the way at an unfamiliar pace, and while having a lot of fun actually set a PR.

Number of Marathons or ultras Completed: 23

Marathon Finish you are most proud of and why: I'm proud of all my finishes, but especially proud of my first, Marine Corps.  I thought I would finish last and didn't.

Other pacing experiences: Kentucky Derby Marathon, 2006

Hobbies: Golf - my other addiction.

Anything else you think your pace group would like to know about you: Running reminds me why I live.  Before I started running, I was overweight, out-of-shape, and headed towards diabetes like everyone else in my family.  I'm not fast and know I never will be, but I'm miles ahead of those who don't run at all.

My favorite quote: My mantra is a quote from Yoda: "Do or do not; there is no try."

PACE TEAM DIRECTOR

Name: Pacer Jim

E-mail: PacerJim@hotmail.com

Home: Pittsburgh, PA

Age: 53

Occupation: Consultant

First Marathon: Pittsburgh, 1981, 3:14

Number of Marathons or ultras Completed: 33

Last Marathon Raced: 3:24:56 at Richmond Marathon, 2003

Marathon Finish you are most proud of and why: Bayshore Marathon, Traverse City, MI, May, 2001, where I qualified for Boston

Other pacing experiences: St. Louis, Air Force, Detroit, Akron, Pittsburgh, Columbus, San Diego Rock N Roll, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Twin Cities, Flying Pig, Chicago, Salt Lake City, Carlsbad, Tampa, Palm Beaches.

Hobbies: I've gone on mission trips running through tea fields of Malawi in Africa, around Mt. Vesuvius and on mountain trails in Haiti.

Anything else you think your pace group would like to know about you: If you wanted to run 26.2 miles alone you could have walked out your front door and started running.  When you're with a pace group, you're running with a team and have lots of teammates to support you in your effort.