Joni Dunbar

 When asked how she started running, Joni Dunbar responded,  "I started walking with my next door neighbor when I was about 15 and that (walking) became a habit and also a tool for keeping relatively fit until I had my daughter. After that, I had no time to walk the mileage that I was doing before because I had a baby to take care of...so I started running some to speed up my walk/workout and get the distance in. It soon became an obsession within 5 years....that's how long Emme has been around. Now I run to maintain sanity."

Joni is really, really fast. She has gone from running her first race, the Petal 5K in April, 2005 to qualifying for the Boston Marathon less than a year later. Every runner who has met her knows that she has the ability to get even faster. At age 33, she has many prime-time running years remaining. Her current PRs (actually she's only run each of the distances once) of 21:23 for the 5K, 57:32 for the 12K, 1:45:41 for the half marathon and 3:41:00 for the marathon will certainly be improved upon in the coming years.

 A self-described "true red grit girl" from Waynesboro, MS, Joni is an alum of the University of South Alabama. If you've ever spent time conversing with her you have been entertained by her stories about her family and friends from Wayne County, MS. Five year-old daughter Emme keeps her busy at home and at work she is very creative as a Graphic Designer at Rare Design. She is famous for her contributions to the logos for several collegiate and professional sports teams. The Pine Belt Pacers are certainly appreciative of her work as she is the designer of our new club logo. 

It was through a friend, David Fortenberry, that Joni discovered the Pacers. He told her that if she was serious about getting faster and more competitive she needed to go online to look at the Pacer's site because he knew they did some speed work. She found the website and immediately  decided to take a stab at the club's Tuesday night speed sessions. Joni stated that it was at the speed sessions that she met her mentors Becky Ryder and Vicki Copeland. From there, she started getting involved with group runs and "it has been a hoot ever since."  

Something that many people do not know about Joni is that she is "head over heels in love with Willie Nelson." The Apple iPod, which is Joni's companion during her races, contains a wide variety of music including a huge selection of Willie Nelson. She has a Willie quote that she associates with running, "Still is Still Moving to Me." 

When asked about her short term and long term running goals, Joni said, "I just want to continue gaining momentum until I can't anymore. I want to continue to improve just to show myself that I can. It feels too good to stop trying for betterment." 

When asked about her membership in the Pacers, Joni responded, "I just love the Pacers! This group of people is so unique and diverse in all aspects of life but share the common bond of running which is so encouraging. When I first became associated with this crowd, I finally felt like I had finally found some people that understand the lunacy of getting out there, sweating, and finding a sense of self-satisfaction just by trying to put one foot in front of the other a little faster. One thing that I have noticed about this core group is that it really doesn't matter how much you run or how fast you run, what matters is the shared love of just running. There is so much encouragement and camaraderie amongst members. What I love most about them is that I feel I have found genuine friends....they really care."