MEET OUR AFFILIATE COACHES

Bob is a seasoned IHSA-certified cross country and track coach with over ten years of coaching experience at the junior high and high school levels where he has coached regional and state qualifiers, resulting in 43 All-State runners and one All-American.  Bob logged over 25,000 miles during his running career where he competed on high school, collegiate, and post-collegiate levels in anywhere from 800 meters to the marathon.

His 2022 boys and girls cross country teams that had a combined 80 runners participating capped off an amazing season with strong showings at the SIJHSAA State Cross Country Championships in mid-October.  His girls finished as the state runner-up.  Six members of his girls 2nd place team earned All-State honors. His boys team finished seventh and had two members earn all-state honors.  His top boy went on to compete and earn All-American honors at the Cross Country Coaches Youth National Championships in Shelbyville, IN in November.  Prior to that, Bob’s cross country teams were consistently among the top teams in the state where either his boys or girls teams finished among the top ten teams at state from 2014 through 2019.  On the high school side, Bob coached multiple All-Conference and All-Regional athletes within the IHSA in cross country and track.  Two of his runners qualified and ran at the prestigious Illinois Top Times Indoor State Championships with one runner earning All-State honors.

Bob has served as a race director for 5k runs and cross country meets.  He was a founding member of the Jefferson City Road Runners Club in Jefferson City, MO, where he was a vice president of the club and race director for over five years.  He also served as the race director of the annual First Baptist Academy (FBA) cross country festival which had as many as 13 teams competing.  He also served as the co-race director of the 2017, 2018, and 2019 First to the Finish Kick-Off Cross Country Invitational in Edwardsville which had over 2,000 combined high school and junior high runners participate each year.  Finally, Bob serves as the race director for three home meets including the Triad Jamboree, which had approximately 800 runners participate in 2022.

Bob personally logged over 25,000 miles over his running career.  He ran at Jefferson City High School which was among the largest schools in the state of Missouri at the time where all four years his team competed at the highest level and at was at one point ranked as high as eighth in the country in postal competition.  He went on to run in college where he ran cross county and track.  He qualified for nationals twice in cross country and once at 5,000 meters on the track.  He finished in the top ten at the Nebraska Cornhusker Cross Country Invitational and competed at the Drake Relays among other meets.  Finally, he competed in several marathons including the Dallas White Rock Marathon and the Lincoln Marathon.

Bob is excited to be joining the Runwell coaching staff and stands ready to help you achieve your personal running goals whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned runner.

 Coach Kelsey fell in love with running as a young adult. As a teenager, she was never considered an athlete - opting for musical theater and choir over more athletic endeavors. PE was basically a living nightmare - dodging balls and dreading the mile run was never her idea of a good time. She only started exercising to keep her friend company as he ran and cross-trained for the school's tennis team, though she didn't own a piece of fitness clothing at the time. Instead, she went to the YMCA wearing denim Bermuda shorts and a pair of Converse trainers. As you can imagine, that ensemble didn't last long. When Coach Kelsey got to college, she used running as a way to take control. Her body was naturally slender in high school, but as she grew older she began to gain weight - growing hips and seeing fat in places she wasn't used to was very scary. All of this change made her uncomfortable and self-conscious, so she started using running as a way to force her body to look how she wanted. During this time, she enjoyed running because of how it made her look, not how it made her feel.It wasn't until after college that she actually fell in love with running. She was going through a post-graduation identity crisis, and on a whim, decided to run a half marathon. Training for that race over the next few months transformed her - long hours spent pounding the pavement pulled her out of the identity crisis and allowed her to explore her own thoughts, and beliefs, and focus on who she wanted to become. Finishing that first half marathon was symbolic - it showed her how strong she was, and gave her the confidence to bring that strength to other areas of her life. Since that first half marathon, she has run many more half marathons, 5ks, 10ks, and a couple of marathons.Since starting her journey as a runner, Coach Kelsey has also become a wife and mother. She loves helping others fall in love with running, just as she has. By day she is a product manager at a healthcare company. By night she coaches runners and facilitates MBA courses at SIUE. She's an RRCA-certified running coach and believes rest and cross-training are just as important as the time spent running. Coach Kelsey is excited to partner with you on your running journey, and can't wait to support you as you accomplish your running goals.