James Oltman San Antonio, TX Running for James Oltman has been a long process that started in 2010. Oltman had issues with his weight; he was 281 pounds and only 5’10. “I was tired of never being taken seriously either in social settings or professional settings,” said Oltman. “I knew a needed to make a
Pamela Gray Verhulst Hometown: LaCrosse, WI Occupation: Director of Health & Wellness//Associate Faculty at University of Phoenix-Wellness, Nutrition, Health//Assistant Men’s and Women’s Track Coach – NCAA Ripon College//and Doctoral Learner – Sports Management/Leadership at United States Sports Academy Pamela Gray Verhulst has numerous accomplishments; not only in her running career, but she has also overcome health setbacks,
Amanda Fiser Age: 29 Hometown: Houston, TX "Running has always been a part of my life. My family would go for runs after dinner. Sometimes on the weekend my dad and I would throw on a pair of running shoes, find a trail, and talk about life's problems. While living in the Caribbean, I would
Len Verhulst Age: 51 Hometown: Ripon, WI Half Marathons Completed: 1 Len Verhulst, of the fairly frosty Wisconsin, ran track in high school; so he and running have had a pleasant history. But he really began running seriously again about ten years ago. He left behind smoking and drinking for the pursuit of running. Verhulst ran his first marathon
Yen Nguyen Age: 49 “Running is a privilege and one should embrace it while he or she can still run.” On January 26, 1996, Yen Nguyen ran her first marathon--the Houston-Tenneco Marathon. This January 15th will mark her 16 year anniversary of running her first marathon. “I did not know what the meanings of ‘endurance’
Trae Morris Age: 42 Hometown: Houston, TX Occupation: Police Officer Trae Morris consistently heard comments about his weight, while on duty as a police officer. He was 42 and had spent 17 years as a police officer when he realized he was not nearly in the physical shape that he wanted to be. “I hated
Jeremy Hanson Age: 34 Hometown: Houston, TX Occupation: Dispatcher for a Freight Forwarding Company Half Marathons Completed: 4 Jeremy Hanson is one of our participants that has most recently began running. He started running only 13 months ago. The Chevron Houston Marathon will be his first full marathon. His running journey began when a friend
Troy Carlson Age 30 Hometown: Houston, TX This is Troy Carlson’s fourth year to run for a reason. He runs for the American Cancer Society. This will be his first time to run the Chevron Houston Marathon, he ran the Chicago Marathon in 2008 and 2010 for the American Cancer Society. Although he didn’t run
Jennifer Good Age: 44 Hometown: Waco, TX Occupation: Professor, Baylor University Marathons Completed: 5 Jennifer Good associates running with good memories and family jogging time with her parents. During her early years, Jennifer Good would occasionally run a 5K or 10K. She did not become serious about training and running marathons until 2009. Good enjoys
Christine Lawless Age: 39 Hometown: Philadelphia, PA Occupation: Aerobics Instruction and Registered Nurse Christine Lawless will be running the Aramco Houston Half Marathon to prove to herself that she can do anything she sets her mind to. Lawless was diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago. To combat this, she underwent a bilateral mastectomy and