Staff Spotlight Eric Weese
Our Staff Spotlight for September is on Eric Weese, who works as a Federal Criminal Investigator during regular business hours. When not with the Bishop’s Events crew, his “weekends are usually filled with doing yardwork,” making final edits to the book he plans to publish soon, cheering for his “native state’s WVU Mountaineers and Marshall University programs,” and spending quality time with his family—although even races have become a family activity now that Eric’s son, Aiden, joins him on staff for many of them.
Since September 2023, Eric has “worked 103 events” (and counting!), so it’s likely you’ve seen him cheering for you out on the course. With his eye for detail, Eric has become an integral part of runner safety during events and course setup. His favorite venues to work include those with historical importance. As a “history buff,” he finds “battlefields or any other historically significant areas to be really interesting.”
He also loves to see “parents running alongside their younger children” and is “always impressed by the determination that those younger runners display as they’re focused on completing their events.” For Eric, these “interactions with the runners are the most appealing and enjoyable part of the job,” in part because they remind him of the significant role running has played in his own life: “Since my earliest memories, I have always been involved with the running community. During my high school years, this involvement included me being a cross-country runner and an all-state half-miler in my native state of WV. After that, my running became more of a personal exploration with an occasional race mixed in. But since such races were not the norm for me, I missed out on connecting to my fellow runners the way in which I now see BE runners connect with one another.” Eric notes that he particularly enjoys seeing this camaraderie after Sippin’ Series events when “runners and staff come together…in order to share beverages and stories with one another.”
The “countless miles” that Eric trained through in his youth, however, have taken a toll on his body that now prevents him from competing in events himself. Still, he says his role with Bishop’s Events “partially fills” his need to remain connected to the running community by allowing him to offer “support [to] those runners who are able to take part in such events.”
Watch for Eric on the course or share his favorite snack table food, a Grandma’s Cookie, with him at one of our upcoming events!