Help Wanted!
Henry Ford is famously quoted as saying “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” I like that framework a great deal and I think we can use it almost as a template as we reach the 25-year milestone for the Platte River Fitness Series in 2026. In addition, the recent survey many of you completed will provide valuable insight into what lies ahead. Thank you to everyone who took the time to fill out the survey to help us navigate the future and to the survey’s author and data guru, Shreya Agrawal. The survey results will be used in many ways in the coming months, and its use will reflect Mr. Ford’s thoughts about how best to move forward.
“Beginning” started with my own experience of racing as motivating, engaging and relationship-building. Thank goodness for the warm and welcoming people at those first races I participated in. The “beginning” was modeled by local running pioneers who were already doing the work of bringing people together in the spirit of a community getting active together, people like Wayne Wallace, Chris Jarvis, Jim Whitaker, Benny Covington and Patty Evans. They all remain my mentors and will forever hold special places in my heart. The “beginning” was created by a community group of people who truly cared about the wellbeing of others, an other-focused group called Healthy For Life. This citizen’s task force was dedicated to finding ways to support wellness for all. Finally, our “beginning” happened because you, our athletes, were brave enough to begin your own journey of health, wellness, challenge and community.
In the strictest sense, the PRFS did not begin as a formal series. It began with that first James O’Rourke Memorial Triathlon. Then two more events were added, making it a series. The real reason for the “series” idea was to offer something to keep people motivated to keep training all year, not just for the triathlon. Once it was over, too many participants retired to the sofa for the rest of the year. The goal wasn’t to host a single event, but to facilitate a year’s worth of health and wellness opportunities for others and to keep doing that year after year. That is our progress. That is also how you build “a fitness family.” Three events grew to five, then seven, then twelve, then eighteen, and in one crazy year, there were twenty-nine local events. We had several suggestions from our survey respondents about the types of races they’d like to see. We have actually had every type of race suggested. Mud runs, trail runs, marathons, duathlons, open-water triathlons, adventure races, bike races, races that included wheelchairs and even a stair climb at the Golden Spike! We have tried to offer whatever someone was willing to host! The “keeping together” belongs to our athletes but also to our race directors. Race directors kept us together before and it is their hard work that keeps us together now.
The race director’s job is hard, and often thankless. There is no possible way to please everyone, and sometimes they get tired or too busy or athlete participation gets low enough that they decide to end their race. Sometimes the leadership of an organization changes. There is a season for everything. We are grateful to everyone who has hosted a PRFS race. How blessed we are to have the majority of our races over or near the 10-year mark. That is a long time to host an event. Some of course are over 20 years old, with the originals celebrating 25 years along with the PRFS. In 2025, we will have another inaugural race that will not only support the work of RDAP but keep us all together. As a community and as individuals, we continue to make progress.
The third phrase from Henry Ford will be taking center stage now. As we finish 2025 and move through 2026, there will be a greater opportunity for us to work together toward success. As the founder and director for nearly 25 years, the PRFS and every athlete who has crossed the finish line, every race director, every volunteer, every sponsor are everywhere in my heart. All of these groups of people are “my people.” In beginning to consider where we go and how we go in the future, my first ambition is to co-create that future together, working toward even more success. You, our directors, sponsors and those ever-precious volunteers have made the PRFS a success as a community-based program. Two data points from the survey will put us on the next right path. Nearly 100% of survey respondents would be disappointed or concerned if the PRFS was to end. It sounds like we need to keep going. Of all of the options available to choose from in the survey, half of you said the thing you would miss the most if the PRFS were to end would be the sense of community. What we are continuing to build matters to you.
May we never lose sight of another kind of success, however, that is best measured by the number one. PRFS athlete and former race director Allison Huebner shared this wisdom with me decades ago from Mother Teresa. I call it the “just one” principal. If one person’s life has been improved, if they are healthier in body, mind and spirit, if they feel connected to others as part of a family, if they feel both strong and that they belong, that is success enough. My metrics are heart metrics. Success means that we work together, helping one person at a time. That one person will help another, and then another. Building this kind of mutuality is what it means to succeed at being human in a community of other humans who are trying to live well.
It is time for me to ask for others to share in the “working together” as we build forward and create together. People would like to see group runs and maybe even the return of the Couch to 5K. We can do that, but I will be asking for others to help make those things happen. If you would like to help future planning as well, here’s how. I have a wonderful and long-standing board who is wise and will help guide the work. I also want to bring together a group of athletes willing to help the PRFS continue to succeed. The “steering committee” will meet just a couple of times in the last six months of 2025, to review the data, to create and to support the continuation of the work of the PRFS.
They will also be important voices as we work on the transition to a new director in 2027. The one data point from the survey that was loud and clear is that with a 100% consensus, you want the PRFS to continue. We will be looking for people for this group who can take a wide lens view of what serves the most people. I have made it my business to get to know athletes personally, a daunting task for my very introverted nature. But because of you, I am more convicted than ever that to enjoy whole human health, we absolutely need each other. Because of our familiarity, I would ask for just two things from those wanting to be a part of planning the future of the PRFS. First, your heartfelt desire to consider the full array of people we serve and a willingness to stay open to ideas and stay curious. Second, a paragraph or two, emailed to the PRFS email address that can be found on our website, about why you would like to serve. The deadline to request to participate is June 30th.
As our friend Dee Tuenge says, “we are all better together.” If we work toward the future as a community, those words will ring truer than ever. Please consider sharing your voice, your thoughts and your heart to benefit the PRFS as we continue to come together, keep together and work together.