Rhode Races was formed in October of 2015 by Susan Rancourt and Karen Zyons. Meirav joined us as race staff from the onset, with Lisa Helfrich starting as a volunteer and becoming part of our crew in 2018. Molly Robinson joins us this year as the newest member to our Rhode Crew.
Susan started running at her high school while growing up in NH. She continued her running career as a member of the Division 1 Cross Country and Track & Field teams at the University of Rhode Island, and that is where her love of running and the Ocean State really formed. She has completed hundreds of races from 5ks, half and full marathons, triathlons, mud runs, trail races and beer miles. She has run Boston 6 times, with an average qualifying time of 3:30.
Susan also is the Head Coach for the Mt Hope HS Girls XC team in Bristol RI and serves on a number of boards and volunteer positions in the athletic community.
Raised in the Philadelphia area, Karen attended Johnson & Wales in Providence studying Culinary A
rts & Restaurant Management. After meeting her husband, they decided to move out West to pursue their love of hiking & skiing.
Karen?s passion for cooking & entertaining has shaped her career, through owning a restaurant & catering company, to working to plan PGA Tour events, to executing road races.
Karen loves to make everyone feel like they are dining at her table when they attend a Rhode Races event.
Meirav started running at her high school in NJ, where she set a few school records. She went on to graduate from the 
University of Maryland. She has her law degree and a culinary degree but is passionate about running and tris. She has completed hundreds of races, including few full marathons and 2 full Ironmans.
She is likely the face you see as a Rhode Master, race weekend registrant, award winner or generally needing any sort of Rhode Races assistance on race weekend.
Lisa originally hails from Greenwich CT but also is a URI graduate, with a degree in Exercise Science. She spent many years managing the physical fitness at FM Global but has now tried a new career path in Real Estate. She continues to work with clients in running and f
itness, and her new career allows her to foster her love of horses.
Lisa joined us at our first Wine Run as a volunteer/participant and is now part of our race staff.
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