March 25, 1969 - December 23, 2025

Jay Curtiss, age 56, passed away quietly after courageously battling cancer. A lifelong member of the Pacesetters Running Club, Jay was an avid runner who loved the Bix Run in Iowa, often encouraging others to join him. He also served on the Pacesetters board and helped organize the annual June Fun Run at the Whiting Boathouse. His infectious laughter, energy, and friendship will be greatly missed. 

Rest in peace Jay, you made it to the finish line.

Many of you know the name Kris Rostas, while others may recognize her by appearance. She was a longtime resident of the Fox Cities but now calls St. George, Utah her home. Although she didn't start running races until she was in her 50's, she has always found running to be easy. She certainly makes it look effortless, with a simple stride, never seeming to be out of her comfort zone, able to carry on conversations while in mid run. 

Kris simply loves to run. She is enjoying her journey, and going along with the flow of life. As she spoke of how she ended up in Utah, it became clear that she is now in a very good place. Living the dream. More on that later.

How did Kris' run racing journey start? Our Pacesetter's President Cyndi Faulkner was very inspirational, strong and helpful early on, helping coach her with all the knowledge she had. Kris travelled with Cyndi to Utah where they ran a half marathon at Zion. She immediately loved the natural "eye candy" of this beautiful place. She continued training with Cyndi back home, who taught her how to swim, doing workouts together. Soon after she completed her first marathon, our Fox Cities Marathon, with Cyndi on bike next to her, holding a burger out in front for motivation.

While in Utah, Kris met some local Mormon women there, who invited her to come run on a track with them, including some elites like Ashley Paulson who ran on the US Olympic team and was a multi-winner of the heralded Badwater race. About 20 of these ladies took Kris under their collective arm, and their support helped so much.

In October 2018, Kris was able to qualify for Boston by running a 3:04 marathon at St. George. Two days later she participated in the Huntsman World Games, aka the Senior Olympics, also in St. George. There she ran the 10k, half marathon (overall winner), and triathlon (female winner). She did not intend on doing so many events but was talked into 5 more on the track, where she earned gold in every event except at 100 meters. Mind you, all 9 of these races happened over the course of just 2 weeks, and included breaking 3 Huntsman age group records. She recommends these Games to anyone, finding the place alive with so much great energy from many wonderfully vibrant people.

In April 2019 Kris crossed the Boston Marathon finish line in 3:25, then 13 days later the difficult Big Sur Marathon in 3:14. These 2 events are collectively known as the B2B, or Boston to Big Sur challenge. 

As with many athletes, Kris' journey was not completely void of setbacks. In 2022, she was hit by a driver while speeding along on her bike. She suffered a cervical fracture of her spine, a concussion, and needed a rod and 14 screws in her arm. Her arm was placed in a cast and neck in a collar. She explained to her doctor that she wasn't hurt as badly as he thought, so he agreed to remove the collar and Kris was soon back out running again. She is a firm believer that good things come out of everything, as this taught her patience and resilience. By 2024, she was able to complete the St. George marathon in 3:15, a W60-64 record. 

Needing another challenge, Kris thought what if i could do all 7 of the world marathon majors? Training runs had become just fun outings, but now they would become more purposeful. She completed New York in 2024 and Chicago this past fall. In 2026, she plans on completing marathons in Boston, Sydney, Berlin, St. George and Chicago. That would leave just Tokyo and London, which are more difficult to get into because they don't take qualifying times.

Kris' routine is incredible. She often wakes at 4 am to go out with her friends for a morning run. Over time she has become wiser and has learned how to train and eat better. She understands how to better fuel before, during, and after races. She does more strength training, 5 days a week, saying your whole body needs to be strong. This takes the workload off your joints and tendons. Her workouts include spinning, swimming and yoga every day. Because she runs every day, she also needs to spend time recovering every day. At her local gym there is a "Recovery Room" which she regularly uses, which incorporates cold plunges, compression boots, massage chairs and infrared lights. She also is a firm believer in fascia rolling, which she has done the past 8 years. That alone helped her to increase her weekly running from 50 to 100 miles. When I commented that it's good to stay active and off the couch, she retorted, "A couch, what's that? I only have yoga mats!" And no TV. 

Now Utah has become Kris' happy home. The running community there is amazing, and there are so many beautiful places nearby to run. The moderate Utah climate feels ideal to her. Running has taken her to amazing places, saying "It's incredible where it will lead you." With no job anymore, and hearing all the efforts she puts into running, I suggested that running has now become her full-time job. She quickly corrected me saying she just loves running and it's not a job at all for her. She feels fortunate to be living such an amazing life. She says you will feel some aches if you're running hard, but to just press on and see where it can go. She hopes her story will inspire just one person, saying the people who run the most are the happiest people she knows.

Our 2025 Christmas Party was well attended and a good time. Nice to see so many good friends there, and not all dressed in sweaty gear!

According to Dumb Runner, a jury found a man guilty of lining up just a few feet away from the 7:00 banner in a half marathon start corral, when it was apparent that he was incapable of running anything even close to that pace. Under a strict new law, Timothy Givens, 36, could face penalties including up to 18 months in prison and a fine of $5,000. He will be sentenced early next month. 

Givens case stems from his participation in the Simms Creek Half Marathon this past year. Arriving late for the race, Givens hastily pinned his bib number to his shirt and hopped a barrier to join the hundreds of runners already in the event's starting corral. Givens admitted during cross-examination that he had barely trained for the race, and then elbowed his way up towards the front of the corral.

A 7:00 pace equates to a 1:32 half finish time. Prosecutors presented a mountain of evidence showing that Givens was not remotely in 7-minute shape, and perhaps had never completed even one mile that quickly in his entire life. His best time ever for a half was 2:04;37, which is a 9:30 pace. His finish time at Simms Creek was 2:20;12, or a 10:42 pace.

The jury, consisting of fellow runners, deliberated just 15 minutes before returning a guilty verdict. The Judge said he hoped this prosecution would send a strong message to others. "Gone are the days of lining up in corrals where you clearly don't belong. Those pace banners are there for a reason. Any runner who doubts that should talk with Mr. Givens."

Givens, who sat expressionless for most of the trail, did not comment.