In 1995 it’s THE HEPS at Van Cortlandt Park, NY. – the most important cross-country race of the year. With 600 meters to go Rae Ann downshifts to pass the runner ahead of her insuring that Brown University finishes second. She woke up the next morning to headlines in the Brown University paper attributing their unexpected second place to Rae Ann’s sprint to the finish.

How and why did Rae Ann get to Brown? She was receiving letters from university coaches as early as her freshman year in high school even though she was running for one of the smallest schools in Massachusetts. Rae Ann’s high school only had 500 students and started a cross-country program when she was in the 7th grade. Her dad, Bob, signed on as coach. Dad, being a runner himself, may have been a significant influence in Rae Ann’s starting to run from about the age of 11. As a freshman (?) she ended the season 15th fastest girl in the state and at the end of her senior season 2nd in the state. Even though the University of Massachusetts offered her a full ride, she chose Brown which, as other Ivy League schools, does not offer athletic scholarships.

During Rae Ann’s four years at Brown her parents, Bob & Joyce, moved to Bradenton. The whole family had vacationed in Florida often, and to make it even more impressive, most of the vacations were during the summer when Rae Ann and her sister weren’t in school. Thus, when Rae Ann graduated, her home was now Bradenton. She moved in with the folks, working and taking some classes to help her keep abreast with Spanish. Looking back, taking the Spanish class turned out to be very important. It was here that she became friends with Lee, a fellow classmate. Luckily, his best friend was a guy named Phillip. The rest is history. Well, maybe not as easy as all that because their first meeting was unspectacular. Rae Ann had just finished a run at Lido Beach and thought she was not looking as attractive we know she usually does when Phil pulled up with their mutual friend Lee. Their courtship had a few interruptions. Phil took a job in Chicago while Rae Ann went back to her hometown of Monson, MA to follow in her dad’s shoes as track coach at her old high school. This was Rae Ann’s first coaching job. After the track season she returned to Bradenton to accept a Rotary Scholarship to get her MBA in Information Technology at the University of Monaco.

While studying in Monaco Rae Ann ran her 12th marathon, the 2001 Marathon de Monaco. Her first marathon was in Jacksonville in December of 1995, having graduated from Brown in May. Growing up in Massachusetts, she always had Patriots Day off from school (Boston Marathon Monday) and dreamed of someday being a part of it. In 1997 she qualified for Boston at the Disney Marathon allowing her to do her first of three Boston’s.

In August of 2002 Rae Ann and Phillip joined their families at Sanibel Island to “tie the knot.” After their honeymoon they returned to Chicago where Runner Girl, Inc. started. We know it as RunnerGirl.com, a website on which Rae Ann describes its mission as being “To improve the health, fitness, and well-being of girls and women by providing expert advice, merchandise, and online services to female athletes of all ages.”

In 2003 Tom Orehowsky, Manatee High School’s head girls’ coach for track and cross country, convinced Rae Ann to help him as an assistant girls’ coach on a volunteer basis. Coach Tom would be the first to tell you that having Rae Ann take care of his daily workouts was a significant contributing factor to Manatee High girls having their best season ever. They ended the year first in County, Districts, and Region and seventh in the State. In 2004 Rae Ann became the girls’ head coach and hopefully will be there for some time. The Manatee High girl runners have become a welcome sight at many of our BRC runs.

Listing PR’s has become an integral part of our BRC biographies. In Rae Ann’s case we are not as anxious to list them because many of them she will break. Currently, they are:

800 meters——– 2:29 10K———————- 40:40
Mile (road)——— 5:20 Half Marathon—— 1:33:17
Mile (track)——— 5:18 15K——————- 1:03:25
5K—————— 18:45 Marathon———— 3:18:00

Rae Ann was the overall female winner of the 2004 & 2005 DeSoto Heritage Festival 5K races.

Other than having an addiction to chocolate, a Garfield collection of about 200 items, a peculiar affection for her & Phil’s dog Peppermint, and a race day superstition (lucky bracelet worn since high school), Rae Ann appears to most of us as normal as the next person. Seriously though, Rae Ann is one of those people that gives more than she receives. The girls she coaches and mentors speak of her with such respect and affection that it’s obvious how much she gives to them. I hope all of you that read this also know that Rae Ann is responsible for the BRC’s outstanding newsletter and often praised website.

Rae Ann tends to be on the quiet side. Part of it might be modesty and part of it a genuine interest in listening. Let’s make sure she knows we appreciate her and her contributions to the BRC and running in general.