Running with purpose: SAU alumni build a business and a ministry one race at a time

MAGNOLIA, AR (06/30/2026) For Briston and Carley Rains, running is more than a sport. It is a career, a calling, and a ministry.

The two Southern Arkansas University graduates are the owners of Texas Outlaw Running, a company that hosts, markets, and operates running events across the country, with 70 races a year and growing.

The idea started small. Two weeks into his freshman year at SAU, Briston was sitting in an economics class when the concept came to him.

“I was sitting in my econ class when I thought about the idea for the business,” he said. “After class, I went back to my dorm room and worked on my business plan.”

Briston, a member of the SAU cross-country team, put on his first race in December 2020 in Gainesville, Texas. He handled nearly everything himself, organizing the event, directing the race, laying out the course, and designing the T-shirts. The race was a success, and a business was born.

That same fall, Briston met Carley through the cross-country team. The two began dating in the summer of 2021 and were married in August 2022.

As their relationship grew, so did the company. Briston completed his marketing and media degree at SAU in 2023 and faced the choice many young graduates encounter. For him, the answer was clear.

“I had to decide between continuing with the business or getting a real job,” he said. “I stuck with the business.”

That decision has paid off. Texas Outlaw Running now employs seven full-time staff members, including SAU alumni Asher Hamlin (2022), who serves as a race director, and Sam Gladys (December 2025), who handles marketing and administration. Braden Gunn, who graduated from SAU in spring 2026, also serves as a race director.

Briston’s ambitions for the company are straightforward. “I want this to be the biggest running event organization in the world,” he said. “Every race that we start grows every year.” The company hopes to reach 100 events annually by next year.

Carley has been an integral part of the operation as well. She earned her undergraduate degree in interactive media and marketing from SAU in 2021 and her master’s degree in public administration in 2023. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in English at Liberty University. Her contributions to the company include creating media content, managing social media, writing and recording weekly episodes of the Texas Outlaw Running Talk Show, designing advertising, and maintaining the website.

She is also a published author. Her first book, “Creation,” was a 90-day devotional on the book of Genesis. Her second, “Leaning In 2025,” was a devotional calendar. She is currently writing a young adult fantasy novel she hopes to publish by the end of 2027.

In addition to her professional work, Carley is the primary caregiver for the couple’s two daughters, Bryleigh, 18 months, and Carston, 3 months.

Running has also become a vehicle for giving back. In 2022, Briston and Carley launched the Farm Road Challenge, an annual race that raises money for the Overcoming Adversity Scholarship at SAU. The scholarship supports student-athletes with disabilities and was inspired by Carley’s own experience as a student-athlete living with Narcolepsy with Cataplexy.

“Everyone experiences adversity,” Carley said. “We wanted to give the scholarship a title that didn’t limit these athletes based on their condition but spoke to the potential they have to succeed and overcome their present circumstances.”

The company hosts events ranging from 5Ks to ultramarathons. But for Briston and Carley, each race is about more than the finish line.

“We pray with the runners at the starting line before each race,” Briston said. “And we also share scriptures.”

For more information about Texas Outlaw Running, visit texasoutlawrunning.com. To learn more about the Farm Road Challenge and the Overcoming Adversity Scholarship, visit CarleyRains.com/farm-road-challenge-scholarship.

About SAU:Southern Arkansas University provides students with the complete college experience in a caring environment of service, innovation, and community. With more than 100 degrees across four distinct colleges and the School of Graduate Studies, SAU initiates new degree programs to meet the needs of today’s career and professional trends. To learn more about SAU, visit www.saumag.edu.