Get to
know your fellow Statesboro Pacer's & friends...
Many folks ask, who are our Statesboro Pacers? And we reply...anyone in our
area who has an interest in running or walking and who wants to "Make
staying fit fun with the Statesboro Pacers..." We have a wide cross
section of folks ranging from 2 to 82 years old, and encompassing literally ALL
ability levels ranging from a comfortable 20 minute/mile pace to a U.S. World
Championship Marathon pace of 5:54 minutes/mile (don't be intimidated with
the latter pace...it has only been accomplished by one of our
super-human Pacers!)
Some Pacers attend our group runs/walks, some
organize our local races, some attend the Hash R*ns,
and some we only see at area races. Many are friends
of the Pacers (e.g., the
Millen Milers and More
and Savannah Striders
running clubs) with whom we enjoy remaining connected. More recently, our Pacers
have expanded to include our enthusiastic
Statesboro Pacers Teen Team...many
of whom also participate in our local high school cross country and track &
field teams. Then we have Pacers who keep threatening to come join in on any one
of these many gatherings but still can't find the time or muster the courage to
come out.
Soooo to help everyone get to know everyone a little bit better, Pacer
Micah Ward has kindly volunteered to profile a Pacer, or friend of the
Pacers, from time to time. These mini biographies will appear in our Pacer
e-letter and be archived below for future reference. He
encourages you to volunteer to be featured one month...you
can reach Micah via email at cmward@nctv.com.
If folks are too bashful to volunteer,
he'll randomly select Pacers from our list.
Toby Davis, 2007 Statesboro
Pacer Profile (3/4/07)...
Our
first 2007 Pacer Profile features someone who should be no stranger to anyone in the local
running community. Toby Davis is well known as the director of the very
successful Brooklet Peanut Run 5K and can also be seen at the
Jingle Bell
Reindeer and
Savannah River Bridge runs competing as one of Santa's elves. Toby came to
Statesboro in 1991 from his home town of Decatur, AL. His running career started
at his Alabama high school when he beat all but one runner in the Air Force JROTC fitness test. That led to his participation in the mile and two mile for
the rest of his high school career. In addition to his own racing Toby indulges
his interest in the sport by coaching the Southeast Bulloch cross country team
and of course providing all us other runners with the opportunity to run that
little ol' 5K in Brooklet. Toby is employed by the Bulloch County Board of
Education in tech support and is based at Statesboro High School. And if you
didn't think he was busy enough, Toby also enjoys traveling, hiking, bicycling
and the occasional game of tennis. Toby hopes to have some of
his running
articles published so be on the lookout for his literary debut. Toby believes we
should set goals and then work toward those goals and he also believes in Tiger
Woods' statement that "To be a champion, you must be willing to do what no one
else will." With those philosophies in mind Toby's first marathon and first
published article can't be far away.
Previous Pacer
Profiles...
-
Steve Hale, 2006 Profile
-
Don Borowski, 2006 Profile
-
Don Bracci, December 2005
-
Kathy Ham, November 2005
-
Michele Taylor, October 2005
-
Jim Hutcheon, September 2005
-
Micah Ward, August 2005
Steve Hale, 2006 Statesboro
Pacer Profile (8/2/06)...
Our
second featured 2006 Pacer is Steve Hale, a 57 year old archaeologist at Georgia
Southern University. Steve hails originally from Chattanooga, TN and after
spending most of his life in Florida has joined us here in the ‘Boro. In
addition to his duties at GSU, Steve is very involved in development work for
indigenous communities and has recently helped finish the first house in a
Habitat for Humanity project for the Kuna natives in Panama. Steve also recently
finished the restoration and preservation of the McAllister Slave Cemetery in
Richmond Hill.
In addition to running, Steve is a regular on the
rock climbing wall at the RAC or the real rocks in the north Georgia mountains.
That is, he climbs rocks when there isn't a storm brewing off shore. Then he
heads to the "safety" of his surf board and hits the waves dude. Steve has also
been scuba diving since 1959.
Steve says one race he especially remembers was a
GSU race where the lead runners were directed off course and the majority of
medals went to people who normally never see an award. The reaction of the
misdirected runners was one of good natured acceptance and support for those
lucky runners who did win medals for a change. Steve points out that this type
of supportive attitude by the majority of runners is one of the aspects of this
sport he enjoys the most. Steve says he tries to remember those runners who
encouraged him from the start and he tries to the do the same for new runners
whom he can help. He is also amazed at the runners he has seen at races who were
blind or recovering from physical ailments such as heart surgery. Steve says
those are the runners who run the real challenges and we can all strive to be
like them.
Steve says we are all running through life and he hopes we can all take the time
to be encouraging to those taking this journey with us.
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Don Borowski, 2006 Statesboro
Pacer Profile (2/7/06)...
Our
first 2006 featured Pacer is Don Borowski. Don moved to Statesboro from Tifton
in 1997 and is the Assistant Manager at the Fastenal Company. In April of 2005
Don decided it was time to lose weight and start improving his health so that he
could have a longer and healthier time to spend with wife Kristy and son Aaron.
And once he made that decision he did it with a vengeance. Don has lost 65
pounds and just finished his first half marathon at Disney World! Don was
aiming for a sub 2 hour time and finished in 2:04:55. Since that is just his
first half marathon, I don't believe the sub 2 hour time will be hard for him to
achieve. Don would like to thank S'boro Pacers, Michele Taylor and Christine
Whitlock for being inspirational training partners during his quest to get ready
for the Disney. Don is now 38 years old and his next goal is to finish a
marathon before his 40th birthday. With his track record I'm guessing it might
come sooner than that. In addition to family and running Don is an all around
sports fan but Kristy draws the line when he watches Sumo wrestling on ESPN. Of
course, after losing 65 pounds Sumo doesn't seem right does it?
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Don Bracci, December 2005 Statesboro
Pacer Profile...
This
month's profile is on Don Bracci, one of Georgia Southern's finest. Don is a
patrolman with the GSU Police Department after stints with the US Capitol Police
and seven years with the US Army. The former Ranger is 37 years old and began
running 19 years ago while a freshman at Fitchburg State in Massachusetts. He
says it was either running or aerobics back then and running seemed the right
choice. After graduating with a degree in Communications/Media Don entered the
Army and ran in such exotic locales as Egypt and Cuba. He also competed in road
races, triathlons and adventure races. His PRs of 16:57 for 5K and 28:20 for 8K
are among the fastest of the Pacers. Don enjoys swimming and bicycling as well
and serves as the advisor for the GSU Cycle Club. Don is married to Kelli, a
full time GSU student and they are the parents of 9 year old Andrew and 3 year
old Analise. Andrew has inherited dad's love of cycling and the proud dad hopes
his children will pursue the same type of healthy life style he does. By the
way, Don is also a bomb technician. So if you ever see him running in
uniform....try to keep up.
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Kathy Ham, November 2005 Statesboro
Pacer Profile...
The
Pacer Profile this month highlights Kathy Ham. Kathy is another master runner
who falls into that very crowded 45-49 age group. Kathy is the Office
Administrator for the Franklin, Taulbee, Rushing, Snipes and Marsh
law firm here in Statesboro. Her hobbies include cooking, baking, and her dog
Tess. Kathy began running in high school but did not get serious until hitting
those "40's" and having time on her hands when the children moved out! Kathy
continues to run for the fitness, stress relief, and friendship. One of the
accomplishments she is most proud of is her time of 4:15 in her first marathon
in Chicago.
Since then Kathy has run marathons in Jacksonville and Myrtle Beach. Kathy draws daily inspiration
from Peggy Noonan's article "This Too Shall Pass" which encourages us to savor
those good times in life and know that both the good and bad times will pass.
Therefore enjoy the pleasure of the moment when the good times are here.
Kathy's quote is, "At the heart of each victory is future defeat, and at the
heart of each defeat is a future victory."
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Michele Taylor, October 2005 Statesboro
Pacer Profile...
This
month’s Pacer Profile features Michele Taylor. Michele is a 33 year old native
of southeast Georgia who moved to Statesboro from Sylvania. She is currently an
English teacher at Ogeechee Technical College and is working on her doctorate in
Education Administration. Michele started running in September of 2002 as a
member of one of Danny Gleason's beginners running classes. The fitness and the
feeling of accomplishment, along with several age group medals, have kept her
interest in running strong. In fact, Michele has started training for her first
half marathon at
Disney World, January 7th, 2006. In addition to running, Michele
enjoys reading, photography and forensic science television shows. Her guiding
philosophy is that life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.
Good luck to Michele in her first half marathon at Disney!
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Jim Hutcheon, September 2005 Statesboro
Pacer Profile...
This
month's profile features Georgia Southern Biology professor Jim Hutcheon. Jim
has a PhD in Zoology from University of Wisconsin, plays guitar and piano, is a
gourmet cook, an avid reader, is learning the Czech language and still finds
time to engage in foreign travel with his family. How did he get all this done
and still just be 38 years old? Jim has been running off and on for 10 years as
a way to relieve stress and stay in shape. Since he has run a 4:00 marathon the
staying in shape part is obviously working and his goal of qualifying for the
Boston marathon can't be too far behind. Jim says that he has never really tried
to articulate a personal philosophy, but if he did, it would be something along
the lines of "You can do anything you set your mind to and you are free to do
just that."
Jim's favorite quote to apply to running or anything else is, "Twice you
burned your life's work, once to start a new life and once just to start a
fire." Jim is originally from Seattle and enjoyed running the hills in the
rain. Well, we have the rain but sorry for the lack of hills!!
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Micah Ward, August 2005 Statesboro
Pacer Profile...
Hello everyone, my name is Micah Ward
and I will be writing a monthly profile of a Statesboro Pacer walker or runner
for our monthly newsletter. As a means of introduction I will profile myself
this month and ask for a volunteer to be profiled for next month [contact Micah
directly at cmward@nctv.com]. I am 49 and
have been running for 28 years. I have lived in Statesboro for 13 years in 3
different installments. I am a graduate of GSU and work for the Georgia Bureau
of Investigation. My current assignment is Special Agent in Charge of the
Savannah office. My non running hobbies include reading, traveling with my wife
Catherine and just being an all around sports fan. I started running while in
college to lose weight. I entered a few races and became hopelessly hooked on
the atmosphere and camaraderie I experienced there. I found that the runners and
walkers at these races were the most inclusive and accepting group of people I
had ever encountered. Although I have gotten much slower over the years, and I
run my races in the back of the pack, I still enjoy the opportunity to think of
myself as an "athlete". My philosophy on life is simple, "Look for reasons to be
happy."
And my favorite running quote comes from ultramarathon champion Ann
Trason:
"It only hurts up to a certain point. Then it doesn't get any worse."
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last updated March 4, 2007