The Morning Sun fourth through sixth-grade students recently embarked on a three-day, two-night adventure to the Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center in Lanesboro, Minn.

This three-year tradition started clear back in 1998 and has been going strong ever since. This year’s trip took place Oct. 15-17.

Tammy Noble, a Morning Sun sixth-grade teacher, has been a part of the trips since their inception.&nbsp;

The trip has had a lasting impact on students — with many parents waning to see their children have the same experience.&nbsp;

“We are at the point where the parents of our students attended a trip to Eagle Bluff when they were in school,” Noble said. “The trip is a lot of money and a lot of work, but it is worth it.”&nbsp;

Noble described the trip as a type of “learning vacation” for students, adding:&nbsp; “The students get a lot of firsts on the trip.”&nbsp;

For many students, it is the longest they have been away from home. &nbsp;

“It’s also a big deal for them to travel to another state, and they get to do it riding on a charter bus with a movie playing and a bathroom,” Noble said.

The students participate in a variety of educational sessions and are immersed in nature and the outdoors throughout the trip, according to Noble.

One of Noble’s favorite sessions is the Tree Top High Ropes Course calling it “the ultimate challenge.” She said students who complete the challenge become more self confident.&nbsp;

“Many of them are scared to death about trying it, but then feel so good because they’ve accomplished something hard,” she said. “For many of them, it is their first time doing a high ropes course, and it builds so much confidence.”&nbsp;

Noble also gave a big shout-out to the Louisa County Conservation Department’s naturalists, saying: “The staff are always surprised by the background in environmental education that our kids come to Eagle Bluff with.”&nbsp;

One of the classes was about fungi and decomposers — with students learning about the decomposition of wood, plants, and animals.&nbsp;

Sixth-grader Liam Nelson thought the Chamber of Disgust was “pretty neat.”

The food had been sitting in a plexiglass chamber for more than three years, with some students noting the Happy Meal fries inside were “moldy and gross.”

An apple had turned entirely to liquid, but a Twinkie, a highly processed food with lots of preservatives, still looked grocery-store fresh.

Several of the students participated in the Tree Tops High Ropes course.

“I was scared; it was really high,”&nbsp; said Harper Dean, a fifth-grade student .

Even though it seemed imposing, she really wanted a chance to do the zip-line and pushed herself to do it.&nbsp;

“I was proud of myself for stepping out of my comfort zone,” Dean said.

Mason Allworth was nervous to attempt the ropes course but had some help from Julie McCulloch, a fourth-grade teacher

“Mrs. McCulloch went with me on the course and helped me. I was glad she did because I was so proud of myself after,” she said.

Perhaps the funniest thing that happened, at least in Knox Atkinson’s eyes, was when teacher Traci Lundvall got the golf cart stuck.&nbsp;

Several of the trails are hilly, and it rained while they were at Eagle Bluff, Knox recounted.

“There was a hill, and we tried to go up it, but it was raining. She floored the golf cart, and she got stuck. The mud was flying off the golf cart. I told her I would be a better golf cart driver,” he said with a laugh. &nbsp;

Students also searched for animal signs and explored the woodlands and prairie, looking for scat, bones, tracks, and other evidence that animals had been present in the area

One night, students were able to sit around a campfire — telling stories, eating s’mores, and singing songs together.&nbsp;

“It is a really fun learning opportunity,” McCulloch said of the trip. “It was fun to watch their confidence grow throughout the trip.”

There were 42 students and seven adults in attendance on the trip, with a&nbsp; price tag of $14,462.&nbsp;

Those funds were raised over three years by the school, the community, and the Morning Sun PTO. Donations and assistance are always welcome.&nbsp;

The Morning Sun PTO has a Facebook page where they advertise various fundraisers that help raise money for Eagle Bluff, as well as other field trips and causes.&nbsp;

One such fundraiser was Spirit Night at a Heartlanders hockey game in Coralville on Nov. 15 at 6 p.m.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/burlington-beacon-media-bucket/public/2025/11/1764265026193.jpeg" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>By Katie HammondThe Morning Sun fourth through sixth-grade students recently embarked on a three-day, two-night adventure to the Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center in Lanesboro, Minn.This three-year tradition started clear back in 1998 and has been going strong ever since. This year’s trip took place Oct. 15-17.Tammy Noble, a Morning Sun sixth-grade teacher, has been a part of the trips since their inception.&nbsp;The trip has had a lasting impact on students — with many parents waning to see their children have the same experience.&nbsp;“We are at the point where the parents of our students attended a trip to Eagle Bluff when they were in school,” Noble said. “The trip is a lot of money and a lot of work, but it is worth it.”&nbsp;Noble described the trip as a type of “learning vacation” for students, adding:&nbsp; “The students get a lot of firsts on the trip.”&nbsp;For many students, it is the longest they have been away from home. &nbsp;“It’s also a big deal for them to travel to another state, and they get to do it riding on a charter bus with a movie playing and a bathroom,” Noble said.The students participate in a variety of educational sessions and are immersed in nature and the outdoors throughout the trip, according to Noble.One of Noble’s favorite sessions is the Tree Top High Ropes Course calling it “the ultimate challenge.” She said students who complete the challenge become more self confident.&nbsp;“Many of them are scared to death about trying it, but then feel so good because they’ve accomplished something hard,” she said. “For many of them, it is their first time doing a high ropes course, and it builds so much confidence.”&nbsp;Noble also gave a big shout-out to the Louisa County Conservation Department’s naturalists, saying: “The staff are always surprised by the background in environmental education that our kids come to Eagle Bluff with.”&nbsp;Chamber of DisgustOne of the classes was about fungi and decomposers — with students learning about the decomposition of wood, plants, and animals.&nbsp;Sixth-grader Liam Nelson thought the Chamber of Disgust was “pretty neat.”The food had been sitting in a plexiglass chamber for more than three years, with some students noting the Happy Meal fries inside were “moldy and gross.”An apple had turned entirely to liquid, but a Twinkie, a highly processed food with lots of preservatives, still looked grocery-store fresh.High Ropes CourseSeveral of the students participated in the Tree Tops High Ropes course.“I was scared; it was really high,”&nbsp; said Harper Dean, a fifth-grade student .Even though it seemed imposing, she really wanted a chance to do the zip-line and pushed herself to do it.&nbsp;“I was proud of myself for stepping out of my comfort zone,” Dean said.Mason Allworth was nervous to attempt the ropes course but had some help from Julie McCulloch, a fourth-grade teacher“Mrs. McCulloch went with me on the course and helped me. I was glad she did because I was so proud of myself after,” she said.A Funny StoryPerhaps the funniest thing that happened, at least in Knox Atkinson’s eyes, was when teacher Traci Lundvall got the golf cart stuck.&nbsp;Several of the trails are hilly, and it rained while they were at Eagle Bluff, Knox recounted.“There was a hill, and we tried to go up it, but it was raining. She floored the golf cart, and she got stuck. The mud was flying off the golf cart. I told her I would be a better golf cart driver,” he said with a laugh. &nbsp;Additional SessionsStudents also searched for animal signs and explored the woodlands and prairie, looking for scat, bones, tracks, and other evidence that animals had been present in the areaOne night, students were able to sit around a campfire — telling stories, eating s’mores, and singing songs together.&nbsp;“It is a really fun learning opportunity,” McCulloch said of the trip. “It was fun to watch their confidence grow throughout the trip.”Money Well SpentThere were 42 students and seven adults in attendance on the trip, with a&nbsp; price tag of $14,462.&nbsp;Those funds were raised over three years by the school, the community, and the Morning Sun PTO. Donations and assistance are always welcome.&nbsp;The Morning Sun PTO has a Facebook page where they advertise various fundraisers that help raise money for Eagle Bluff, as well as other field trips and causes.&nbsp;One such fundraiser was Spirit Night at a Heartlanders hockey game in Coralville on Nov. 15 at 6 p.m.&nbsp;

Morning Sun students soar at Eagle Bluff

Southeastern Community College President Dr. Michael Ash doesn’t want to be remembered for adding new buildings to the campus. However, he has been instrumental in securing many of them during his 13 years with the school.

Instead, “I want us to be able to see the work I’ve done,” Ash said,

“The guidance I’ve given our staff as a way to improve our college to make it relevant to our community, to make it relevant to our students.”

Going into the 2025-26 school year, SCC leads the state’s junior colleges in retention, and it leads in percentage of enrollment growth. Based on test scores, Ash said, “Our nursing program is No. 1 in the state.”

The Hall of Sciences has state-of-the-art equipment, and SCC is getting a new CDL program.

Ash oversaw the construction of a better dormitory for athletes and has added numerous sports teams to the program – including cross country and track, men’s and women’s wrestling, trap shooting, and golf – to attract more students.

“There are more than 300 athletes on campus,” he said.

Early in his education career, however, he was taking on far less than he is now, yet the stress was so much that he had to have triple-bypass surgery at 45.

Ash graduated from Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Okla., and worked in the school’s student affairs area.

He earned his Master’s Degree and served as the dean of men for four years.

But he switched gears and started a business for remodeling and construction. “I really enjoy doing something with my hands,” Ash said.

Twenty years later, he came back to education. He served as Director of Counseling at Regent University, a graduate school in Virginia Beach, Va.&nbsp;

He then became the Director of Human Services and began his doctoral program in higher education.

“Between the job, the environment, the high-paced graduate education, and then working on the doctorate was just too much,” Ash said.

That’s when he needed the bypass surgery. He took a year off and resigned his position.

He began working on his doctorate again, but he also needed a job, so he took the position as dean of students at State Fair Community College in Sedalia, Mo., in 2003. His wife, Mona, headed up the education program.

“I was going from a graduate position to a two-year community college,” Ash said.

He finished his doctorate program, so the State Fair president wanted to move him to vice president of Advancement in 2009.

“I’ve never even raised a nickel,” he had told the president. “I don’t know how to do that.”

The president didn’t give him another option, and in nine years at State Fair, he raised more than $10 million in grants.

“I learned a lot, I experienced a lot, but I was kind of a one-man show,” Ash said.

He aspired to become a school president someday, and then the job in West Burlington became available in the summer of 2012.

While he would go on to raise millions of dollars through grants and the generosity of families, that wasn’t his initial focus.

“When I came here, I wasn’t diving into fundraising,” Ash said, “I came here diving into trying to help the college. It was struggling. We were on the decline.”

SCC had good facilities but an odd color scheme.

“They were maroon roofs and cream brick,” Ash said. “Those aren’t even close to SCC colors,” which are red and black.

Ash took the first culture survey in 2014, and the feedback wasn’t good.

“It was really dismal,” Ash said. “The place was not happy.

“People were already angry and hurting.”

The best example came from the construction of the Hall of Sciences.

Ash launched a “Building the Dream” campaign. The Health Professions building construction was underway, and Ash announced the plan for a Hall of Sciences building.

“The different science departments were spread all over the place,” Ash said. “But I was getting an undercurrent from the science faculty that didn’t think it was going to happen.”

He said they told him, “‘We’ve been lied to before; not by you but the past administration.”

“I wanted our students here, if they were going to be science majors and they would transfer to Iowa or Iowa State or wherever, that they would be going into state-of-the-art labs,” Ash said.

It was either that or a building for another department, so the faculty took a chance and backed him up.

“The science building was finished in 2017 on the main campus, and in 2018, the college built an Industrial Technology Training Center on the Keokuk campus,” Ash said.

“That began to stimulate the improvements in the attitudes,” Ash said, “and the belief system, which passed on to the students, and now we’re seeing this increase in enrollment.”

Like the rest of us, Ash said, “Students like shiny new things. We like up-to-date stuff. Even though our computer system is top of the grade, our internet service is faster than you can imagine.”

As for the financing and grant money Ash has helped raise over the years, it has led Ash to boast about all that has been added to the school: “It’s all paid for.”

That includes the new rec center, which is expected to be ready for use next spring, and will feature a basketball court, cardio equipment, weightlifting facilities for students and faculty, and a walking track for the entire community.

Ash said SCC has a partnership with Great River Medical Center, Mike Mohrfeld, and his solar panels in Fort Madison, and the school has a partner in Washington, D.C., seeking federal grants.

“We’ve gotten back millions of dollars in that partnership,” Ash said of the D.C. partner.

“It’s been a tremendous journey,” he said. “Early on, I quit about six times in my head. It was pretty bad here.”

“People would see that when we said something, that’s what we did,” Ash said, “and if we couldn’t do that, then we came back and said, ‘Well, we wanted to do that, but the timing’s off.’ ”

All that, and Ash still puts out a Student Satisfaction Inventory and a Climate Survey for the faculty.

“We’re serious about making changes,” Ash said.

“SCC will never be the biggest; we just don’t have the land mass to make us the biggest,” Ash said. “But we can be the best, and that’s what we’re aiming for.”

By Chris FaulknerBurlington BeaconSoutheastern Community College President Dr. Michael Ash doesn’t want to be remembered for adding new buildings to the campus. However, he has been instrumental in securing many of them during his 13 years with the school.Instead, “I want us to be able to see the work I’ve done,” Ash said,“The guidance I’ve given our staff as a way to improve our college to make it relevant to our community, to make it relevant to our students.”Going into the 2025-26 school year, SCC leads the state’s junior colleges in retention, and it leads in percentage of enrollment growth. Based on test scores, Ash said, “Our nursing program is No. 1 in the state.”The Hall of Sciences has state-of-the-art equipment, and SCC is getting a new CDL program.Ash oversaw the construction of a better dormitory for athletes and has added numerous sports teams to the program – including cross country and track, men’s and women’s wrestling, trap shooting, and golf – to attract more students.“There are more than 300 athletes on campus,” he said.Early in his education career, however, he was taking on far less than he is now, yet the stress was so much that he had to have triple-bypass surgery at 45.20-Year BreakAsh graduated from Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Okla., and worked in the school’s student affairs area.He earned his Master’s Degree and served as the dean of men for four years.But he switched gears and started a business for remodeling and construction. “I really enjoy doing something with my hands,” Ash said.Twenty years later, he came back to education. He served as Director of Counseling at Regent University, a graduate school in Virginia Beach, Va.&nbsp;He then became the Director of Human Services and began his doctoral program in higher education.“Between the job, the environment, the high-paced graduate education, and then working on the doctorate was just too much,” Ash said.That’s when he needed the bypass surgery. He took a year off and resigned his position.He began working on his doctorate again, but he also needed a job, so he took the position as dean of students at State Fair Community College in Sedalia, Mo., in 2003. His wife, Mona, headed up the education program.“I was going from a graduate position to a two-year community college,” Ash said.He finished his doctorate program, so the State Fair president wanted to move him to vice president of Advancement in 2009.“I’ve never even raised a nickel,” he had told the president. “I don’t know how to do that.”The president didn’t give him another option, and in nine years at State Fair, he raised more than $10 million in grants.“I learned a lot, I experienced a lot, but I was kind of a one-man show,” Ash said.He aspired to become a school president someday, and then the job in West Burlington became available in the summer of 2012.While he would go on to raise millions of dollars through grants and the generosity of families, that wasn’t his initial focus.College was struggling“When I came here, I wasn’t diving into fundraising,” Ash said, “I came here diving into trying to help the college. It was struggling. We were on the decline.”SCC had good facilities but an odd color scheme.“They were maroon roofs and cream brick,” Ash said. “Those aren’t even close to SCC colors,” which are red and black.Ash took the first culture survey in 2014, and the feedback wasn’t good.“It was really dismal,” Ash said. “The place was not happy.“People were already angry and hurting.”The best example came from the construction of the Hall of Sciences.Ash launched a “Building the Dream” campaign. The Health Professions building construction was underway, and Ash announced the plan for a Hall of Sciences building.“The different science departments were spread all over the place,” Ash said. “But I was getting an undercurrent from the science faculty that didn’t think it was going to happen.”He said they told him, “‘We’ve been lied to before; not by you but the past administration.”Ash was serious about his plans.“I wanted our students here, if they were going to be science majors and they would transfer to Iowa or Iowa State or wherever, that they would be going into state-of-the-art labs,” Ash said.It was either that or a building for another department, so the faculty took a chance and backed him up.“The science building was finished in 2017 on the main campus, and in 2018, the college built an Industrial Technology Training Center on the Keokuk campus,” Ash said.“That began to stimulate the improvements in the attitudes,” Ash said, “and the belief system, which passed on to the students, and now we’re seeing this increase in enrollment.”Like the rest of us, Ash said, “Students like shiny new things. We like up-to-date stuff. Even though our computer system is top of the grade, our internet service is faster than you can imagine.”As for the financing and grant money Ash has helped raise over the years, it has led Ash to boast about all that has been added to the school: “It’s all paid for.”That includes the new rec center, which is expected to be ready for use next spring, and will feature a basketball court, cardio equipment, weightlifting facilities for students and faculty, and a walking track for the entire community.Ash said SCC has a partnership with Great River Medical Center, Mike Mohrfeld, and his solar panels in Fort Madison, and the school has a partner in Washington, D.C., seeking federal grants.“We’ve gotten back millions of dollars in that partnership,” Ash said of the D.C. partner.“It’s been a tremendous journey,” he said. “Early on, I quit about six times in my head. It was pretty bad here.”But he eventually won people over.“People would see that when we said something, that’s what we did,” Ash said, “and if we couldn’t do that, then we came back and said, ‘Well, we wanted to do that, but the timing’s off.’ ”All that, and Ash still puts out a Student Satisfaction Inventory and a Climate Survey for the faculty.“We’re serious about making changes,” Ash said.“SCC will never be the biggest; we just don’t have the land mass to make us the biggest,” Ash said. “But we can be the best, and that’s what we’re aiming for.”

52 FACES: Building more than buildings

Kateryna Lahun and her husband moved to Burlington from the Ukraine about a year ago, escaping the war-ravaged country to make better lives for themselves.

Like other Ukrainians living in Burlington — and across the country — Lahun and her husband have no idea how long they will get to stay. Their status as immigrants remains in limbo — a decision that will be made by the U.S. government.

All they can do is keep working and keep hoping. Both of them work as dental assistants at Community Health Center, and Lahun’s English has blossomed over the past 12 months. She was a dentist in Ukraine and is delighted to pursue the same profession in America.

“I’ve been studying it (English) all my life, but I needed to speak it. I needed to have conversations,” he said. “It was mostly book English that I learned.”

Both she and her husband have family back in the Ukraine they worry about, but the area they moved from wasn’t safe either.

“It was pretty dangerous. We live in a city that was very close to the (Ukraine-Russia) border,” Lahun said.

Her journey to America marks the beginning of a dental career that Lahun has studied for over the past couple of years. She’s only 24 years old.

“I need to go to two years of dental school here to get a license,” she said.

Lahun is filling a dire need in the Iowa medical profession and hopes that her efforts count for something when it comes to her immigration status. Back at their Burlington home, Lahun and her husband have been learning to live in a brand-new culture.

They aren’t used to how much everyone around them smiles — a common refrain among Ukrainians living in the Burlington area. She is more than happy to smile back.

“I really like that there is a lot of space here,” she said. “Big houses, big fields, and I like the people a lot. They’re different from Ukrainians.”

Lahun and her husband met in dental school and have been working together for the past four years. Despite her job, Lahun describes herself as a creative type. She knew she wanted to go into medicine to help people, but she has always possessed a desire to build and craft.

Dentistry was the perfect fit. There’s more building involved than most people realize.

“I love doing (teeth) restorations,” she said.

Friendships have been born in the dental office. Lahun has been so impressed by the locals that she has started a women’s group dedicated to fellowship and shared interests.

“Everyone can support each other, where we can gather and do different things,” Lahun said.

Lahun hosted the group’s first meeting last month and is planning another meeting for Nov. 1 — this time at The Burlington Public Library.

“I started with craft things, painting, just for fun events, but I want to go deeper. I want to do something like sport challenges, because in the group it will be easier to keep a healthy body, healthy mental stability,” she said. “For example, yoga challenges, different sports activities. We can travel together. I want to invite different specialists, like psychologists who can advise people, or we can have small lectures,” she said.

Lahun would also like the group to focus on everyday survival skills, such as cooking. She noted that it has been much harder to find healthy food since moving to America.

“We can cook something and bring it home to eat for a couple of weeks, and then gather together again and cook again. It’s much easier if you do it in a group,” she said.

But the women’s group isn’t just about practicality. It’s a place for women to relax — to be themselves. Lahun noted that it is&nbsp; a group for all women — not just Ukrainians.

“All people have two places they go — home and work. They need a third place where you can just relax, be yourself, and do something for fun,” she said.

There is no formal name for the group right now, and Lahun is still molding the overall concept. But she’s confident the group will help her feel more at home — and she hopes that goes for everyone — even those who already are at home.

As for her future in America, Lahun can only wait to see what happens. She doesn’t dwell on the uncertain waiting.

&nbsp;But like any Ukrainian who has emigrated, she wants nothing more than to stay in America — her new home.

<figure>
 <img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/burlington-beacon-media-bucket/public/2025/11/1762729481155.jpeg" alt="Photo by John Lovretta" />
 <figcaption>Photo by John Lovretta</figcaption>
 </figure>By William SmithBurlington BeaconKateryna Lahun and her husband moved to Burlington from the Ukraine about a year ago, escaping the war-ravaged country to make better lives for themselves.Like other Ukrainians living in Burlington — and across the country — Lahun and her husband have no idea how long they will get to stay. Their status as immigrants remains in limbo — a decision that will be made by the U.S. government.All they can do is keep working and keep hoping. Both of them work as dental assistants at Community Health Center, and Lahun’s English has blossomed over the past 12 months. She was a dentist in Ukraine and is delighted to pursue the same profession in America.“I’ve been studying it (English) all my life, but I needed to speak it. I needed to have conversations,” he said. “It was mostly book English that I learned.”Both she and her husband have family back in the Ukraine they worry about, but the area they moved from wasn’t safe either.“It was pretty dangerous. We live in a city that was very close to the (Ukraine-Russia) border,” Lahun said.Her journey to America marks the beginning of a dental career that Lahun has studied for over the past couple of years. She’s only 24 years old.“I need to go to two years of dental school here to get a license,” she said.Lahun is filling a dire need in the Iowa medical profession and hopes that her efforts count for something when it comes to her immigration status. Back at their Burlington home, Lahun and her husband have been learning to live in a brand-new culture.They aren’t used to how much everyone around them smiles — a common refrain among Ukrainians living in the Burlington area. She is more than happy to smile back.“I really like that there is a lot of space here,” she said. “Big houses, big fields, and I like the people a lot. They’re different from Ukrainians.”Lahun and her husband met in dental school and have been working together for the past four years. Despite her job, Lahun describes herself as a creative type. She knew she wanted to go into medicine to help people, but she has always possessed a desire to build and craft.Dentistry was the perfect fit. There’s more building involved than most people realize.“I love doing (teeth) restorations,” she said.Friendships have been born in the dental office. Lahun has been so impressed by the locals that she has started a women’s group dedicated to fellowship and shared interests.“Everyone can support each other, where we can gather and do different things,” Lahun said.Lahun hosted the group’s first meeting last month and is planning another meeting for Nov. 1 — this time at The Burlington Public Library.“I started with craft things, painting, just for fun events, but I want to go deeper. I want to do something like sport challenges, because in the group it will be easier to keep a healthy body, healthy mental stability,” she said. “For example, yoga challenges, different sports activities. We can travel together. I want to invite different specialists, like psychologists who can advise people, or we can have small lectures,” she said.Lahun would also like the group to focus on everyday survival skills, such as cooking. She noted that it has been much harder to find healthy food since moving to America.“We can cook something and bring it home to eat for a couple of weeks, and then gather together again and cook again. It’s much easier if you do it in a group,” she said.But the women’s group isn’t just about practicality. It’s a place for women to relax — to be themselves. Lahun noted that it is&nbsp; a group for all women — not just Ukrainians.“All people have two places they go — home and work. They need a third place where you can just relax, be yourself, and do something for fun,” she said.There is no formal name for the group right now, and Lahun is still molding the overall concept. But she’s confident the group will help her feel more at home — and she hopes that goes for everyone — even those who already are at home.“I want to be social,” she said.As for her future in America, Lahun can only wait to see what happens. She doesn’t dwell on the uncertain waiting.&nbsp;But like any Ukrainian who has emigrated, she wants nothing more than to stay in America — her new home.“I love it here,” she said.&nbsp;

52 FACES:  With a smile  and a dream

For John Oliver Jr., racing is in his blood, and not just because his father, grandfather, and uncle are also racers.

It’s almost an addiction to him, and that’s why he races not just one but two cars every Saturday night at his home track, 34 Raceway.

He also races his stock car at Columbus Junction every Friday and Vinton every Sunday.

Oliver Jr. competes in the Modified class at 34, a car owned by Dennis LaVeine, as well as his own stock car, and has been successful in both classes.

Oliver Jr. just finished claiming another Stock Car class points title, the 27th&nbsp;in his career, and he placed second in the Modified class.

He also has more than 280 feature victory trophies along the top shelf of his race shop, and they’ve been in different classes.

He is also vying for a title in the IMCA circuit nationwide. Because the certified tracks are uniform, drivers can build up points without having to race in tracks across the country.

At 50, Oliver Jr. knows he’ll have to quit driving eventually.

“It’s not an old man’s sport,” he said, and it’s not just slower reflexes.

“By the time you work your full-time job, and then you come home, and then you just stay up too late working on stuff,” Oliver Jr. said, and he owns his own business, Oliver Heating and Air.

That doesn’t mean it’s easy to know when to quit.

“They don’t have a counselor for racing,” Oliver Jr. said, meaning, “It’s worse than drugs. At least if you get into drugs, you might be able to get out of it.

“Once racing is in your blood, it’s there. Don’t get into it unless you know you want to.”

“My wife loves racing,” Oliver Jr. said. “Honestly, I’d have probably been out of it a few years ago if she didn’t like racing as much as she does.”

But also, “I’ve driven for multiple people, and it’s been a lot of fun driving for them.”

Oliver Jr.’s grandfather, when he lived in Wisconsin, started racing in the early 1950s. In the 1970s, he moved back to southeast Iowa. That’s about when John Oliver Sr. began racing.

They raced at Lee County Speedway, Keokuk Raceland, and in Memphis, Mo., Oliver Jr. said.

Then Oliver Sr. quit, not returning to the driver’s seat until the 1990s, when his son was graduating from high school. He raced until 2010 when he was 50.

“He and my grandpa got me into racing in ‘98,” Oliver Jr. said. He raced at Lee County Speedway in Donnellson as well as at 34.

His grandfather never really quit. “I drove for grandpa in the 2000s, and I really didn’t drive for myself much until 2010 or so,” Oliver Jr. said.

“It’s 30 laps a night that I don’t have to think about nothing but driving a car,” Oliver Jr. said as to what made him get into racing besides the family connection. “I don’t have to think about the business. I don’t have to think about anything.

“So is it a lot of work? Racing is a ton of work. It’s more than sometimes my full-time job,” he said.

“But it’s what I enjoy to do right?”

Although feature winners get paid, Oliver Jr. said it doesn’t pay the cost of racing.

“All, at the end of it, I’ll have to show for it is trophies and coats,” which are the prizes for the season titles.

Oliver Jr.’s sponsors are: X-treme Impact, A&amp;B Roofing, LaVeine Sanitation, Cash 4 Junk Cars, B&amp;B Racing Shocks, and Mid-State Machine.

His pit crew consists of his wife, his father, Justin “Popeye” Stevenson, and the Timmermans: Devon, Amy, Tasker, and Teager.

For those who don’t follow the sport, it may be difficult to go from the middle or especially the back of the pack at the start to work your way up to the front.

“You’ve got to have a good handling car to start with,” Oliver Jr. said.&nbsp;

“You drive your hardest and try to drive your cleanest, without anybody getting upset, right? You just try to pass whatever cars you can.”

“The IMCA Stock Car class is so even, you’ve got to try to drive faster through the corner,” Oliver Jr. said.

That’s where he has the most fun, he said. “You just see how hard you can bury that car in the corner without spinning it out.”

That’s why he would never do drag racing.

“I’d have to go to the end of the drag strip, slam on the brakes, and come back the other way,” Oliver Jr. said.

As for his fellow auto racers, “There’s a lot of drivers I have a lot of respect for that have come up,” Oliver Jr. said. Besides his father and grandfather, he mentioned LaVeine, Darin Thye, and John Schultz.

“I grew up watching (Schultz),” Oliver Jr. said. “That guy, no matter what he drove, he was on the cushion, and he was fast.

“It’s sad to see that a lot of these people that you grew up watching aren’t racing anymore, but you also understand why,” and that’s where the age issue came up.

Oliver Jr. said he’ll never completely get out of racing. He’ll just join a pit crew for another driver.

<figure>
 <img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/burlington-beacon-media-bucket/public/2025/9/1757536422079.jpeg" alt="John Oliver Jr.&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>John Oliver Jr.&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>By Chris FaulknerFor John Oliver Jr., racing is in his blood, and not just because his father, grandfather, and uncle are also racers.It’s almost an addiction to him, and that’s why he races not just one but two cars every Saturday night at his home track, 34 Raceway.He also races his stock car at Columbus Junction every Friday and Vinton every Sunday.Oliver Jr. competes in the Modified class at 34, a car owned by Dennis LaVeine, as well as his own stock car, and has been successful in both classes.Oliver Jr. just finished claiming another Stock Car class points title, the 27th&nbsp;in his career, and he placed second in the Modified class.He also has more than 280 feature victory trophies along the top shelf of his race shop, and they’ve been in different classes.He is also vying for a title in the IMCA circuit nationwide. Because the certified tracks are uniform, drivers can build up points without having to race in tracks across the country.At 50, Oliver Jr. knows he’ll have to quit driving eventually.“It’s not an old man’s sport,” he said, and it’s not just slower reflexes.“By the time you work your full-time job, and then you come home, and then you just stay up too late working on stuff,” Oliver Jr. said, and he owns his own business, Oliver Heating and Air.That doesn’t mean it’s easy to know when to quit.“They don’t have a counselor for racing,” Oliver Jr. said, meaning, “It’s worse than drugs. At least if you get into drugs, you might be able to get out of it.“Once racing is in your blood, it’s there. Don’t get into it unless you know you want to.”But his wife, Diane, spurs him on.“My wife loves racing,” Oliver Jr. said. “Honestly, I’d have probably been out of it a few years ago if she didn’t like racing as much as she does.”But also, “I’ve driven for multiple people, and it’s been a lot of fun driving for them.”Following FamilyOliver Jr.’s grandfather, when he lived in Wisconsin, started racing in the early 1950s. In the 1970s, he moved back to southeast Iowa. That’s about when John Oliver Sr. began racing.They raced at Lee County Speedway, Keokuk Raceland, and in Memphis, Mo., Oliver Jr. said.Then Oliver Sr. quit, not returning to the driver’s seat until the 1990s, when his son was graduating from high school. He raced until 2010 when he was 50.“He and my grandpa got me into racing in ‘98,” Oliver Jr. said. He raced at Lee County Speedway in Donnellson as well as at 34.His grandfather never really quit. “I drove for grandpa in the 2000s, and I really didn’t drive for myself much until 2010 or so,” Oliver Jr. said.“It’s 30 laps a night that I don’t have to think about nothing but driving a car,” Oliver Jr. said as to what made him get into racing besides the family connection. “I don’t have to think about the business. I don’t have to think about anything.“So is it a lot of work? Racing is a ton of work. It’s more than sometimes my full-time job,” he said.“But it’s what I enjoy to do right?”Although feature winners get paid, Oliver Jr. said it doesn’t pay the cost of racing.“All, at the end of it, I’ll have to show for it is trophies and coats,” which are the prizes for the season titles.Oliver Jr.’s sponsors are: X-treme Impact, A&amp;B Roofing, LaVeine Sanitation, Cash 4 Junk Cars, B&amp;B Racing Shocks, and Mid-State Machine.His pit crew consists of his wife, his father, Justin “Popeye” Stevenson, and the Timmermans: Devon, Amy, Tasker, and Teager.Corners Are KeyFor those who don’t follow the sport, it may be difficult to go from the middle or especially the back of the pack at the start to work your way up to the front.“You’ve got to have a good handling car to start with,” Oliver Jr. said.&nbsp;“You drive your hardest and try to drive your cleanest, without anybody getting upset, right? You just try to pass whatever cars you can.”Handling the corners is the key.“The IMCA Stock Car class is so even, you’ve got to try to drive faster through the corner,” Oliver Jr. said.That’s where he has the most fun, he said. “You just see how hard you can bury that car in the corner without spinning it out.”That’s why he would never do drag racing.“I’d have to go to the end of the drag strip, slam on the brakes, and come back the other way,” Oliver Jr. said.As for his fellow auto racers, “There’s a lot of drivers I have a lot of respect for that have come up,” Oliver Jr. said. Besides his father and grandfather, he mentioned LaVeine, Darin Thye, and John Schultz.“I grew up watching (Schultz),” Oliver Jr. said. “That guy, no matter what he drove, he was on the cushion, and he was fast.“It’s sad to see that a lot of these people that you grew up watching aren’t racing anymore, but you also understand why,” and that’s where the age issue came up.Oliver Jr. said he’ll never completely get out of racing. He’ll just join a pit crew for another driver.

52 FACES: ‘Once racing is in your blood, it’s there'

Erin Campbell — better known as Titan Broadcasting DJ Jolene Jett — lived much of her life without even thinking about it.

Life just happened, and Campbell went along with it — until she just couldn’t anymore.

“Back in 2008, when I was living in Memphis, Tenn., I had my daughter, and I was on maternity leave, and I had a lot more free time to sit and think and reflect. And I got tired of watching daytime TV filling my mind with crap,” she said.

Campbell wanted to do something more with her life. She wanted to reinvent the way she looks at the world. She started watching religious channels and reading inspirational self-help books, searching out clues that would lead to self-rejuvenation.

“There’s got to be something more to this, right?” she said about her life at the time. “I’ve checked all the boxes. I bought the house. I graduated from school.”

That’s how Campbell developed her own method of positivity, which she calls JoyKwonDo. That translates to “punching with joy,” Campbell said.

But there’s no actual punching. JoyKwonDo is something completely different.

“There are three JoyKwonDo principles I’ve come up with over the years,” she said. “Number one — everything is fine. Number two — nice people get stuff. And number three — happy people can’t be defeated.”

It sounds simple, and Campbell noted that there is a distinction between acting nice due to obligations and politeness.

Finding joy in being nice requires more courage.

“The type of nice that comes from a place of confidence and fearlessness,” she said. “We already have it in us, but we only tend to use it when we feel safe and secure in our surroundings.”

Finding that confidence is the heart of JoyKwonDo, and it’s not easy. For most of her life, Campbell was a “don’t rock the boat” kind of gal. Like most people, she was more interested in keeping the peace.

It’s an informal art, and Campbell is happy to teach anyone — free of charge. JoyKwonDo is not a commodity, she said. It’s just a different way of living that anyone can adopt. She would like to open a studio in the future to teach.

“I was so vanilla. I was working a desk job, just doing what I was supposed to do. I was bored. I forgot how to be fun, and I wanted to be fun again, because I liked me when I was fun,” Campbell said.

Campbell was born in Southern California and raised in Prescott, Arizona. She described it as “just like Burlington.” She was raised on MTV and saw a future for herself in the fringes of the music industry.

She studied music business and entertainment in college, and was obsessed with music videos. Ironically enough, she wouldn’t get a chance to use that knowledge until she became a DJ for Titan Broadcasting a few years ago.

“I could talk about that stuff for hours, which is why I’m uniquely perfect for this job. However, I have always loved popular music, even when riding my bike around. I even had a radio on it. I’d be listening to “November Rain,” right? That was my jam,” Campbell said.

Campbell moved with her family to Memphis shortly before starting high school and was surprised that it wasn’t the musical mecca she had expected it to be. Sun Studios, which hosted some of the first recordings from Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis, was the only major attraction, she said.

Campbell had grown disillusioned with high school by the time she became a senior, but she rebounded at the University of Memphis. She was aided by a scholarship for her proficiency with the clarinet.

Campbell found inspiration in one of her instructors and wanted to pursue a career further in the music industry. But she had a new husband and daughter, and pursuing music didn’t sound very practical at the time.

“I found myself stuck, because there really isn’t a lot of music in Memphis,” she said. “There’s some hip-hop stuff, some grassroots stuff, but nothing real big. I was working at a chiropractic office.”

When Campbell’s sister moved to San Diego, Calif., Campbell decided to take her daughter and join her. Her 1-year-old daughter had a whole life of discovery ahead of her. Campbell wanted to be the kind of person who would make her daughter proud.

“That meant telling my then-husband that we’re selling the house and everything, and moving to San Diego,” she said. Campbell was able to continue her work for the chiropractic business in California, and everything else fell into place.

Campbell and her daughter moved to Burlington in 2020. She was working remotely for a software company in California, but when the pandemic occurred, her role was gradually eliminated. She wasn’t asked to leave, but she felt her role was becoming less critical.

So Campbell came up with another idea while sitting in a Walmart parking lot. She does her best thinking in Walmart parking lots.

“I was thinking about everything I’ve done and what I want to do, and I wanted to get back into the music stuff and TV stuff. And it just like hit me. I need to be in radio,” Campbell said.

Three weeks after expressing her interest in a DJ job at Titan Broadcasting, someone submitted their notice.&nbsp; And Campbell began her radio career as an intern without a lick of DJ experience.

When she was promoted to DJ, Campbell had to decide between her remote software job — a choice between money and happiness.

She didn’t have to think about it long.

“I had to say goodbye to the corporate job,&nbsp; though, which was a significant pay cut. And I am completely at peace about it. Like I wasn’t scared about it at all,” she said.

Right now, Erin Campbell, or Jolene Jett, which she has adopted as a personality beyond the pseudonym, is exactly who she wants to be right now.

“I could do this (working as a DJ) all day. I could stay here until seven o’clock at night, and I’ve been here since 5:30 this morning. I love it,” she said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/burlington-beacon-media-bucket/public/2025/9/1756944654816.jpeg" alt="Photo by John Lovretta" />
 <figcaption>Photo by John Lovretta</figcaption>
 </figure>By William SmithErin Campbell — better known as Titan Broadcasting DJ Jolene Jett — lived much of her life without even thinking about it.Life just happened, and Campbell went along with it — until she just couldn’t anymore.“Back in 2008, when I was living in Memphis, Tenn., I had my daughter, and I was on maternity leave, and I had a lot more free time to sit and think and reflect. And I got tired of watching daytime TV filling my mind with crap,” she said.Campbell wanted to do something more with her life. She wanted to reinvent the way she looks at the world. She started watching religious channels and reading inspirational self-help books, searching out clues that would lead to self-rejuvenation.“There’s got to be something more to this, right?” she said about her life at the time. “I’ve checked all the boxes. I bought the house. I graduated from school.”That’s how Campbell developed her own method of positivity, which she calls JoyKwonDo. That translates to “punching with joy,” Campbell said.But there’s no actual punching. JoyKwonDo is something completely different.“There are three JoyKwonDo principles I’ve come up with over the years,” she said. “Number one — everything is fine. Number two — nice people get stuff. And number three — happy people can’t be defeated.”It sounds simple, and Campbell noted that there is a distinction between acting nice due to obligations and politeness.Finding joy in being nice requires more courage.“The type of nice that comes from a place of confidence and fearlessness,” she said. “We already have it in us, but we only tend to use it when we feel safe and secure in our surroundings.”Finding that confidence is the heart of JoyKwonDo, and it’s not easy. For most of her life, Campbell was a “don’t rock the boat” kind of gal. Like most people, she was more interested in keeping the peace.It’s an informal art, and Campbell is happy to teach anyone — free of charge. JoyKwonDo is not a commodity, she said. It’s just a different way of living that anyone can adopt. She would like to open a studio in the future to teach.“I was so vanilla. I was working a desk job, just doing what I was supposed to do. I was bored. I forgot how to be fun, and I wanted to be fun again, because I liked me when I was fun,” Campbell said.Growing Up in ArizonaCampbell was born in Southern California and raised in Prescott, Arizona. She described it as “just like Burlington.” She was raised on MTV and saw a future for herself in the fringes of the music industry.She studied music business and entertainment in college, and was obsessed with music videos. Ironically enough, she wouldn’t get a chance to use that knowledge until she became a DJ for Titan Broadcasting a few years ago.“I could talk about that stuff for hours, which is why I’m uniquely perfect for this job. However, I have always loved popular music, even when riding my bike around. I even had a radio on it. I’d be listening to “November Rain,” right? That was my jam,” Campbell said.Campbell moved with her family to Memphis shortly before starting high school and was surprised that it wasn’t the musical mecca she had expected it to be. Sun Studios, which hosted some of the first recordings from Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis, was the only major attraction, she said.Campbell had grown disillusioned with high school by the time she became a senior, but she rebounded at the University of Memphis. She was aided by a scholarship for her proficiency with the clarinet.Campbell found inspiration in one of her instructors and wanted to pursue a career further in the music industry. But she had a new husband and daughter, and pursuing music didn’t sound very practical at the time.“I found myself stuck, because there really isn’t a lot of music in Memphis,” she said. “There’s some hip-hop stuff, some grassroots stuff, but nothing real big. I was working at a chiropractic office.”When Campbell’s sister moved to San Diego, Calif., Campbell decided to take her daughter and join her. Her 1-year-old daughter had a whole life of discovery ahead of her. Campbell wanted to be the kind of person who would make her daughter proud.“That meant telling my then-husband that we’re selling the house and everything, and moving to San Diego,” she said. Campbell was able to continue her work for the chiropractic business in California, and everything else fell into place.Arriving in BurlingtonCampbell and her daughter moved to Burlington in 2020. She was working remotely for a software company in California, but when the pandemic occurred, her role was gradually eliminated. She wasn’t asked to leave, but she felt her role was becoming less critical.So Campbell came up with another idea while sitting in a Walmart parking lot. She does her best thinking in Walmart parking lots.“I was thinking about everything I’ve done and what I want to do, and I wanted to get back into the music stuff and TV stuff. And it just like hit me. I need to be in radio,” Campbell said.Three weeks after expressing her interest in a DJ job at Titan Broadcasting, someone submitted their notice.&nbsp; And Campbell began her radio career as an intern without a lick of DJ experience.When she was promoted to DJ, Campbell had to decide between her remote software job — a choice between money and happiness.She didn’t have to think about it long.“I had to say goodbye to the corporate job,&nbsp; though, which was a significant pay cut. And I am completely at peace about it. Like I wasn’t scared about it at all,” she said.Right now, Erin Campbell, or Jolene Jett, which she has adopted as a personality beyond the pseudonym, is exactly who she wants to be right now.There’s no greater peace than that.“I could do this (working as a DJ) all day. I could stay here until seven o’clock at night, and I’ve been here since 5:30 this morning. I love it,” she said.

52 FACES: Spinning joy

Tomi Hagan never ran in high school and didn’t even do fun runs as a young adult.

“I used to say, ‘I don’t even run when something’s chasing me,’ ” Hagan said. “I would just lie down and play dead. It’s safer that way.”

Yet two years ago, Hagan ran a 50-kilometer (31-mile) race for her 50th&nbsp;birthday. She had already run a half-marathon before that.

However, her longest endeavor has been a 100-mile race, and this past May, she ran her second such distance in the annual Keys Race, which starts in Key Largo, Fla., and ends in Key West.

Hagan finished first in the 50-54 age group, running, walking, taking food and bathroom breaks, and completing the challenge in 25 hours, 52 minutes, and 19 seconds.

That’s five hours faster than last year.

As reference points, this year’s overall winner, Brett Sanborn of Albuquerque, New Mexico, finished in 14:21:41, and the top female, Nicole Coccia of Riverview, Fla., finished in 18:24:42.

Hagan placed 46th&nbsp;out of the 131 who finished, not counting the dozens of runners who started but didn’t finish.

Her daughter-in-law, Jacey Hagan, served as her crew chief and helped Hagan become more efficient during breaks, thereby reducing the overall time.

Her son, Bryar, and her husband, Troy, also served as part of the crew.

Although her family supports her, “They think it’s a little nutty,” Hagan said of her long-distance runs.

Hagan grew up in South Dakota, moved to Missouri in 1995, and started working at the hospital in Burlington in 2018. She and Troy still have a home in Missouri.

In 2021, Hagan finally took her first running step. “I had a neighbor I worked out with at the gym,” she said. “She talked me into doing some run-walking a little bit.”

A few years earlier, she had met her dad for the first time, having found him on&nbsp;ancestry.com. He was in South Dakota, where she grew up, and after she started running, they would run together whenever she visited. Her first big race was with him at the Rock and Roll 10K in Las Vegas.

“It just kind of blossomed from there,” Hagan said.

A half-marathon (13 miles) was next, but she soon had bigger ambitions.

She was 49 when she heard a podcaster say that people should look for Big, Hairy, Audacious Goals.

<figure>
 <img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/burlington-beacon-media-bucket/public/2025/9/1756709551140.jpeg" alt="Photo by John Lovretta" />
 <figcaption>Photo by John Lovretta</figcaption>
 </figure>By Chris FaulknerTomi Hagan never ran in high school and didn’t even do fun runs as a young adult.“I used to say, ‘I don’t even run when something’s chasing me,’ ” Hagan said. “I would just lie down and play dead. It’s safer that way.”Yet two years ago, Hagan ran a 50-kilometer (31-mile) race for her 50th&nbsp;birthday. She had already run a half-marathon before that.However, her longest endeavor has been a 100-mile race, and this past May, she ran her second such distance in the annual Keys Race, which starts in Key Largo, Fla., and ends in Key West.Hagan finished first in the 50-54 age group, running, walking, taking food and bathroom breaks, and completing the challenge in 25 hours, 52 minutes, and 19 seconds.That’s five hours faster than last year.As reference points, this year’s overall winner, Brett Sanborn of Albuquerque, New Mexico, finished in 14:21:41, and the top female, Nicole Coccia of Riverview, Fla., finished in 18:24:42.Hagan placed 46th&nbsp;out of the 131 who finished, not counting the dozens of runners who started but didn’t finish.Her daughter-in-law, Jacey Hagan, served as her crew chief and helped Hagan become more efficient during breaks, thereby reducing the overall time.Her son, Bryar, and her husband, Troy, also served as part of the crew.Although her family supports her, “They think it’s a little nutty,” Hagan said of her long-distance runs.Started in Her 40sHagan grew up in South Dakota, moved to Missouri in 1995, and started working at the hospital in Burlington in 2018. She and Troy still have a home in Missouri.In 2021, Hagan finally took her first running step. “I had a neighbor I worked out with at the gym,” she said. “She talked me into doing some run-walking a little bit.”A few years earlier, she had met her dad for the first time, having found him on&nbsp;ancestry.com. He was in South Dakota, where she grew up, and after she started running, they would run together whenever she visited. Her first big race was with him at the Rock and Roll 10K in Las Vegas.“It just kind of blossomed from there,” Hagan said.A half-marathon (13 miles) was next, but she soon had bigger ambitions.She was 49 when she heard a podcaster say that people should look for Big, Hairy, Audacious Goals.“I thought, ‘I need a BHAG goal, and I’m going to run an ultramarathon,” she said, the shortest of which is a 50K.The 50K was a trail race, and those are her favorites because of the terrain and the challenges.Hagan then ran the Keys race in 2024 and, in March of this year, ran the Glades 50-mile run, also in Florida.“That was my son-in-law’s first ultramarathon,” she said of Jade Slaughter.“There were gators and snakes and all those things.”They are now training for the Black Hills 100 in her home state.“My dad is going to come out and pace me some,” Hagan said.Separation AnxietyAt the Keys event, Hagan suffered a leg cramp.“I was scared when I first got separated from my running partners, and I was alone,” Hagan said. “I was really terrified.”But Jacey, who doesn’t run, ended up pacing her for an eight-mile stretch and nine more later on.“We shared a sunset on the Seven-mile Bridge, which is something I’ll never forget,” Hagan said.As for sleep, there’s no rule against naps, but Hagan doesn’t even do those, and she doesn’t get much sleep the night before a race because she’s too nervous.“Afterwards, it takes several days to get your sleep back to regulated,” she said. “You don’t sleep more than four to six hours at a time.”As daunting a task as those races would be for most of the population, when it comes time to find a bathroom, “That’s probably about one of the most stressful parts,” Hagan said.“When I stopped at mile 95, the gas station wasn’t open yet.I thought there would be a porta-potty at 98. Literally from mile 92 to the end, I really had to go to the bathroom, and I just had to wait,” she said.Training SpotsHagan lives downtown, and that’s one of her training spots.“When I’m running in the morning before work, it’s up and down Jefferson and Main and down by the river,” Hagan said.She also runs by Starr’s Cave and at Geode State Park.“We’re really lucky here,” she said. “We’ve got a lot of good places to get out and move.”She’ll run for 45 minutes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, alternating between easy runs, hill work, and speed work. There’s a group that does a Run to the Pub downtown on Thursdays.Leading into a 100-mile race, she’ll run 20 miles three days in a row and then three 10-hour runs two to four hours apart.“I listen to a lot of podcasts,” she said. “It’s very nice to have that time to myself.”Double the FunNext year, Hagan plans on running two 100-mile races in June and October. She’ll take on a 200-mile race in 2027.“My goal is to run as long as I can physically do it,” she said.“The race director from Keys is 81, and he just finished the 135-mile race Badwater through the desert.” It’s in Death Valley, California. “He is my hero.”“My biggest message is (that) everybody can do more than they think they can,” Hagan said. “You’re capable of a lot more than you realize.”

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