BASS PRO MIDWEEK MOTIVATION - Meet Your 2024 Pacers

Hello runner friends!

Welcome back to the Bass Pro Fitness Series

MIDWEEK M😊TIVATI😊N blog!

Now let's get started by talking about a group of people who you might not even know existed but are getting trained up and ready to help get you to the finish line of the Bass Pro Marathon or Half this November. The Bass Pro Pacing Team is a group of individuals who love helping others fulfill their running dreams. They're encouraging. They’re fun. But, most importantly, they’re ready to get you from the start line to the finish line in the time you want to get there, with a smile on your face even! They really can make your 13.1 or 26.2 mile race more fun than you could ever imagine! So say hello to some of this amazing group (who will tell you why they enjoy pacing so much) and make plans to join them in the fall. You’ll be so glad you did!

So without further ado and in no particular order, here are your 2024 Bass Pro Marathon/Half pacers:

Greetings! Our names are Rich Palmer and Rachel Lyons, this will be the 4th time we have paced the Bass Pro Half Marathon. Little did we know that when we started running 15 years ago that it would become such a critical part of our life. We run because of how good it makes us feel, the sense of accomplishment we get after completing races, and to socialize with other fitness oriented people. We met through running as well as many other long term friends. There are so many benefits to running! We are excited to train with you this season and to help you crush your running goals! - Pacing the 3:00 half

We have both led the Nixa Running Group for 15+ years encouraging hundreds of runners to accomplish goals they never thought were possible. We bring that energy and encouragement to pacing as well and are grateful for the opportunity. - Chris and Shannon Cochran, pacing the 5:15 marathon group. 

I began my running journey at the beginning of this year and have since completed my first official marathon. I pushed my limits by taking on the David Goggins 4x4x48 challenge, adding an extra 2 miles to earn my first 50-mile belt buckle. This August, I aim to complete my first 100-mile ultra marathon. As a pacer for the 4-hour group, my pacing style is run-run-run, ensuring a steady and consistent pace to help you reach your marathon goals. It is an honor and privilege to serve all the runners who want to test themselves mentally, physically, and spiritually. - Kyle Stockton

I'm passionate about helping runners meet their goals and crossing the finish line! - Adam Irvin

Hi I'm Janet, I've been fortunate enough to run 5 marathons and many half marathons. I consider running a blessing and a joy. I am very excited to be a pacer for the Bass Pro half marathon 2:45 pace group. We'll be having fun as we run together as a group and meet our goals. - Janet Clements

My name is Weston McConnell and this is my 5th year pacing for Bass Pro Fitness Series (4:30 Marathon group). I am always excited to pace this race since this was my first full marathon I ever ran. Last year, I ended up pacing by myself because of a last minute injury with my pacing partner. I was surprised how much more engaged I was with all of the other runners around me. Pacing solo or in a group, I love this race and our local running community. I am born and raised in Springfield. After college I moved around to several states doing various Americorps internships. Moving back to Springfield in my Late 20's I wanted to find a way to connect with others. I found that running has allowed me to do just that. Springfield has a wide variety of running groups and social runs throughout the week, I never have to go running by myself unless I choose to do so. Cheers-

I am pacing the 6 hour group. I have been running for 23 years and have raced everything from the mile to 150 miles. I love helping people reach their goals and finding something in themselves they didn’t know they had. The Bass Pro marathon holds a special place in my heart because it is where I earned my marathon PR, at the inaugural race in 2007. - Rachel Baker

Hi I’m Kayla and I’ve been part of the Springfield area running community since 2020 and I currently co-lead the Nixa Running Group. I’ve completed 3 marathons and lost count how many half marathons! I’m excited to pace the 2:30 finish time for the Cohick Half. This is a fantastic event every year and I’m excited to meet new faces and help runners reach their racing goals. - Kayla Klein

I'm so excited to be pacing the 5-hour full marathon for the 2nd time! I have met some of the kindest and friendliest people through running, and I'm so grateful to be a part of our awesome running community. I look forward to helping others reach their goals this year! - Melissa Nunez

This will be my 7th time pacing the Bass Pro Half Marathon and my 5th time pacing the 2 hour group. I love pacing because I enjoy helping people meet their running goals. - Randy Acklin

My name is Jonathan Atkins, and I've been running for nearly 20 years now (consistently for 10 years). I love the Bass Pro Fitness Series Races, and when given the opportunity to give back, it was a no-brainer. This is my 2nd year pacing, and I will be doing the 2-hour half. I love to help and encourage people to meet their goals. If your goal is to hit the 2hr half, please join me! P.S. the run community in the Ozarks is phenomenal! Come be a part of it.

I'm pacing the 5 hour marathon with Melissa Nunez. I've been running over 25 years and this will be my first time as a pacer. I enjoy both trail running and road running and always look forward to Bass Pro Marathon Weekend. Running with Melissa is always a fun time and we look forward to helping others achieve their goals. - Amanda Snow Doty

As my second time pacing the Bass Pro Conservation Marathon, I will be sharing my running passion with all that join me in their 5:45 marathon or better time goal. As a World Master Athlete with over 46 years of competitive and coaching running experience, I have paced over 50 marathons and half-marathons nation-wide. (Galloway Pace Team, Marathon Pacing Team and Bass Pro Conservation Pace Team). My pacing/racing style is run-walk-run. A very efficient method for both new and veteran runners. For this running event I will be completing my 50th marathon. So, I expect that I will be excited with all I am fortunate to coach and pace to the finish. This will be a journey of Celebration for all that will partner with me; hopefully, to their personal best day or best finish ever. - David Hardwick – Galloway Ambassador & World Master

 Charlie Hungerford, Pacing 2:15 for the Cohick Half Marathon I’ve been running for about 12-13 years and really enjoy the opportunity to give back by helping other runners achieve goals in their distance and time.

I am one of the pacers for the 6:00 time slot at Bass Pro Marathon this year. I have run over 20 marathons and paced Bass Pro at least 4 previous times. It is fulfilling to me to help runners achieve a goal. Having run with pacer groups many times myself, I understand how helpful they can be. I want to help runners enjoy the experience and accomplish something that they desire. - Kathy Carroll

I run because it is therapy for me. I love pacing because it brings me joy to see others accomplish goals they set for themselves or even beat them. There is no better feeling than watching your pace group or end of race stragglers cross over that finish line! I've been running since 2014! I completely a marathon or more almost every weekend. I clocked in about 2100 miles in 2022! My heart is out running on the trails in Arkansas. I eventually want to complete a 100k trail run, but so far have only finished a 50-miler twice. (2022 - 11:35 & 2023 - 11:30) - Erica Rayne Ashley

And last but not least, yours truly and Jody Rhodes (to my right)…..

Jody and I are once again pacing the Bass Pro 5:30 Marathon group and we couldn’t be more excited!!! Helping runners get to the finish line with a smile on their faces is something we love doing! Bass Pro is hands down our favorite marathon and we hope it will be yours too!! I can’t promise that completing 26.2 miles will be easy, but I can promise you that Jody and I will do our best to make you laugh along the way and have a good time. Jody and I are happiest when we're running and it shows!!

So there you have it friends. Bass Pro Pacers are famous for a reason! They love getting you to the finish line… on time… every time. And also want you to leave the racecourse with some great memories. And best yet, they will help you run a consistent pace throughout the entire race which is of great benefit to all runners, but especially to first-timers. So determine your goal time for the half or the full marathon and then line up behind the person whose job it is to get you there. You’ll be so glad you did!

Happy Running!

Enter

Kathy

Be Found Ready

“in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” 1 Corinthians 15:52 NKJV

In a story posted by NBC News Sunday, the following was reported: In one of the closest finishes in Olympic history, Noah Lyles ended a 20-year American gold medal drought in the men's 100-meter sprint. He defeated Jamaica's Kishane Thompson by just five thousandths of a second. USA's Fred Kerley took bronze. After a tense review period, Lyles earned his first Olympic gold medal. He's halfway to his goal of winning the Olympic double, which will come down to the 200-meter Thursday. Upon clinching the gold, he looked straight into the camera and said, "America, I told you." Wow right? Considering that the blinking of an eye lasts about a tenth of a second, it’s no wonder there was a tense review period. A human eye could not have easily distinguished who won, especially if their eyes were shut for that short fraction of time. 

And you know, when it comes to winning gold by a very close margin, the Bible tells us that Jesus will return “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.” And if you thought a blink was fast,  twinkling occurs in about a billionth of a second. That’s super fast! Which is the very reason, a person must be ready for the return of Jesus now since there will be no time to prepare when the time comes. And although no one knows the day or hour this will happen, we do know (based on the events that have already happened and are taking place around us) that it will be soon and that only those who have accepted Jesus as their Savior will be taken up. All nonbelievers will be left behind to deal with the fallout and a world that will quickly deteriorate. 

So knowing what awaits everyone who denies Jesus Christ, let us be ever bolder in preaching the Good News of the Gospel with the world my friend. We will not only be doing our part in making heaven full but will help usher in the end that every true believer has been waiting for. 

Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us the blessed hope that this world is not all there is and that You are coming back soon. Lord, as we look around at our world and see all the chaos, help us to be joyful so that the lost would come to seem the Source our peace that surpasses all understanding and causes us to rejoice at all times. It’s in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen. 

Happy Running!

Tell of His Mighty Acts

“Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts; let them proclaim your power.” Psalm 145:4 NLT

In a story titled “The fastest 10,000m runner still reigns, and U.S. steps onto podium after 12 years,” published Friday, it was reported that Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda won the gold medal in the 10,000-meter race and set a new Olympic record. Cheptegei, they said, shaved more than 18 seconds off the previous record from Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele, who set the mark at the Beijing Games in 2008. Growing up, 27-year-old Cheptegei had looked up to Bekele, a four-time Olympic medalist. “Barely 16 years ago when I was watching the great Kenenisa Bekele win in Beijing, it was something that grew in my heart,” he said after the race. “I said, one day, one time, I want to be Olympic champion.”… Sending a message to the next generation, he said, “The young boys are watching in Uganda. You can achieve it, believe in yourself because when you don’t believe in yourself, you can’t make it in life.”

And you know, when it comes to sending a message to the next generation that’s worthy of being shared, you and I would do well to remember that our talents and abilities come from God. Which means that we should use every opportunity to declare to the world that God has been doing unparalleled “mighty acts” since the beginning of time. And that by His power, we are able to accomplish great things… things that we should attribute to Him and not to ourselves. You see, although it took hard work on Joshua’s part to win the gold, it was the Lord that gave him the capability to do so. God created him, and us, and should always receive the glory for the victories we are blessed to attain. 

So let us do our part in telling our children about God’s “mighty acts” my friend. After all, that's the job of every true believer. And let us never keep for ourselves the glory that belongs solely to the Lord--believing in Him to get us through this life rather than ourselves. That's the only way to make it. 

Heavenly Father, we thank You for making each one of us an individual piece of workmanship. Help us to discover what our unique abilities and talents are so that we might use them for your glory and to influence the next generation to seek You. It’s in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen. 

Happy Running!

Be Ready to Fight

“Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” James 4:7 NKJV

In a story published by KSL News Utah yesterday, it was reported that a black bear was euthanized Wednesday night after biting a runner on a trail in Big Cottonwood Canyon earlier in the day, state wildlife officials said. The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources responded to a report of a bear attack in the canyon shortly after 1:15 p.m. A man had been running along Mill D North Fork Trail when he said a bear approached him. He tried to back away and make himself look big to scare off the animal, but he tripped over a log and the bear bit him on his upper arm, according to division spokeswoman Faith Heaton Jolley. "The man kicked at the bear and was able to escape," she said. The hiker was able to get out of the canyon and drive himself to St. Marks Hospital in Millcreek, where he was treated for puncture wounds to his upper arm.

And, you know, when it comes to escaping from an enemy intent on harming us, you and I would do well to remember that we won’t win our battle against the devil and his schemes by playing dead and hoping he will go away. This is a tactic that will never work! Instead, we are to “submit to God,” stand our ground, and resist temptation to the point of agonizing. Why? Because voicing a simple “no thank you” to the enemy’s attempts to lure us into sin will never make the devil flee or abandon his efforts to take us out. It’s a battle that will get so strenuous at times that we will be absolutely exhausted. But we have to keep fighting! The devil will tempt us over and over and over again, which means resisting him can sometimes take as much time, strength and effort as repeatedly fighting off a bear. 

So knowing that the enemy will never give up, let us vow to do the same my friend—by stripping off our pride, admitting our complete dependence on God, and then putting on our spiritual armor each and every day. That way when the enemy comes (and it’s not a matter of if but when), we will not be caught unaware and will be ready to fight. 

Heavenly Father, thank you for reminding us that we are in a spiritual battle each and every day. Remind us Lord that our enemy doesn’t want to come and just hurt us, but to kill us. Remind us that the devil does this by getting us to sin and to stray from You. Lord, help us to put on our spiritual armor each and every day and to rid ourselves of any pride or independence we have so that we will stay on the path of righteousness. It’s in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen. 

Happy Running!