Mizzou faculty, staff and alumni are redefining what’s possible through perseverance and Tiger grit.
July 23, 2026
Mizzou faculty, staff and alumni are redefining what’s possible through perseverance and Tiger grit.
At the University of Missouri, the pursuit of excellence extends far beyond campus as Tigers continually challenge themselves to achieve more in their careers, communities and personal lives.
For some Mizzou faculty, staff and alumni, that pursuit has led to marathons, triathlons and other remarkable feats of endurance. Meet seven Tigers who prove that personal growth often begins just beyond the comfort zone.
Jaume Padilla
Fewer than 5% of the 1.2 million people who run a marathon each year finish in less than 3 hours. Mizzou’s Jaume Padilla is one of them.
As a professor in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources and the School of Medicine, as well as an investigator in the Roy Blunt NextGen Precision Health building, Padilla knows success is built through persistence.
Gretta Cohoon
“In my late 30s, I promised my graduate students that I would run a marathon before turning 40, so at age 39, I signed up for the Heart of America Marathon in Columbia, finishing in 3 hours and 40 minutes,” Padilla said. “That experience sparked my next goal to break the 3-hour mark, which took me six years and 16 marathons to reach. Along the way, I learned a lot about discipline, structure, focus and consistency.”
Padilla studies cardiovascular disease, and he said running has become an important part of his research process.
“My best ideas emerge when I am running in nature, disconnected from the screens,” Padilla said. “As an exercise physiologist and researcher, I enjoy tweaking components of my own training to determine what works best.”
In 2025, Padilla ran the Monumental Indianapolis Marathon in 2 hours and 56 minutes. The accomplishment adds to a résumé that also includes three Boston Marathon finishes.
“I enjoy the simplicity of running,” Padilla said. “In a complicated world, it is refreshing to just lace up your shoes and go.”
Bill Pfaff
For nearly five decades, Bill Pfaff, BS EE ’72, MS EE ’75, has returned to the Statesman Cap10K in Austin, Texas. In April 2027, he plans to run the race for the 50th time.
“When I ran the first race back in 1978, I was hooked from the start,” Pfaff said. “Being out there with like-minded people in an energetic environment was very motivating for me. The camaraderie I felt reminded me of the camaraderie I had with my fellow classmates at Mizzou.”
Pfaff has also completed the Boston Marathon, the Pikes Peak Ascent in Colorado and Spartan races, which combine running with obstacle courses.
“Running has lots of benefits. It helps you sleep better and feel better, and it gives you more energy,” Pfaff said. “I’ve always been a goal-oriented person. Looking back, I think Mizzou nurtures that Midwestern work ethic in its students.”
After a successful career in the semiconductor industry at Motorola, Pfaff became a high school math and physics teacher and started an after-school running club.
“I had 30 kids running with me at one point,” Pfaff said. “I wasn’t just teaching them math and physics; I was teaching them that running can be fun.”
At the senior living community where he lives in Austin, Pfaff gives presentations about the benefits of staying active. For him, that means returning to the Statesman Cap10K.
“As long as I feel good, I plan to keep running in this race every year,” Pfaff said. “It’s just part of my DNA.”
Gretta Cohoon
As a photographer for Mizzou Student Affairs, Gretta Cohoon is used to balancing a busy schedule. She still finds time to train as a triathlete.
“Some of my best friends are Mizzou alumni and do triathlons, so I started training with them,” she said. “The support system I’ve had through Mizzou is just amazing.”
Cohoon’s first sprint triathlon was the Trizou for MS Triathlon on Mizzou’s campus in 2025. She finished ninth overall among women and had the second-best time in her age group.
“Proving that I can do hard things makes me feel so accomplished, and it makes me want to see what else I can do,” Cohoon said. “I love seeing my fitness increase and my health flourish.”
Her success at the Trizou for MS Triathlon qualified her for the 2026 USA Triathlon Nationals this summer. She also just completed a Half Ironman, which includes a 1.2-mile swim, a 56-mile bike ride and a 13.1-mile run.
“Everybody at Mizzou wants to win because the university cultivates an environment of achievement,” Cohoon said. “I’m proud to represent Mizzou.”
Jacob Schmidt
Jacob Schmidt, BS ’19, never imagined he would run more than 100 miles in a single race.
Then, in his first Backyard Ultra, he logged roughly 135 miles over 33 hours.
“There is this competitive mindset that lives in me,” Schmidt said. “When it comes to pushing myself to the brink of exhaustion, I get the best out of myself.”
Schmidt traces that competitive drive to his time at Mizzou, where he studied exercise physiology at the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources and discovered CrossFit.
“We took these exercise tests to see the maximum amount of oxygen our bodies can deliver during strenuous activity, and that made me realize how much I enjoy pushing myself to the limit,” Schmidt said.
A native of Columbia, he owns Village Strength and Conditioning, where he draws on lessons from his exercise physiology courses to help others reach their goals.
“I just love helping people,” Schmidt said. “To be able to have a direct impact on people’s lives by opening up my own gym is so rewarding, especially in my hometown where so many people have supported me along my journey.”
Miriam Butler and Jennifer O’Connor
For Sinclair School of Nursing faculty members Miriam Butler and Jennifer O’Connor, a simple conversation led to a 240-mile cycling adventure across Missouri.
After O’Connor mentioned plans to ride Missouri’s Katy Trail, Butler decided to join her.
“I had wanted to do it for years,” Butler said. “When Jen said she was doing it, that inspired me to want to be her companion on the bike ride across Missouri.”
Along with their husbands, the two spent six days cycling along the nation’s longest developed rail-trail.
“It was awesome to see places in Missouri that I had heard about but never really experienced,” O’Connor said. “The trail was peaceful, beautiful and just a lot of fun.”
While both had experience cycling recreationally, neither had attempted a multi-day ride of that distance.
“There were definitely moments when I wondered if I was going to make it,” Butler said. “But when we crossed the finish line, it felt amazing to know that we did it together.”
The journey reinforced the value of staying active and healthy while embracing new challenges.
“We learned that we can do hard things,” O’Connor said. “That’s a pretty awesome feeling.”
Sherri Ulbrich
After her 50th birthday, Sherri Ulbrich, a teaching professor in the Sinclair School of Nursing, was inspired to take on one of the toughest endurance challenges in the country: the MR340, a 340-mile race on the Missouri River.
Labeled the world’s longest nonstop river race, the MR340 gives kayakers 85 hours to paddle from Kansas City to St. Charles in the heat of summer while deciding when to make pit stops ashore to sleep or get supplies.
Ulbrich, who lives in Marshall, Missouri, 15 miles south of the Missouri River, completed her first race in 2021 and continued to compete, steadily improving along the way. Beyond the competition, Ulbrich appreciates the race’s ties to Mizzou. Through its partnership with Missouri River Relief, students in the Missouri Scholars Academy, a program hosted by the Honors College, learn about the Missouri River’s environmental and economic importance.
Last summer, Ulbrich earned her best finish yet, completing the race in less than 54 hours to place third in the women’s solo division.
“I’ve learned I am still capable of completing incredible challenges, and I can still reach higher levels of physical fitness,” Ulbrich said. “I’ve also noticed that even when I’m not at work, I’m always going to have the heart of a Mizzou nurse, as I’m always happy to provide first aid or help in any way I can if I see a fellow paddler who is struggling.”
At Mizzou, Ulbrich teaches critical care emergency nursing, using the race as a real-world example when discussing heat-related illnesses and other outdoor medical emergencies.
“I think it brings an element of personal interest that my students can identify with,” she said.
The lessons she has learned from kayaking extend beyond the river.
“Persistence and finding joy in what you do are two things I’ve learned through kayaking,” Ulbrich said. “I tell my students those qualities will serve them well both in nursing and in life.”
Written by Brian Consiglio from Show Me Mizzou.