ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
Tessy Barnett has been a fixture in the Pancake Day race in Liberal for several years and for this year’s race, she will be taking her talents across the pond to Olney, England and running in that city’s leg of the race.
Running has been a habit of Barnett’s for a long time.
“I was a cross country runner in high school, and I got a scholarship for college in Garden City. And that is a wonderful story by itself because when I was younger, I had epilepsy, grand mal seizures, and I had to take a lot of medicines for it. I made it to college, and that's when I met Cory, my husband, and he asked me if I wanted to go to church. I remember thinking 'There's nothing else to do, I suppose I'll go to church on Sundays.’” Barnett said. “It was there I learned how Jesus heals, and I remember praying 'God, if you can heal me, you've got my life.' And He healed me, which meant no more medications and no more epilepsy.”
Ultimately, Barnett then came across the International Pancake Race.
“That first year, however, I was pregnant with one of our children, and couldn't run the race then. My first race was 1999 and that was the 50th Pancake Day Race, and that was that was the coolest thing,” Barnett recalled with a laugh. “The City of Liberal did a great job putting it all together, and we got lots of really cool gifts – in fact, I still have that gift hanging up on my wall. I just continued running because it's fun and the city makes it a fun day. This year will be my 25th year running the Pancake Day race, and it's still super fun. My goal in life is to pass away healthy. This race is like a yearly event to help me stay healthy, and it keeps the mindset of living right.”
Barnett said she has longed to race in Olney before, but it was only this year when all the stars aligned for her to be able to make the trip.
“Cory was the one who had the idea, it was his suggestion to go to my 25th there in Olney. Running the race will be really cool, and I think it'll be great running with women from our sister city for this race,” Barnett said. “Another thing I'm really excited about going to England is I would like to possibly meet Princess Kate and Prince William and their children, because I've been praying for them at home and I'd like to pray for them in person. I think it'll be great running over in Olney where this race all got started, and the architecture of all the buildings in England is absolutely beautiful, so it'll be great seeing all of that history up close and personal. I'm also excited about getting to meet new people, that's super exciting, especially my fellow racers.”
There are many other facets of the trip Barnett said she is excited about.
“Cory is an ordained minister, he ministers in Sublette, and I would like to check and see if we can get him to minister there at the pulpit in Olney, John Newton's original pulpit, which would be great since he's the one who wrote 'Amazing Grace,'” Barnett said. “I started practicing racing this past summer and I've run a few times throughout town here and there. I also got in touch with the people in England and registered to race there because they have a deadline just like Liberal does, and I got in and was welcomed with open arms.”
Overall, Barnett said, she is looking forward to being part of this year’s Pancake Day festivities across the pond.
“I'll be gone Feb. 11 through 20, which will give me time for the race as well as some sightseeing, and I'm really looking forward to being Liberal's representative over in Olney for this year,” Barnett said.
