July 7, 2025 • 19 mins
Join the movement and sign up today!
TriFest for MS began when Jo Rampey, diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, set out to complete a personal triathlon, sparking a movement that has since raised nearly $900,000 for MS research.
What started as a private challenge became a beloved Labor Day weekend tradition in Bentonville, drawing hundreds to celebrate determination and community. Held in an urban setting with a pool swim start, TriFest is accessible for first-timers yet competitive enough for seasoned athletes. From kids' races to corporate challenges and the inspiring Super Sprint, every event is wrapped in an atmosphere of encouragement and hope.
A New American Town is here to help you plan your trip to Bentonville, Arkansas. From guides, events, and restaurant highlights. Find all this and more at visitbentonville.com and subscribe to our newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, and LinkedIn.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Natalie Stika (00:10):
Welcome back to A New American Town.
I'm your host, natalie, withVisit Bentonville.
If you're looking for ameaningful way to challenge
yourself, connect with yourcommunity or simply get inspired
this summer, this episode isfor you.
We're diving into one ofBentonville's most beloved and
impactful annual eventshappening Labor Day weekend the
TriFest for MS, a three-daytriathlon that brings together
(00:32):
athletes of all levels, families, volunteers, corporate teams
and supports, all with one biggoal to help fund research for
multiple sclerosis.
Now it's in its 14th year.
Trifest for MS is more than arace.
It's a movement that starts inthe pool and ends on the
pavement and reaches all the wayto the real progress in the
fight against MS.
(00:53):
Whether you're a first-timetriathlete, a parent looking for
an event, your kids can safelyenjoy.
A business leader building ateam or someone just curious
about what makes this weekend sospecial, you're going to love
this conversation.
A team or someone just curiousabout what makes this weekend so
special, you're going to lovethis conversation.
Today, I'm joined by ScottRampey, the heart behind TriFest
for MS, to talk about how thisevent got started, why it's so
unique and how you can getinvolved, in big ways or small.
(01:15):
Let's get into it.
Thanks for joining us, scott.
Scott Rampy (01:18):
Thanks for having me.
I appreciate it.
Yeah, absolutely so for thosewho are not familiar, just
baseline.
Can you tell me more aboutTrifes for MS?
Well, trifes for MS started outof a desire for Joe, my means.
(01:45):
She has periods of great health, periods of not so great health
and a period of great health.
She wanted to do a triathlonand she started training to
learn how to swim moreefficiently.
And she and I at the timethought we were just going to do
a triathlon, just privately,just the two of us, on Labor Day
(02:06):
, monday, and several of myfriends ended up finding out
about it, watching her swim inthe pool, seeing her show up
every day to, you know, work outand train.
And the word got out and thingsstarted happening behind the
scenes.
And so when she showed up forwhat she thought was just she
and I, there was about 250people at the pool waiting for
(02:30):
her.
A lot of my friends had plannedthis thing.
Behind the scenes were therePolice, fire, news crews, and
her reaction when we pulled upwas hey, we can't do our
triathlon, there's somethinggoing on here today.
And I said well, honey, what'sgoing on?
Is you?
This is all for your triathlon.
So that's really the essence ofhow the TriFest for MS started
(02:53):
from Jo's seeking her own finishline.
So when she crossed that finishline that day, our daughter,
alexandra, presented a check for$1,000 seed money to start our
foundation and now, 14 yearslater, close to $900,000,.
We've been funding researcharound the country and mostly in
(03:14):
the state of Arkansas.
Natalie Stika (03:15):
Wow, that story is amazing.
Scott Rampy (03:20):
Thank you for sharing that.
Oh yeah.
Natalie Stika (03:23):
I was going to ask why it's in a pool.
Was there ever any?
Scott Rampy (03:30):
inkling to take it out of a pool.
Over the years we've talkedseveral times about going to a
lake.
I would say one of the uniquefeatures of the Tri-Fest that it
is a pool.
Most triathlons if you'veattended one or done one they're
out in the middle of nowhere ina lake and you know a lot of
people can't really see them orattend them.
So the pool aspect, being anurban setting, is very unique to
(03:54):
TriFest and people like thesafety aspect of pool swimming.
It's very safe to have a pooltriathlon.
Natalie Stika (04:03):
Yeah, it makes it so inclusive.
Pool triathlon yeah, andspectators can.
Scott Rampy (04:05):
Yeah, yeah, spectators can watch their
family from the pool to the biketo run and see them all day
long, where, if it was at a lakeor somewhere else remote, they
wouldn't have that opportunityyeah, yeah, wow.
Natalie Stika (04:16):
So walk me through the whole three-day
weekend.
It started as one day, justlabor day, and now it's three
days.
Scott Rampy (04:22):
Yeah, three days Labor Day, weekend, it's always
that weekend.
Friday we dedicate just to kidsonly, and if TriFest was just a
kids race on its own, it'dprobably be one of the largest
ones in the country.
Wow, we will have close to 400kids probably do this race on
Friday, and we do it for ages 5to 15.
(04:45):
We include para triathletes,which are just kids with some
condition, which maybe give themchallenges, and we're a
para-certified event, justmeaning that we have a heart and
a mindset to help anybody thatwants to start the triathlon,
help them finish the triathlon,so any type of kids can do the
(05:07):
race 5 to 15 years old.
To help anybody that wants tostart the triathlon, help them
finish the triathlon, so anytype of kids can do the race 5
to 15 years old.
And then Saturday we kick offthe adult races and really it's
12 to 85 years of age or older.
We have a morning swim or amorning triathlon.
There's two races going onthere.
(05:30):
We're doing the corporatesprint distance triathlon along
with the Olympic distance, whichis a little longer distance for
our age groupers those are justamateur people that do
triathlon and then in theevening we have our age group
sprint.
Then, sunday morning, we comeback with a short distance race
called the super sprint, and thesuper sprint emulates the
(05:50):
distance that Joe did, whateverthat was, 14 years ago, and so
we still honor that distance anddo that on Sunday morning.
Natalie Stika (05:59):
Wow.
Scott Rampy (06:02):
Have we motivated you yet to sign up?
Natalie Stika (06:04):
Oh yeah, very much.
So I am not a triathlete at all, but this is amazing you're our
kind of people, yeah, so what,what, what would you say to
someone that maybe is this isnot their world at all, but
obviously it's a really, reallygreat cause and a great
foundation that everyone wantsto be a part of?
What would you say to someonelike that?
Scott Rampy (06:30):
Well, I say every year at the event when I do the
kickoff to welcome everybody,that it's the best family
reunion, labor Day weekend andit's disguised as a triathlon,
but it's a very encouragingenvironment and I think the
reason people come back from allover the country.
We've had as many as 26 statesrepresented over the years and
people just say it's such anencouraging environment.
(06:52):
I know that sounds like acliche, but every year you just
feel the sense of encouragement.
I don't care if you're aprofessional Olympic caliber
racer or a first-time personwho's never done this before.
You're going to be encouragedfrom the start to the end and
just when you cross that finishline, not only accomplish a
(07:15):
triathlon, but you're going tobe so empowered to accomplish
other things in your life.
And we hear that every yearfrom people that come up to me
or Joe after the weekend and sayyou know, this was an amazing
experience.
You know this is going to changemy life, or it has changed my
(07:36):
life, and so that's why I wouldtell you to sign up.
Natalie Stika (07:39):
I love that.
It's a good scene to host thiskind of event too, because I
feel like our culture is verymuch so encouraging trying your
best, becoming the best versionof yourself, and so I love that
because it just feels like itmeshes so well with our
community and our culture.
How many people are you guysexpecting this year?
Scott Rampy (08:01):
I suspect we'll be at about a thousand people.
We've had as many as 1,350.
I think our highest was in 2019.
Of course, the COVID years kindof affected the numbers a
little bit, but we've alwaysexceeded a thousand people.
So we're expecting that we'llprobably at least be at that
(08:23):
number.
Natalie Stika (08:23):
Well, outside of the triathlon, why do you think
that a lot of these families orindividuals, couples, whoever
comes, why do you think theykeep coming back and coming to
stay in Bentonville and exploreour community more?
Scott Rampy (08:39):
Well, I think the event is really fun to begin
with.
Triathlon is fun, I mean, itshouldn't all, it shouldn't be
just hard, it's also fun.
And I also think that peoplecome back every year because
they really feel that they'rehelping us make an impact on
research.
And we talk about it every yearduring the event, how their
(09:00):
dollars, that they're giving tous through registrations and
through corporate sponsorships,how we use that money to fund
research.
And you know we're a smallnonprofit but we're really
trying to make a world impactwith the disease at UAMS in
Little Rock, northwestern up inChicago and University of
California in San Francisco.
(09:21):
The three of those folks havetheir hands in three to five
clinical trials that we believe,as an organization, is going to
have their fingerprints on acure someday soon.
And so I think people reallyget a sense that the dollars
they're donating to us throughregistration or sponsorship is
(09:43):
really impacting research andthey can see it, they can feel
it, and I think that's differentthan just, you know, maybe
donating to a cause that you'renot immediately impacted by or
involved in.
We have so many people doingthe race that actually have
autoimmune disease or multiplesclerosis themselves.
(10:04):
We don't track what that numberis, but we know it's very high.
That's so encouraging.
Natalie Stika (10:10):
So people feel like they're impacting the
disease.
Yeah, wow, the fact that peopleof all different abilities can
come and experience it and be apart of something bigger than
themselves and not only donateto something bigger than
themselves, but be a part of itthat is amazing and so needed
and I just love that.
I love talking to you about it.
(10:32):
You mentioned the corporateside a couple times.
I really want to dive into thecorporate events, all the things
that happen there, because I'mjust familiar with it now.
Scott Rampy (10:48):
Okay, well, we partnered with Celebrate
Arkansas Magazine in town there,and about 10 years ago they
came up with the idea of gettingthe corporate community more
involved in an organizedcompetition.
So we have its own separatedivision now where these
corporate teams you know,bentonville is very competitive
if you're a supplier managing aWalmart business or other
(11:09):
retailers and so the wholemindset was to bring that
competitive spirit that peoplehave in the boardroom or the
supplier room and bring thatcompetitive nature to a
triathlon.
So every year we have about 30to 35 teams that compete against
each other, along with thewalmart uh corporate teams, and
(11:30):
they get very serious abouttrying to win the traveling
trophy that ends up going backto their office for bragging
rights for the the entire year,and so any corporate team can
join.
We have an educators cupdivision, which is for schools
and colleges.
So they have their own divisionfor competing for the Educators
(11:53):
Cup and then the corporate sideis competing for the corporate
trophy and it just takes threeteam members.
You have to have a swimmer, abiker, a runner, one female.
They all have to be employeesof the company or a family
member of an employee.
You can be as young as 13 inthat case, and you know, they
(12:14):
compete in the sprint distance,which is 400 meter swim, 15 mile
bike and a 5K run, and lastyear, I think, tyson won.
They took the trophy fromWalmart the previous year.
Natalie Stika (12:27):
A Northwest Arkansas battle?
Scott Rampy (12:29):
Yes exactly Wow.
Natalie Stika (12:31):
Do you feel like a lot of those corporate teams
are mostly local or are theycoming from the rest of the US?
Scott Rampy (12:38):
They're mostly local, but some of the members
actually fly in for it.
Oh cool.
That's a small percentage, butsome of the larger CPG teams do
get their corporate officesinvolved from wherever they
reside, and it's just a fun, funtime.
Jennifer Baumhauer is our VP ofthe amendment at Walmart, who's
(12:59):
the chair of the event.
She hands out the trophy to thewinning team and you know we
give a sportsmanship award too,other than just a championship,
and it's just a fun, unique wayto celebrate competitiveness and
a cause in a corporate setting.
(13:19):
So we always say it's thecrossroad of cause, corporation
and competition.
Natalie Stika (13:24):
Yeah, that's good .
So I have a burning question.
Yeah, do you participate in it?
Scott Rampy (13:35):
Well, that is an interesting question.
We have participated over theyears, joe and I have done a
relay.
We've done that twice, I think,in the Super Sprint Division,
but I personally have not doneit as an individual, and every
year somebody asks me me is thisgoing to be the year that you
do it?
But there's so many movingparts that yeah, I'm not I'm not
the official race director.
Uh, ruse hotkins handles that uhheavy task.
(13:56):
But there's so many other jobsthat I'm running around managing
that I feel like I'm I'm doinga triathlon, just not oh yeah,
the not the front bike runningpart.
Natalie Stika (14:07):
Definitely yeah With how big it's grown.
I was not expecting it to be ofrecent years, but yeah, that's
awesome.
What are you most lookingforward to about the TriFast for
MST this year?
Scott Rampy (14:20):
You know, every year, to me, the beauty of it is
just seeing people that havecome back year after year after
year, and we have some peoplethat have done this 14 years in
a row.
We have families that comeevery year and they make it
their.
You know, I said family reunion.
They really make it theirfamily reunion.
Our families, my family, joe'sfamily we'll have probably 40
(14:43):
people in town for this weekend.
So to me it's the friends andfamily, reconnecting those
relationships and, you know,doing it at Tri-Fest is just
awesome way to experience theweekend.
Natalie Stika (14:56):
Yeah, it sounds like a fabulous way and to kind
of end off the summer, Labor Dayweekend is a great cap off to
the school year.
Scott Rampy (15:04):
Yeah, it's like the end of the summer, you know.
Kids are getting ready to goback to school, and what better
way to end it with a crescendoof doing a triathlon?
Natalie Stika (15:13):
Seriously, yeah.
Last question I wanted to askIf someone's listening and maybe
they aren't able to come, orthey aren't necessarily ready
yet, since it's already June andthis is coming up, how can they
donate, how can they getinvolved?
Scott Rampy (15:30):
Well, there's so many ways to get involved with
our organization.
Tri-fest is just one of sixevents that we put on throughout
the year.
It's obviously the biggest one,the one that people know us for
, but you can go to our website,researchmsorg.
You can see all the otherevents that we're involved with.
But someone can volunteer thatwe call volunteers at tri-fest
(15:53):
encouragers, and we get a lot ofhigh marks from people that do
the race about our volunteersbecause they're so encouraging
and so loud and they yell andcheer and it takes about 250
volunteers to put on the eventthat weekend.
So you can sign up as avolunteer.
We would love to have you.
You can donate.
(16:15):
Tri-fest for us is an awesomeevent but it's a very expensive
event to put on.
So someone could donate if theywanted to and I would encourage
people to.
If you're on the fence, toregister and sign up.
We have a training series thatstarts July 28th in Bentonville
at the pool.
You would swim the race in.
It's four weeks.
(16:37):
We train you on how to swim,how to do the bike, how to do
the run, we train you on how toswim, how to do the bike, how to
do the run, and then on thefourth week, on Saturday August
16th, I think, we actually lineup and you will do a real
triathlon before the real one,on Labor Day weekend, and all
(16:57):
that is on our website atresearchmsorg.
Natalie Stika (16:59):
This is amazing because, like an hour ago, I was
talking to a friend about howwe could do this.
Scott Rampy (17:02):
Yeah, we could do it.
We train 10 to 20 people a year.
We train to get them ready forthis.
It's such a fun kind of takesthe mystery and the scariness
away of doing a triathlon justlearning how to do it in a
friendly, fun environment.
Natalie Stika (17:18):
Yeah, in closing, what do you always hope,
whether it's a kid, an elder, amom, a dad, anyone.
What do you really hope thatpeople take away from this
experience?
Scott Rampy (17:31):
man.
I hope they just feel empoweredwhen they cross the finish line
.
I hope they feel empowered, um,or whatever is going on in
their life.
I I always say at the event,because when people register, we
ask a bunch of questions aboutyou know, why did you register,
what was your motivation?
And I'm always amazed at whatpeople will share as to why
(17:52):
they're doing this.
And there's, you know, a lot ofcrazy things going on in
people's lives health-wise,addiction-wise,
relationship-wise and it feelslike when they cross that finish
line, that barrier has beenbroken or busted for them to
achieving other things in theirlife.
And I'm not just making that up, those are words I hear from
(18:14):
people that do the racing.
That tells me and Joe that thisevent is going to catapult them
to bigger things in their life,because it was just such an
empowering experience.
So that's the thing I thinkpeople, that I hope people take
away from it.
Natalie Stika (18:29):
Yeah, I totally believe that that's amazing and
I love how much it transformspeople's lives.
Well, we're so excited for itto come back for another year.
I've thoroughly enjoyed ourconversation today.
Scott, I have too.
Thank you very much for hostingus.
I've thoroughly enjoyed ourconversation today, scott, I
have too.
Scott Rampy (18:42):
Thank you very much for hosting us.
Natalie Stika (18:44):
Yeah, thank you.
Anyone listening, don't forget,visit Bentonville is here to
help you navigate things to do,where to eat and stay and what's
going on in our new Americantown.
Check out the show notes tofollow us on social, sign up for
our newsletter and check outour website.
Welcome back to A New American Town.
I'm your host, natalie, withVisit Bentonville.
If you're looking for ameaningful way to challenge
yourself, connect with yourcommunity or simply get inspired
this summer, this episode isfor you.
We're diving into one ofBentonville's most beloved and
impactful annual eventshappening Labor Day weekend the
TriFest for MS, a three-daytriathlon that brings together
(00:32):
athletes of all levels, families, volunteers, corporate teams
and supports, all with one biggoal to help fund research for
multiple sclerosis.
Now it's in its 14th year.
Trifest for MS is more than arace.
It's a movement that starts inthe pool and ends on the
pavement and reaches all the wayto the real progress in the
fight against MS.
(00:53):
Whether you're a first-timetriathlete, a parent looking for
an event, your kids can safelyenjoy.
A business leader building ateam or someone just curious
about what makes this weekend sospecial, you're going to love
this conversation.
A team or someone just curiousabout what makes this weekend so
special, you're going to lovethis conversation.
Today, I'm joined by ScottRampey, the heart behind TriFest
for MS, to talk about how thisevent got started, why it's so
unique and how you can getinvolved, in big ways or small.
(01:15):
Let's get into it.
Thanks for joining us, scott.
Scott Rampy (01:18):
Thanks for having me.
I appreciate it.
Yeah, absolutely so for thosewho are not familiar, just
baseline.
Can you tell me more aboutTrifes for MS?
Well, trifes for MS started outof a desire for Joe, my means.
(01:45):
She has periods of great health, periods of not so great health
and a period of great health.
She wanted to do a triathlonand she started training to
learn how to swim moreefficiently.
And she and I at the timethought we were just going to do
a triathlon, just privately,just the two of us, on Labor Day
(02:06):
, monday, and several of myfriends ended up finding out
about it, watching her swim inthe pool, seeing her show up
every day to, you know, work outand train.
And the word got out and thingsstarted happening behind the
scenes.
And so when she showed up forwhat she thought was just she
and I, there was about 250people at the pool waiting for
(02:30):
her.
A lot of my friends had plannedthis thing.
Behind the scenes were therePolice, fire, news crews, and
her reaction when we pulled upwas hey, we can't do our
triathlon, there's somethinggoing on here today.
And I said well, honey, what'sgoing on?
Is you?
This is all for your triathlon.
So that's really the essence ofhow the TriFest for MS started
(02:53):
from Jo's seeking her own finishline.
So when she crossed that finishline that day, our daughter,
alexandra, presented a check for$1,000 seed money to start our
foundation and now, 14 yearslater, close to $900,000,.
We've been funding researcharound the country and mostly in
(03:14):
the state of Arkansas.
Natalie Stika (03:15):
Wow, that story is amazing.
Scott Rampy (03:20):
Thank you for sharing that.
Oh yeah.
Natalie Stika (03:23):
I was going to ask why it's in a pool.
Was there ever any?
Scott Rampy (03:30):
inkling to take it out of a pool.
Over the years we've talkedseveral times about going to a
lake.
I would say one of the uniquefeatures of the Tri-Fest that it
is a pool.
Most triathlons if you'veattended one or done one they're
out in the middle of nowhere ina lake and you know a lot of
people can't really see them orattend them.
So the pool aspect, being anurban setting, is very unique to
(03:54):
TriFest and people like thesafety aspect of pool swimming.
It's very safe to have a pooltriathlon.
Natalie Stika (04:03):
Yeah, it makes it so inclusive.
Pool triathlon yeah, andspectators can.
Scott Rampy (04:05):
Yeah, yeah, spectators can watch their
family from the pool to the biketo run and see them all day
long, where, if it was at a lakeor somewhere else remote, they
wouldn't have that opportunityyeah, yeah, wow.
Natalie Stika (04:16):
So walk me through the whole three-day
weekend.
It started as one day, justlabor day, and now it's three
days.
Scott Rampy (04:22):
Yeah, three days Labor Day, weekend, it's always
that weekend.
Friday we dedicate just to kidsonly, and if TriFest was just a
kids race on its own, it'dprobably be one of the largest
ones in the country.
Wow, we will have close to 400kids probably do this race on
Friday, and we do it for ages 5to 15.
(04:45):
We include para triathletes,which are just kids with some
condition, which maybe give themchallenges, and we're a
para-certified event, justmeaning that we have a heart and
a mindset to help anybody thatwants to start the triathlon,
help them finish the triathlon,so any type of kids can do the
(05:07):
race 5 to 15 years old.
To help anybody that wants tostart the triathlon, help them
finish the triathlon, so anytype of kids can do the race 5
to 15 years old.
And then Saturday we kick offthe adult races and really it's
12 to 85 years of age or older.
We have a morning swim or amorning triathlon.
There's two races going onthere.
(05:30):
We're doing the corporatesprint distance triathlon along
with the Olympic distance, whichis a little longer distance for
our age groupers those are justamateur people that do
triathlon and then in theevening we have our age group
sprint.
Then, sunday morning, we comeback with a short distance race
called the super sprint, and thesuper sprint emulates the
(05:50):
distance that Joe did, whateverthat was, 14 years ago, and so
we still honor that distance anddo that on Sunday morning.
Natalie Stika (05:59):
Wow.
Scott Rampy (06:02):
Have we motivated you yet to sign up?
Natalie Stika (06:04):
Oh yeah, very much.
So I am not a triathlete at all, but this is amazing you're our
kind of people, yeah, so what,what, what would you say to
someone that maybe is this isnot their world at all, but
obviously it's a really, reallygreat cause and a great
foundation that everyone wantsto be a part of?
What would you say to someonelike that?
Scott Rampy (06:30):
Well, I say every year at the event when I do the
kickoff to welcome everybody,that it's the best family
reunion, labor Day weekend andit's disguised as a triathlon,
but it's a very encouragingenvironment and I think the
reason people come back from allover the country.
We've had as many as 26 statesrepresented over the years and
people just say it's such anencouraging environment.
(06:52):
I know that sounds like acliche, but every year you just
feel the sense of encouragement.
I don't care if you're aprofessional Olympic caliber
racer or a first-time personwho's never done this before.
You're going to be encouragedfrom the start to the end and
just when you cross that finishline, not only accomplish a
(07:15):
triathlon, but you're going tobe so empowered to accomplish
other things in your life.
And we hear that every yearfrom people that come up to me
or Joe after the weekend and sayyou know, this was an amazing
experience.
You know this is going to changemy life, or it has changed my
(07:36):
life, and so that's why I wouldtell you to sign up.
Natalie Stika (07:39):
I love that.
It's a good scene to host thiskind of event too, because I
feel like our culture is verymuch so encouraging trying your
best, becoming the best versionof yourself, and so I love that
because it just feels like itmeshes so well with our
community and our culture.
How many people are you guysexpecting this year?
Scott Rampy (08:01):
I suspect we'll be at about a thousand people.
We've had as many as 1,350.
I think our highest was in 2019.
Of course, the COVID years kindof affected the numbers a
little bit, but we've alwaysexceeded a thousand people.
So we're expecting that we'llprobably at least be at that
(08:23):
number.
Natalie Stika (08:23):
Well, outside of the triathlon, why do you think
that a lot of these families orindividuals, couples, whoever
comes, why do you think theykeep coming back and coming to
stay in Bentonville and exploreour community more?
Scott Rampy (08:39):
Well, I think the event is really fun to begin
with.
Triathlon is fun, I mean, itshouldn't all, it shouldn't be
just hard, it's also fun.
And I also think that peoplecome back every year because
they really feel that they'rehelping us make an impact on
research.
And we talk about it every yearduring the event, how their
(09:00):
dollars, that they're giving tous through registrations and
through corporate sponsorships,how we use that money to fund
research.
And you know we're a smallnonprofit but we're really
trying to make a world impactwith the disease at UAMS in
Little Rock, northwestern up inChicago and University of
California in San Francisco.
(09:21):
The three of those folks havetheir hands in three to five
clinical trials that we believe,as an organization, is going to
have their fingerprints on acure someday soon.
And so I think people reallyget a sense that the dollars
they're donating to us throughregistration or sponsorship is
(09:43):
really impacting research andthey can see it, they can feel
it, and I think that's differentthan just, you know, maybe
donating to a cause that you'renot immediately impacted by or
involved in.
We have so many people doingthe race that actually have
autoimmune disease or multiplesclerosis themselves.
(10:04):
We don't track what that numberis, but we know it's very high.
That's so encouraging.
Natalie Stika (10:10):
So people feel like they're impacting the
disease.
Yeah, wow, the fact that peopleof all different abilities can
come and experience it and be apart of something bigger than
themselves and not only donateto something bigger than
themselves, but be a part of itthat is amazing and so needed
and I just love that.
I love talking to you about it.
(10:32):
You mentioned the corporateside a couple times.
I really want to dive into thecorporate events, all the things
that happen there, because I'mjust familiar with it now.
Scott Rampy (10:48):
Okay, well, we partnered with Celebrate
Arkansas Magazine in town there,and about 10 years ago they
came up with the idea of gettingthe corporate community more
involved in an organizedcompetition.
So we have its own separatedivision now where these
corporate teams you know,bentonville is very competitive
if you're a supplier managing aWalmart business or other
(11:09):
retailers and so the wholemindset was to bring that
competitive spirit that peoplehave in the boardroom or the
supplier room and bring thatcompetitive nature to a
triathlon.
So every year we have about 30to 35 teams that compete against
each other, along with thewalmart uh corporate teams, and
(11:30):
they get very serious abouttrying to win the traveling
trophy that ends up going backto their office for bragging
rights for the the entire year,and so any corporate team can
join.
We have an educators cupdivision, which is for schools
and colleges.
So they have their own divisionfor competing for the Educators
(11:53):
Cup and then the corporate sideis competing for the corporate
trophy and it just takes threeteam members.
You have to have a swimmer, abiker, a runner, one female.
They all have to be employeesof the company or a family
member of an employee.
You can be as young as 13 inthat case, and you know, they
(12:14):
compete in the sprint distance,which is 400 meter swim, 15 mile
bike and a 5K run, and lastyear, I think, tyson won.
They took the trophy fromWalmart the previous year.
Natalie Stika (12:27):
A Northwest Arkansas battle?
Scott Rampy (12:29):
Yes exactly Wow.
Natalie Stika (12:31):
Do you feel like a lot of those corporate teams
are mostly local or are theycoming from the rest of the US?
Scott Rampy (12:38):
They're mostly local, but some of the members
actually fly in for it.
Oh cool.
That's a small percentage, butsome of the larger CPG teams do
get their corporate officesinvolved from wherever they
reside, and it's just a fun, funtime.
Jennifer Baumhauer is our VP ofthe amendment at Walmart, who's
(12:59):
the chair of the event.
She hands out the trophy to thewinning team and you know we
give a sportsmanship award too,other than just a championship,
and it's just a fun, unique wayto celebrate competitiveness and
a cause in a corporate setting.
(13:19):
So we always say it's thecrossroad of cause, corporation
and competition.
Natalie Stika (13:24):
Yeah, that's good .
So I have a burning question.
Yeah, do you participate in it?
Scott Rampy (13:35):
Well, that is an interesting question.
We have participated over theyears, joe and I have done a
relay.
We've done that twice, I think,in the Super Sprint Division,
but I personally have not doneit as an individual, and every
year somebody asks me me is thisgoing to be the year that you
do it?
But there's so many movingparts that yeah, I'm not I'm not
the official race director.
Uh, ruse hotkins handles that uhheavy task.
(13:56):
But there's so many other jobsthat I'm running around managing
that I feel like I'm I'm doinga triathlon, just not oh yeah,
the not the front bike runningpart.
Natalie Stika (14:07):
Definitely yeah With how big it's grown.
I was not expecting it to be ofrecent years, but yeah, that's
awesome.
What are you most lookingforward to about the TriFast for
MST this year?
Scott Rampy (14:20):
You know, every year, to me, the beauty of it is
just seeing people that havecome back year after year after
year, and we have some peoplethat have done this 14 years in
a row.
We have families that comeevery year and they make it
their.
You know, I said family reunion.
They really make it theirfamily reunion.
Our families, my family, joe'sfamily we'll have probably 40
(14:43):
people in town for this weekend.
So to me it's the friends andfamily, reconnecting those
relationships and, you know,doing it at Tri-Fest is just
awesome way to experience theweekend.
Natalie Stika (14:56):
Yeah, it sounds like a fabulous way and to kind
of end off the summer, Labor Dayweekend is a great cap off to
the school year.
Scott Rampy (15:04):
Yeah, it's like the end of the summer, you know.
Kids are getting ready to goback to school, and what better
way to end it with a crescendoof doing a triathlon?
Natalie Stika (15:13):
Seriously, yeah.
Last question I wanted to askIf someone's listening and maybe
they aren't able to come, orthey aren't necessarily ready
yet, since it's already June andthis is coming up, how can they
donate, how can they getinvolved?
Scott Rampy (15:30):
Well, there's so many ways to get involved with
our organization.
Tri-fest is just one of sixevents that we put on throughout
the year.
It's obviously the biggest one,the one that people know us for
, but you can go to our website,researchmsorg.
You can see all the otherevents that we're involved with.
But someone can volunteer thatwe call volunteers at tri-fest
(15:53):
encouragers, and we get a lot ofhigh marks from people that do
the race about our volunteersbecause they're so encouraging
and so loud and they yell andcheer and it takes about 250
volunteers to put on the eventthat weekend.
So you can sign up as avolunteer.
We would love to have you.
You can donate.
(16:15):
Tri-fest for us is an awesomeevent but it's a very expensive
event to put on.
So someone could donate if theywanted to and I would encourage
people to.
If you're on the fence, toregister and sign up.
We have a training series thatstarts July 28th in Bentonville
at the pool.
You would swim the race in.
It's four weeks.
(16:37):
We train you on how to swim,how to do the bike, how to do
the run, we train you on how toswim, how to do the bike, how to
do the run, and then on thefourth week, on Saturday August
16th, I think, we actually lineup and you will do a real
triathlon before the real one,on Labor Day weekend, and all
(16:57):
that is on our website atresearchmsorg.
Natalie Stika (16:59):
This is amazing because, like an hour ago, I was
talking to a friend about howwe could do this.
Scott Rampy (17:02):
Yeah, we could do it.
We train 10 to 20 people a year.
We train to get them ready forthis.
It's such a fun kind of takesthe mystery and the scariness
away of doing a triathlon justlearning how to do it in a
friendly, fun environment.
Natalie Stika (17:18):
Yeah, in closing, what do you always hope,
whether it's a kid, an elder, amom, a dad, anyone.
What do you really hope thatpeople take away from this
experience?
Scott Rampy (17:31):
man.
I hope they just feel empoweredwhen they cross the finish line
.
I hope they feel empowered, um,or whatever is going on in
their life.
I I always say at the event,because when people register, we
ask a bunch of questions aboutyou know, why did you register,
what was your motivation?
And I'm always amazed at whatpeople will share as to why
(17:52):
they're doing this.
And there's, you know, a lot ofcrazy things going on in
people's lives health-wise,addiction-wise,
relationship-wise and it feelslike when they cross that finish
line, that barrier has beenbroken or busted for them to
achieving other things in theirlife.
And I'm not just making that up, those are words I hear from
(18:14):
people that do the racing.
That tells me and Joe that thisevent is going to catapult them
to bigger things in their life,because it was just such an
empowering experience.
So that's the thing I thinkpeople, that I hope people take
away from it.
Natalie Stika (18:29):
Yeah, I totally believe that that's amazing and
I love how much it transformspeople's lives.
Well, we're so excited for itto come back for another year.
I've thoroughly enjoyed ourconversation today.
Scott, I have too.
Thank you very much for hostingus.
I've thoroughly enjoyed ourconversation today, scott, I
have too.
Scott Rampy (18:42):
Thank you very much for hosting us.
Natalie Stika (18:44):
Yeah, thank you.
Anyone listening, don't forget,visit Bentonville is here to
help you navigate things to do,where to eat and stay and what's
going on in our new Americantown.
Check out the show notes tofollow us on social, sign up for
our newsletter and check outour website.
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