Business Spotlight: Running on Purpose

Before creating Sub 24, neither Stefany Benson nor Brian Fields knew how to make coffee. What they did know was that there wasn’t a place open early enough to get a good cup before the 5 a.m. start of a typical race day. So, they made it their goal to change that.

After a year of planning, Sub 24 was born in November 2021, serving hot and iced coffees, smoothies, hot chocolate, lemonade and seasonal beverages. The mobile coffee trailer appears around the Midwest at races from 5K to 100 miles. Being an ultrarunner, or someone who runs anything longer than the 26.2-mile marathon, Fields named the trailer after those ambitious enough to run 100 miles in under 24 hours. Although Fields said he has yet to beat the 24-hour mark, he and Benson have promised free drinks to anyone who does in races where Sub 24 serves.

Growing from its roots in Republic, Sub 24 has impacted the southwest Missouri running community through partnering with businesses and groups such as Bass Pro Shops’ Fitness Series, OneSolePurpose, Joplin Roadrunners and Ozark Mountain Ridge Runners. With each event, Fields and Benson work toward expanding their business, one drink at a time.

Starting off strong
Fields, 43, began his running career with the 2-mile run during his time in the military. As a leader in charge of soldiers struggling with the run, Fields challenged himself to exceed all expectations by running at the pace of someone 17 years younger than him. He was 32 at the time and continues to serve as a reservist.

“I decided to get to where I could pass it at an 18-year-old level just to eliminate excuses for my soldiers,” he says. “That’s basically how it started.”

Fields started with 5Ks, eventually working his way up to 100 miles. He met Benson in 2019 while she was the gymnastics teacher of his daughter Addison, and the two celebrated five years together this month.

The start of Sub 24 included a lot of trial and error, Benson says, as neither of them had any experience in business. Over time, they created a drink menu based on their own tastes and the input of others, trying out different coffee beans and experimenting with recipes.

“We’ve watched a lot of videos and adapted things to fit what we like,” she says. “Our families have been great and have done a lot of taste testing for us.”

During Sub 24’s running events, Fields usually participates in the race while Benson serves customers. They have also served at fall festivals and private events.

Within the next few years, the couple hopes to travel more as they continue to expand.

“We’ve reached out to some people,” Benson says, “but a lot of it just happens organically. Eventually, it would be something where we want to travel and go to other places and set up at those races.”

Running uphill
Running 100 miles in under 24 hours is not for the faint of heart, Fields says, emphasizing that many of the 100-mile races he runs have an intense elevation factor. This can make a sub-24 time “not likely,” but highlights the benefits of caffeine during a long-distance race.

According to an article from Precision Hydration, strategic caffeine use can be helpful when exercising for longer than 12 hours. In a study published by the National Library of Medicine, caffeine intake during the peak of exhaustion – which occurs at night during a 24-hour run – can improve time to exhaustion by about 14%.

Fields says people will sometimes consume sugary drinks and experience an energy crash. To avoid this, he tends to drink black coffee while racing during the night.

Karen Latham Olson, vice president of Ozark Mountain Ridge Runners, says she’s always ready to get a hot cup of coffee with chocolate or caramel from Sub 24, no matter the hour or season. She knew of Fields through friends in the running community, and they became acquainted through her years of involvement in OMRR.

“If they’re there, I’m going to get a cup of coffee,” she says. “I love their coffee and I want to support them.”

As of now, Sub 24 is a side hustle for Benson and Fields, who both have roles outside of working the coffee trailer – Benson as an administrative assistant at Abacus CPAs LLC and Fields as a Republic City Council member. However, they hope to expand to a brick-and-mortar business.

Reasons for running
While their 2023 revenue came in at just under $20,000 and the investment to start the business was around $60,000, Fields says it’s not about the money.

“There’s the potential to use the coffee business to fund a nonprofit,” he says. “I’ll set up a group where we go run to help with mental health.”

Fields plans to support Wellness for Warriors, which is run by the CoxHealth Foundation and aims to support the first responder and veteran community. Benson says Fields feels strongly about this due to his three deployments, which led to his struggle with PTSD after returning home.

“Running has been an outlet for him for his mental health, so he wants to help other people cope with PTSD as well,” Benson says. “Hopefully, they can find that same passion and purpose that he has found with running.”

Latham Olson, whose husband is a retired military member, says members of Springfield’s running community usually have a hidden driving force behind their dedication to the pursuit.

“You get a lot of veterans that pick up ultrarunning,” she says. “It’s a healthy form of dealing with post-traumatic stress and finding community again, especially after retiring.”

And while Sub 24’s mission is to support runners, Latham Olson says that the community has gone out of its way to support Sub 24.

“It’s about getting out there,” she says. “When you’re on a trail or road and you’re at mile 50, you support each other. It’s about the struggle together and getting through those hard times.”