Danny Ackerman
Danny is the youngest member of the Pacers team. A sophomore at T.C. Williams, Danny
is a member of the mighty Titans cross country and track teams. Danny enjoys running
and working on several Democratic campaigns. You can find Danny at the Old Town location.
Brian Baillie
Brian ran at Haverford College and currently is a member of the Pacers Racing Team.
He competed at the 2004 NCAA Division III National Championships in cross country where his team placed 4th overall. Brian is training for the half marathon
distance, currently his best time stands at 1:11, which he hopes to best in the Spring 2008.
Kathryn Bexfield
Kathryn graduated from Haverford College where she ran for their cross country and track
teams. Kathryn has worked part-time for Pacers since 2004 and can be found mostly at the
Old Town location. In her spare time, Kathryn enjoys baking goodies for her Pacers buddies.
George Buckheit
Aside from his frequent work on the sales floor, George Buckheit is the Pacers Racing Team and Pacers Miles Ahead coach. He
has worked with everyone from novice runners to Olympic Trials qualifiers. As an athlete, George was a 2-time All-American distance runner while attending
Bucknell University and has recorded personal best times of 13:43 for 5,000 meters and 28:39 for 10,000 meters. In recent years, George has guided many DC
area runners to new personal bests and the elite athletes he has coached have recorded victories in many of this area’s most prestigious races, including the Marine Corps Marathon
Laura Cloher
Laura is originally from Chicago but moved to Maryland to attend college at College Park.
A veteran of many marathons, she is currently training for the Big Sur Marathon in California.
She is now a full time teacher, but she hopes some day to be a race course designer, so
that she can place strategic "Heartbreak Hills" near the finish of every run.
Lesley Cranshaw
Lesley has been working in the running industry for almost seven years and has recently joined Pacers
as the apparel buyer and manager of the Clarendon store. While not as fast as most of her
co-workers, she is diligent and has completed 10 marathons including two Boston's and two
200 mile relay races. As a mother of 4 grown children and the only grandmother on staff to the
most perfect grand-daughter Chloe, she hopes to provide some inspiration to all those who want
to get their figures back.
Kathy Dalby
Pacers Events
Kathy has worked in the running specialty industry for nearly a decade and has been with
Pacers since the summer of 2002. A California native, Kathy headed east to Michigan State
University where she competed for the mighty Spartans for a year. After college, Kathy
moved to Washington DC where she completed her Masters in Public Health at the George
Washington University.
Currently, Kathy manages Pacers Events
, a road race
management and timing company, and also is an apparel buyer for the stores. In her spare
time, Kathy enjoys coaching for the Girls on the Run program, playing soccer, and running
with the gals on the undefeated Junior Varsity Pacers Running Team.
Justin Dempsey-Chiam
Justin is a recent welcomed addition to the Pacers team. A world traveler, Justin
recently returned to the states after a two-year Peace Corps assignment in
Bangladesh. When not at the store, Justin can be found photographing numerous
local races (see our photo gallery).
Mark Drath
Mark currently runs cross country and track for George Washington University, where he is
one of the top runners on the squad. He ran a personal best of 26:34 for the 8k in cross country
this season and hopes to best his 4:08 in the 1500 this year in track. He came to DC from LA and
hopes to go to law school back on the West Coast after he receives his bachelors degree. Despite
his relatively tame upbringing, he claims to be friends with Snoop Dogg, Suge Knight and the ever
popular Stanley Kirk Burrell.
Julie Esch
Julie came to Pacers via Wisconsin where she was a member of the University of Wisconsin
Triathlon Team. She has competed in the Ironman Wisconsin, where she completed the race in
11 hours 23 minutes. She is currently a grad student at GW.
Tara Fenske
A recent transplant from Chicago, Tara works part-time at Pacers and also trains
with the Pacers Racing Team. A solid runner, Tara has run 3:13
at the 2006 Boston Marathon and 63:06 at the GW Parkway 10 Miler. Tara
also coaches for the Girls on the Run program and enjoys reading and playing
with her cats, Silver and Bell.
Chris Fryxell
The longest-serving current employee of Pacers, Chris Fryxell has worked at
the store for nearly 15 years, first under the leadership of his father and
founder of Pacers, Steve Fryxell, and now for the Farley family. When not
managing his electrical business, Chris can be found working Sundays at the
Alexandria store assisting long-standing and new customers. A Pacers favorite,
Chris has the uncanny ability of assessing a customer's shoe size the moment
they walk into the store and with such a degree of accuracy that he plans on
taking his talents on tour to a carnival near you.
J.J. Gilday
J.J. Gilday was born in up-state New York, but soon after moved to Richmond,
Virginia. He attended J.R. Tucker HS where he played soccer, wrestled and was
captain of both the Cross Country and Track teams. He then went to Old
Dominion University (ODU, Norfolk, VA) and graduated in December of 1998 with a
B.S. in Exercise Physiology. He also competed for ODU's rowing team.
J.J. has lived in Northern Virginia since October of 1999 and has worked at
Pacers for over 3 years. He has completed 12 marathons with a PR of 3:08
(Steamtown Marathon - Scranton, PA 2002), including the Boston Marathon
(2004).
Beth Gilbert
Beth is one of the many New Jersey natives to work for the Pacers staff. She ran
cross country in high school and continued running recreationally at UVA. Currently, in
between her construction management job and part-time work at Pacers, she is training for
a spring half marathon, where she hopes to eclipse the 2 hour mark. Beth has a dream of
one day running the Midnight Sun Run in Fairbanks, Alaska, and claims to have often trained
for the race in the wee hours of morning while in school at Charlottesville.
Rich Harris
Rich Harris came to work for Pacers in the late summer of 2005, a year after
he arrived in DC from Western Massachusetts. He arrived in Western Massachusetts
from the great state of New Jersey, a place he continues to represent quite hard.
His job title at Pacers is Resident Expert Clarendon and he will more than happy
to offer an opinion on close to anything. The short time he has spent in the
local road racing circuit has been met with some modest success, including
various low-key 5k wins. Late in the winter months he is often confused with
Frank Shorter.
Courtney Harrison
Courtney started working for Pacers in July 2006. She is a member of the DC Road Runners
and currently trains with the Miles Ahead Team, hoping to run a sub-1:50 half marathon this season.
She hails from the great state of Ohio and attended the University of Wisconsin before moving to
the East Coast. In 2005 Courtney completed a difficult trifecta: she ran the Miami Marathon,
followed by "dancing 'til 4am" at a trendy South Beach disco, then caught a 6am flight to DC to
attend a conference the next morning.
Christian Hicks
Christian is a Minnesota native and has been a Pacers employee since August of 2007.
He has an outdoor retail background, but currently works full time as a consultant for
a communications firm in DC. Christian is mainly a marathon/ultra-marathon runner, but
don't be surprised to find him in a 5k here and there. As a youth, Christian excelled
in snowshoeing, placing in the 1999 Northwoods Snowshoe Championship (MN) in the 15 and under category.
Erik Kean
Store Manager/Miles Ahead Training Program Assistant Coach
Erik has worked in the running specialty industry for over eight years with
three of these years at Pacers. A gifted runner, Erik was a top high school
cross country runner in his home state of Wyoming and was captain of the
Princeton University cross country team. Erik runs competitively as a
post-collegiate, with a personal best record of 2:20:38 at the 2003 California
International Marathon where he placed 3rd overall. Erik raced in the 2004
Marathon Olympic Trials and is currently training for the 2008 trials.
When not managing the Old Town store, Erik serves as an assistant coach of the
Miles Ahead
Training Program. Erik has coached numerous
individuals to personal bests in all distances and individually and collectively
coaches over 40 local runners. When not running, Erik enjoys reading and spending
time with his family.
Jeremy Lowry
Store Manager Alexandria
Jeremy is back at Pacers for a second stint after he took time off
to pursue a graduate degree in accounting. Jeremy ran track and cross country at Virginia
Tech, and has run a personal best time of 2:33 in the marathon. Jeremy has often been mistaken
for Steve Prefontaine, but he is always quick to point out that Pre, if he were alive today,
would be almost 57 years old.
Colleen McMichael
Colleen started working at Pacers in February of 2005. She excels as the Resident
Expert in Training in the Old Town store. She loves working at Pacers-so much so,
she can't even fathom spending her Spring Break in Miami, but rather, work at
Pacers in the 30 degree weather. She is currently enrolled at the University of
Mary Washington. While she does not run for school, she enjoys racing with the
community in Fredericksburg. She studies a lot and prides herself on being able
to hum all the songs in the Cranium "humdinger" category. She entertained the idea
of owning her own running store but thought that medical school might be easier.
Wendy Moltrup
Wendy is a new employee with Pacers having started in November of 2007. She works as one
of the floor managers and also assists with the marketing and communications for Pacers.
Wendy came to Pacers after a stint on Capitol Hill and in government relations. Her
desire to enable others live a healthier lifestyle inspired her to earn a Masters of
Science in Health Promotion Management. She is also a Certified Personal Trainer with
the National Academy of Sports Medicine, and a certified distance running coach with the
Road Runners Club of America. One of her goals is to help people realize that making
healthier choices can be affordable, fun, and does not mean you have to start eating tofu.
Dwayne Rax
Dwayne started working at Pacers in August of 2007. He is currently a student at Howard
and plans on going to law school after he finishes his degree. He was a former 800 meter
runner in high school with personal best time of 1:57. He currently is training to beat Brian
Farley in the 5K distance.
Jenna Sokolowski
Jenna's been running for almost exactly half of her life - first at Lake Braddock
Secondary School then also for Syracuse University, where she majored in Musical
Theatre. There she explored her "creative" side. When asked to express her feelings
about having worked at Pacers since January of 2005, she wrote this ditty: "Don't
be fooled by the kicks I got. I'm still, I'm still Jenna from the block." Pretty
original, huh? Not quite finished. Anyway, until it's completed, she'll keep training
to run another marathon and continue to act on the stages of DC and Baltimore. From
the eternal wisdom of Brian Farley: "Word".
George Thorton
George Thornton has been fitting runners for nine years. He started running track at
Robert E. Lee High School, followed by one year of distance running with the Air Force.
He spent six years as a firefighter in the Air Force before going into law enforcement
as a Special Operations Officer. When not wielding a gun, he enjoys competing in various
Firefighter & SWAT challenges. You don't want to mess with George.
Kristen Wyckoff
A long time family friend, Kristen can most often be found managing registration and
volunteers for Pacers Events and at store events. You may also catch her helping
customers in the stores on weekends and weeknights. Kristen works full-time for
ChildHelp USA and enjoys spending time with her children and friends.
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