Meet the people behind GLARS!

by Kari Chandler

If you’re reading this article, on this website, you probably know that GLARS is the Greater Lansing Area Race Series. It is a series of road races in which runners compete for points that count toward year end awards. Really good ones!

What you might be missing is who is behind the GLARS movement.

Let’s start with a chemist, a nurse, two retired economists, an insurance consultant, the director of the MAC, someone trying to retire from the auto industry and a couple of really techy guys. You know, runners, right in there with all the other runners who enter the series races.

We are, as our website will tell you, ‘a group of volunteers who collaboratively plan and facilitate the Greater Lansing Area Race Series each year’.

The chemist by day is Beth Zimpfer. Beth says she started running as a young girl to get in shape for basketball. She turned out to be ‘awful’ at basketball but a pretty good runner. She continued to run through high school, most of college and now on the Playmakers Elite team. She is reaping the rewards of hard work with faster and faster times at all distances. She’s run Boston twice, but is concentrating on shorter distances for now while her speed is increasing. She loves racing and giving back to the community, making her work as liaison between GLARS and the race directors a perfect fit.

The nurse: That’s me! I worked for 40 years as a pediatric nurse before retiring from MSU. I started running to get in shape for tennis……. in 1976. I really found myself and have barely played tennis since. I’ve run in at least one race every year since 1978! I also love racing and noticed the hole that was left in our running community when the Playmakers Series ceased to exist. I’m having fun as the manager of awards, with the goal that those who train hard, run the races, score the points and come to the awards banquet will walk away with an armload of prizes! Not to worry, those who run the races but don’t score winning points get great prizes too!

Don McMahon started running to get in shape for wrestling in high school, and again as a working adult to get in shape for downhill skiing. He’s run the Boston Marathon 10 times, once breaking 3 hours. He switched to triathlons and had some success with that as well. Impressively, he had a 2-3 year unbroken running streak going in his 30’s that ended when he added biking to his workout regime. Jim Carter drafted him onto the team to help set up a corporate vehicle for the GLARS business.

Jim Carter has a mile long running resume that includes coaching, directing running camps, retreats and races, owning a running store and independently importing running shoes and gear. He skipped the part about running to get in shape for another sport when he recognized early on that he wasn’t built like the basketball or football players. He was a runner from the start and has the personal bests, injuries and wisdom to show for it. Jim Carter knows running. His value is immense on the GLARS team. He is the treasurer and in charge of sponsorship, and the one we all go to when we have questions.

Nicole Brilliantes has been the director of the Michigan Athletic Club for 10 years. She’s run for 30 years and started running distances after the birth of her twin boys. Taking some time for herself, increasing her energy levels to keep up with those boys and showing them the way to healthy living all factor into her running. She’s run many half and full marathons……including Boston in 2015! She has also been a coach through Marathon Training for Leukemia and Diabetes. Keep your eyes on the series standings and Nicole’s plans for the GLARS awards banquet!

Justin Thomas says he was inspired to bring a race series back to the Lansing area in 2017 because of how influential running has been in his own life. His years of participating in the Playmakers Series helped him meet a lot of amazing people, many of whom are now steadfast friends and running partners. The series also helped motivate him to consistently improve his times and gave him a competitive outlet. He has a passion for this project and if not for Justin there would be no website, no list of races and no current standings. He is our go to tech guy.

Running is an ageless sport and Dan Talhelm is a great promoter of recognition for all runners especially those in their 60s and beyond. He has many age group wins to brag about, but is most proud of the fact that his 4 children are all frequent runners. Now that he is retired from MSU, he spends time in Hawaii each winter and brings back ideas from the several running groups he joins there. It’s great to have his worldly view!

Melinda Rummel has run marathons, but really identifies herself as a triathlete. She’s won two different triathlon race series in the past so has experience with the concept of a series. She is also co- race director of the DeWitt Take a Breath for PH and Get Moving for MS: Half-marathon, 10K and 5K. The day of racing is in memory of Melinda’s daughter, MacKenzie who lost her life to Pulmonary Hypertension, a chronic condition for which there is no cure. Melinda sees the work she puts into the race and GLARS as a way to give back to the community of DeWitt and runners all over the Lansing area.

The other half of that race directorship belongs to Steve Rummel. He is the other half of the married couple, as well. Steve started running early in life and continued through high school and college. He took a few years away from the sport, but in 2007 returned to running when he was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. The unpredictable nature of MS inspired him to get out and live life to the fullest. Running was a part of that and he has since run 4 marathons, many half marathons, a half ironman distance triathlon and to top it all off, the Dopey Challenge at Walt Disney World which consists of a 5K, 10K, Half Marathon and Marathon on 4 consecutive days!

Steve and Melinda contribute to each GLARS conversation from the race director perspective.

We are the GLARS committee: a group of competitive runners who have come together to create a high quality race series for all to enjoy.

See you at the races!