She Did It!

Lisa Smith Batchen Ran 50 Miles Per Day in 50 States

June 26 Update: Lisa is still recovering and getting past all of the feelings of two months on the road doing 50 miles nearly every day, only to sleep a couple of hours, arise at 4:30 AM, and do it all over again. Finally she is finished. Here is what she had to say about her journey.

"Hello wonderful friends! I am still having a hard time putting many things into words. It will take a few more days. I am still coming back from the lack of sleep. I still wake up at 4:30 am and find myself running in my sleep! My heart yearns to continue running but my soul could not be with more peace, love and amazing joy being HOME!!! My family is here, my children are so wonderful. I still can't find the words to thank so many people ALL over America for all you have done for us. Our mission was complete and many children will have a much better life because of all of you. Below is the prayer that was read at the finish line of Run Hope. Pastor Ian Noyes wrote and read it to the crowd and it brought myself and so many to tears. I am left with unspoken words for now but can't wait to share our journey with you.

God Bless and love you all"

Lisa Smith-Batchen

http://www.runhope.com/ YOU CAN STILL AND CAN ALWAYS MAKE A DONATION!!! PLEASE CONTINUE TO HELP THE CHILDREN OF THE WORLD



**Gracious God, there are none whose lives and hearts you do not see.

With love and compassion, you stand alongside the vulnerable and the broken...and you have made us to do the same - to join our lives to your purposes that healing and justice might more and more characterize the world you have made. Tonight we give you thanks for a team of people who have answered your call to address the needs of vulnerable children throughout our nation and the world. We thank you especially for Lisa who has with every mile born their loss and pain in her own body. We thank you for her commitment to share in your heart for orphans. We thank you for her tenacity, her endurance, and her reliance upon you for strength and comfort throughout these past two months.

And we thank you for the witness of this team to run hope through America.

For Sister Mary Beth..., for Mike and Julie Smith... and Mike Evans - for their tireless efforts to support, encourage, and facilitate this amazing achievement, for the countless and often thankless ways that they and others worked behind the scenes to make this possible.

We thank you for the hundreds who ran with Lisa to raise awareness about vulnerable and orphaned children, and we thank you for the thousands more who have been touched by Lisa’s passion and commitment. We pray now for fruit to be brought forth from these seeds that you have sown in human hearts. We pray that you would continue to be at work in us tonight to join this effort to bring hope to children who know little of home and less of family. Gracious God and Father be a Father to these children and awaken us to how we might also play a role in your work to heal and redeem and comfort.

Lord, we thank you for Jay and for Annabella and Gabby, who released Lisa for this purpose these past two months. We pray their time together now would be all the sweeter for this season of absence. Deepen their relationships we pray and bless them. Heal Lisa’s foot and mend her body. Grant her sleep and rest from weariness. May she find peace in knowing that you take pleasure in her, your daughter, who has spent herself for your glory.

We celebrate Lisa tonight, but we also celebrate you who have gifted her so, and we pray that you would help each of us discover your call upon our lives. Help us to know your steadfast love and your purpose for each one here that we too might grow in compassion and give ourselves also to love one another with great abandon. Indeed, with you all things are possible and you promise that those...

who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;

they shall mount up with wings like eagles;

they shall run and not be weary;

they shall walk and not faint.

What an example you have given us tonight of one who has lived this hope.

Be glorified tonight we pray. Amen.

June 19: Today is the day Lisa finishes her quest. She is in Idaho running her last 50 miles today. In a few hours her quest will be over. She will have run 2500 miles in 2 months, covering 50 miles in each state. There have been many struggles along the way. She has gone through highs and lows. She has experienced pain in many forms, but she never quit. She stuck with the plan of 50 miles per day for 4 days, then a day to recover and travel, repeat as required until she finished all 50 states. In fact the rush to the finish included six days of running in a row. I guess Superman has met his match in Lisa Smith Batchen, the woman of steel.

June 13 Update: 6 States to Go! Lisa is nearing the finish line, figuratively speaking at least. She ran Hawaii yesterday for state number 44. She should be in Alaska by now, preparing for a final blitzkrieg run to the finish line, 6 states in 6 days, starting Monday in Alaska and ending Saturday in Idaho. Six days in a row will be very difficult, typically Lisa only gets 3 to 4 hours of sleep per night on the consecutive days. However, Lisa feels that the gravitational pull of the finish line will help her make it through the final days.

Have you ever seen anyone quit in the last mile of a marathon? Probably not. Once you know that finish line is close adrenaline helps you run to the finish. This final run of six states will hopefully be the same way.

One effort that may have gone unmentioned at times is that Sister Marybeth, age 61, has been running part of the way with Lisa. That is Sister Marybeth in the habit in this picture. That is also the way she runs, in the habit. Her order does not allow going out in public in anything else. (You can imagine how that feels on a 95 degree day). She has been running 20 miles each day with Lisa. By the time they finish, Sister Marybeth will have run 1,000 miles. That in itself is a pretty incredible feat. She has been with Lisa from the beginning and is a very good friend. While Lisa is not a nun, she is a woman of strong faith.

Something else that makes this even more difficult than it is already is that their team is not heavily funded. Instead of a plush bus to sleep in at night while they travel, they have a rickety RV that "shakes, rattles, and rolls" with every bump in the road according to Lisa. Most night Lisa does not fall asleep until they arrive in the next state, which can be after midnight on many days. Then she has to get up at 4:30 AM to start another day which includes 50 miles of running in about 12 hours. Without her plan to take every fifth day off, she never would have made it.

If anyone lives near Victor, Idaho they are planning one heck of a party Saturday night when Lisa finishes! That will be so very well deserved when Lisa gets there, having run 2500 miles in all 50 states in 62 days. That is an average of over 40 miles per day for 2 months, though she actually ran it 50, 50, 50, 50, 0, then repeat.

Don't forget, Lisa and her team are doing this to raise money for charity. Specifically, they are trying to help orphans, both here and abroad. To do your part, go to http://www.runhope.com/contact.

May 30 Update: Today is state 34. Lisa is running in Fargo, North Dakota. It rained for a while this morning but the weather is moving out. Lisa reports that the weather has been great lately. Fargo, for example is expecting a low of 47 and a high of 70 today, a far cry from what she experienced in this part of the country. However, the next few days are taking her south, a few hundred miles per day, through South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, and then New Mexico. I spoke with Marianne about a couple of the legs being too long of a drive. She had recognized that and moved the Kansas city from Wichita to Dodge City in order to split up the driving. She also reported that Lisa will fly from Salt Lake City to Phoenix, which would have been a 10-1/2 hour drive, making it a challenge to even arrive on time, but probably with little or no sleep. The logistics must be quite a challenge, trying to get a crew from state to state every day, have a course ready, and somehow get Lisa the sleep and care she needs to keep going.

Lisa said Friday was a great day. Hopefully today and all of the rest of the days will be too. If so, it will be quite a celebration June 19th in Victor, Idaho after Lisa runs her last 50 miles on a very familiar 0.85 mile pedestrian path she has run many times before, surrounded by family and friends.

What a journey it has been already. Lisa has experienced temperatures approaching 100 degrees in Dallas and much of the southeast and run in snow in New Hampshire. They have probably put at least 10,000 miles on the RV, zigzagging from state to state. She has gone through incredible highs and lows. She has felt excruciating pain at times and experienced deep despair, but she has never faltered. She won't let herself. She is running to help orphans and made a commitment to finish. Somehow she keeps going, a mile at a time.

Please go to http://www.runhope.com/ and do your part. Give what you can. Lisa is doing this for the orphans, not for herself. She hopes to raise $1,000,000 for charity. That sounds like a lot, but it is possible if we help. Lisa has raised a total of about 4.5 million dollars for charities with other running fund raisers over the years. If a thousand people in each state gave $20, she would get there. In fact, if you give $80, you will receive a Trinity Cross necklace like the one Lisa has worn this entire trip.

May 27 Update: Today was a rare rest day for Lisa, well I should say rest and travel. She is in Wisconsin now, planning to run in Green Bay tomorrow. That will be state 32 and 1600 miles behind her; only 900 to go. Have you ever been on a run and said something like "8 down, only 2 to go". How does "Only 900 to go" sound? That should help at least a little to put this in perspective. This lady is doing 2500 miles in 2 months, at a rate of about 300 miles per week. That is so far over the top it is hard to imagine. We hear about top marathoners training 100 miles per week. That would be 2 days for Lisa at her current rate. Her pace is a little slower in order to survive this, but the mileage is the same.

Lisa e-mailed me last night to say she had completed state 31. She also said this morning that she wanted me to share our e-mails. The one below is a little brief on her part, but she always seems to reply and is always grateful for kind words. We also corresponded a few times before she started. She had more to say then, but she is down to 4 hours of sleep a night on the road, so I am grateful for even a few words in a reply. She is well aware that I am covering her progress on this site and tries to keep me up to date.

I actually sent the e-mail below when she was at her lowest, several days ago, but she just replied yesterday:

Thank you so very much

31 states completed. By the Grace of God we go

Blessings to you

Lisa

www.runhope.com

Frank Norris wrote:

> Lisa,

>

> Your blog last night brought a tear to my eye. I can tell that you

> are at a low point and need something more. I am not sure I know what

> to say except that I shared your words with our readers and many

> people are praying for you and thinking about you. I pray that you

> find the strength to keep going and somehow get past the recent pain

> and hardship. I wish I could come run a day in your place to give you a rest, but I can't. It is your journey.

> No one but you can do it.

>

> If you get down, think about the kids. I am not sure how the fund

> raising is going, but I would just like to say that I am going to make

> a personal donation and also push that more and more with our readers.

> Also, the fund raising will go on long after the run is over. If they

> do an article in Runner's World that touches a couple of million

> readers. There will also be more mainstream press when you finish.

> Walk the whole way if you must, but don't stop Lisa.

>

> God bless and good luck.

>

> Frank

There have been many other emails. Perhaps I will share more of them. Some were more upbeat. In some she had more to say, but she is always thankful for encouragement and always pushing forward and willing to go out there the next day. She cares very much about the orphans she is trying to help. Please, help the cause at: www.runhope.com

May 24 Update: Today is Indiana. Tomorrow is Ohio, which will be state number 30. Lisa reports that she has sore feet and a lot of fatigue, but she seems to be getting through it. As reported in the last update there have been ups and downs and she has just come out of a severe low in the last couple of days.

Chicago yesterday was apparently a big up. There were lots of people and a very upbeat atmosphere. She ran very well. In fact she reports that she ran mile 48 in 7:40. That is fast but consistent with her real capabilities. She has run 6:40 for 50 miles, which is 8:00 pace average, even with eating, drinking, and aid station breaks. Of course that time was run in a single race, not as part of running 50 miles every day like she is now. She instead is targeting 12 hours or so each day in this quest, which is a mix of running and walking.

Lisa stated it as, "Chicago was Magic! Such incredibly positive energy! I had a substantial break through with a faster walking and running pace; we smoked the last 10 miles and clocked a 7:40 mile 48. My feet are feeling better and my emotions are in great form!"

May 22 Update: Lisa has completed 27 states and 1350 miles. Not sure how many of you are ultrarunners, but running extreme distances people experience intense highs and lows. One minute you feel great, the next minute you feel like you are ready to die. Here is what Lisa had to say about hers.

"It’s day 27 and it’s been quiet today. As requested, people have given me some space for the past couple of days allowing me to breathe and get out of my despair on my own.

Today’s a new day and I’ve come back from the darkest dark that I’ve ever experienced in my life. I never gave up the faith and hope, but at times like these you can’t help but question it.

I’ve run marathon after ultra marathon, like the Badwater Double and the Marathon des Sables , but nothing has been as challenging as this. What makes it worthwhile is remembering all the people that can benefit from this – just a little bit of sacrifice on my part and others will have food in their bellies and options for life. It’s a small price to pay.

It’s been an emotional rollercoaster so far, and I doubt that it will get any easier – although one does hope. One minute you feel like a peaceful warrior moving through space and as soon as you start feeling great about it all, you get smacked down to the ground again.

Thank God for Sister Mary. If she prays for my feet with Holy water, my feet are going to feel better! So, I have to keep my faith with her around; we agreed that I am allowed to ask questions if I want, they’ll always be answered!

Why are the wisest people around me right now children? I get the most inspirational, real, heartfelt and connected words from children. Two little sisters showed up with a sign in Kentucky the other day, saying something like, “Go Lisa!” Everyone knows that that day was a very challenging day for me. I was feeling horrible, things weren’t going well and I was on the brink of a breakdown. I thought, God, if you really want me to do this you have to pull me out of the darkness some way, somehow.

A little while later the six year old came over to me while I was crying off in a corner somewhere. She said, “What’s wrong?”

Of course normally I wouldn’t show my emotions, especially to a six year old. But I responded with a question, “What do you do when you feel so down and out that you feel like you just can’t keep going?” She answered back, “Well, you made a commitment to help the kids, right?” “Yes” I said. To which she responded, “Then, I think you’ll be a little tired, but I know you can do it.”

I went up to the girl later and told her, “You have no idea how much you inspired me today… Thank you!”

Moving out of despair is not always easy. Our minds can become clouded, our bodies fatigued, our emotions will say NO to every offer of help. But, after the other day I’ve made a commitment to myself to be open to receiving help and advice, especially from children!

One word, good or bad, can change the path of your moment, week, month, year or life. Don’t ever assume that your words don’t mean anything. The smallest ripple in the sea can create a tidal wave. Greet people with a hug, a smile, say I love you, inspire them to have a better moment somehow".

Lisa, you have inspired us and we are truly thankful for you. www.runhope.com

May 20 Update: It was forecast to provide thunderstorms today in St. Louis, but Lisa may have missed the weather. We checked the weather but haven't gotten a report from her crew yet. Lisa is past the halfway point now and still moving forward. A cute update: yesterday in Kentucky just before Lisa ran past the Good Shepherd School they knew she was coming and set off a fire drill. The children were outside lining the streets and cheered for her as shown to the right. Sister Mary Beth had spoken to the children about her run and the cause she is running for.

By the way, we got an update from Joe Edgecombe of Draggin' Tail Runners. He was the state leader for Florida and organized the run in Panama City. He offered the following about raising funds, "I challenged all runners that pick up road money or do money runs to donate this to Lisa's cause. It is found money and won't cut into our pockets. Pennies from Heaven for Lisa's Children! I have pledged my road money. I normally find about $50 or more per year while running. Challenge other clubs or runners to donate their "road" money!" Others of you could just donate what you can afford or do fund raisers!

Challenge: All of you running clubs out there, talk to your members and keep track of how much money your club raises for Lisa's kids. Whoever raises the most, we will be happy to do a feature story on you and your members. We will also match that club's donations up to a preset limit. We aren't telling you what the limit is because we don't want you to stop there! These kids need your help. www.runhope.com

May 19 Update: Lisa is half way now. We would just like to share with you what Lisa had to say last night. It is from the heart to all of you:

"It took 14 states to get into a rhythm and by the 20th state, in Louisiana, I thought I was in great shape. All my aches and pains went away, and it was a significant milestone that my family, team and I celebrated. I guess I was wrong…Over the weekend I got hit with fatigue and pain – both emotional and physical. Now I have to dig deep into the well of my personal process that I thought had dried up a while ago, thinking I had everything figured out. So, I have to ask myself, “What else is there for me to learn?”

Sister Mary Beth says that this journey, for me, is like the last year of a nun’s novitiate. She says that it’s this year that tests you the most, and the year that shows how attached you are to your ego. “Ego? I don’t have any ego about this,” I said. But after thinking about it, I know she’s right…

People come out for a day, maybe they’re marathon runners that have done 20 or 30 miles, and they are so excited that they get to do their first 50-mile run with me.

My feet are killing me, the balls of my feet especially, my legs, and my hips. With people around I feel like I have to perform – I’m a professional athlete after all. If you’re up ahead of me, I have to keep up with you, if you’re behind me I need you to stay behind. I want people beside me if we’re running together. And, I don’t want them to see the pain that I’m feeling inside.

Someone said, “50 miles? How hard can it be?” People forget, this is not a 50-mile run, this is a 2500-mile run broken down into 50-mile segments. They also forget that I’m doing this almost every day. They get to go home, relax, watch a movie, be with their families and recover the next day. I miss my children a lot, and after a hard twelve-hour day of running when I need them most, I get to try and relax in a bumpy, uncomfortable RV without them.

So, because of all of this I need to be left alone… just for today. I know that I have to take this breath by breath, one foot in front of the other… just keep moving forward, with Love.

My friends from Trinity Cross, Brian and Coleen Rossi, came out to Dallas on Sunday. What a day that was! When he showed up in his wheelchair and reached out to put his arms around me for a hug he said, “I can feel your pain”. I said, “Brian, my legs hurt.” He said, “Mine do too.”

This 13 year-old kid has been through so much more than most adults, he really does understand. He says, “I don’t know why God chose me for this, but he did; and to do this Run, he chose you.”

So many children and people in the world are suffering, and they do it with dignity and grace. I feel like I’m not doing that well today, or yesterday. I’m not suffering with grace, I feel tortured. But, Sister Mary Beth is the divine force behind our effort. She’s amazing, and I’m so lucky to have her by my side. I truly don’t know what I would do if she wasn’t here.

Our goal is a great one, $1,000,000 to save lives, feed children, and make their lives better! I am most certainly grateful that people show up to run, it makes our effort come alive! But, PLEASE lovely supporters… remember this is a fundraiser! If you show up, please give something for the cause.

And… for the record: I never realized it was going to be this hard.

My orthopedist says that I can’t run today, or tomorrow… so I’m walking and jogging a little.

Thank you to all the people that support RHTA, please come and joint the race one day in your city if you can. Give what you can and show your support, help us to achieve a goal that will change the lives of thousands".

Lisa

May 18 Update: Lisa tells me it was very hot in Dallas Sunday, much hotter than the 85 it was forecast to be. That made running difficult. However, today she is running in Memphis, Tennessee and it is supposed to top out at 77. In fact her crew reports that it is nice and cool, which is a welcome change. She was at 24 miles so far today at last report (lunchtime) and reported to be in good spirits, though fighting fatigue and some foot pain. Tomorrow is Frankfort, Kentucky and will mark the halfway point of her journey. The forecast is a high f 65 and low of 49 in Kentucky, which is a far cry from the weather she faced throughout the southeast.

May 15 Update: Lisa is running in Dallas Texas today, where it is forecast to be 85 degrees. That is still hot to be running midday, though a little cooler than she has seen lately. However, she is about to get a break as she moves northward, first to Tennessee and then headed up through the Midwest.

One of her crew provided the following account, "To get the 50 mile distance each day we have a state leader who is marking a course for us. Most are an out and back or a loop. For the first several states Lisa did not even have a watch she only ran and walked on her best effort and we all marked the laps. It became clear that Lisa was running extra miles most days because even running to get the bathroom 1/4 mile in Central Park should count. Every step counts! In Maryland Lisa ran 52 miles and it was 97 and very humid. The courses have been Googled and calculated the best people can and Lisa now wears her own brand new Garmin 310 that holds a charge for 20 hours. The Garmin is very accurate as far as we can tell with the distance, mileage and pace of each mile. This is not a race, this is not a world record attempt. To bring Guinness world book on board costs a great deal of money. At the end of the day Lisa's Garmin says 50 miles and when it says 50 miles......then we celebrate".

Lisa herself e-mailed me Friday and seems to be in good spirits. She has almost reached the halfway point and has gotten past the very hardest part, the hot and humid southeast, where she faced 90 degrees day after day, with a peak of 97 (36 Celsius). Tuesday in Tennessee should feel like a nice change with a forecast high of 77 (25 Celsius) after starting out at 59 in the morning.

Something fascinating is that her crew says she started this attempt in "not too good shape" on purpose. If she had started well trained she thought she would be over-trained by now. Instead, she is just start to get in peak shape. I guess 300 miles a week tends to do that. LOL

May 12 Update: Lisa ran in Mississippi yesterday and Louisiana today. That makes 20 states and 1,000 miles running, plus about 6 or 7 thousand miles of driving for her crew to tour her around the country. At last report she had done about one TV interview for every day of running, ranging from local channels to a live interview on CNN. She is shown at left being interviewed with her nephew and cousin after finishing 50 miles in Alabama on Monday.

Lisa seems to be doing very well and holding up after all of the miles, though she does appear to be a little leaner after 1,000 miles in just over 3 weeks. She is now 40% of the way there. Some ultra-runners run 50 miles for their fiftieth birthday. Lisa, however, is not your average ultra-runner. She is doing 50 miles a day to celebrate her fiftieth birthday. However, she is not doing it for herself. She is doing it to try to raise $1,000,000 for charities that benefit orphans.

When asked why, she said, "I run, that’s what I do. If each of us did one thing to make the world a better place, together we could find solutions to many of the problems that plague orphans. I encourage people everywhere to do what they can by giving $5, $50 or $500 to change these young people’s lives. With the love and support they need and deserve, orphans can thrive.”

Lisa has a very personal connection to orphans, too: she and her husband have two adopted children. “If my kids hadn’t been adopted, they’d be orphans.”

If you would like to help go to: www.runhope.com

May 8 Update: Well, 16 States down. That's 800 miles since April 19. Lisa is reported to be doing well in spite of the heat she is experiencing in the southeast. Yesterday was Atlanta. Today was a rest and travel day. Tomorrow is Panama City, Florida. Joe Edgecomb of Draggin' Tails Runners has set up a course for Lisa and I am sure will be there to get her started at 5:30 AM tomorrow.

To quote one of Lisa's crew "Like many celebrities, Lisa likes to party hearty. And Sister Mary Beth? Don't even ask. If I had known about how she parties I would have put a line item in our production budget just for bail and hotel damage fees". Apparently, they are having a good time after grinding out 50 miles in 90 degree heat day after day. Luckily, tomorrow is supposed to be the start of a couple of cooler days. Running at 80 degrees is not ideal, but it sure beats 90 degrees. Of course, Lisa has run Badwater several times, which is often 125 degrees, so she probably is not going to wilt in the heat. The one thing that makes heat in the southeast more extreme, though, is humidity. Anyone that runs here is familiar with that.

The photo to the right is Lisa taking a couple of minutes off her feet at mile 40 yesterday in Atlanta.

May 5 Update: Well, 14 down and 36 more to go. Lisa ran in North Carolina today, where she was greeted by numerous fans. Several runners showed up to run with her at 5:30 AM, her usual early morning start. As of mile 38, four runners were reported to still be with her. Lisa is shown in the picture to the left with adopted children who came out to wish her well. They were orphans at one time, like so many children that Lisa is trying to help. These are the lucky ones who found homes.

As one of Lisa's crew put it, if 1,000,000 people would each give a dollar they would reach their goal of raising one million dollars. The math also works if 100,000 people each give ten dollars. If you would like to contribute you can go to www.runhope.com, the official website for the run. They tell you how to donate on-line or by sending a check. Either way, they greatly appreciate your help.

May 4 Update: Well, 13 states down and 37 to go. Lisa is reported to be doing well and to be adapting to this life on her feet and on the road. She keeps plugging along, knocking off Virginia today. Tomorrow is Raleigh, North Carolina, followed by Columbia, South Carolina Thursday and Atlanta, Georgia Friday. Saturday is rest and travel, then Sunday is Panama City, Florida. We are all praying for cooler weather Lisa! (It is supposed to rain here tonight as a front comes through with slightly cooler temperatures - 84 instead of 90).

May 3 Update: Lisa has now run 12 states, a total of 600 miles. That puts her about a quarter of the way home. Her crew reports that she is doing well, but has very sore feet and has a great deal of difficulty getting enough sleep on her consecutive run days. Fortunately today is a rest and travel day, so hopefully she will get a chance to rest and start tomorrow fresh. In Vermont she got 10 inches of snow on the day she ran there. That all changed as she moved South. It was over 90 in Maryland as she was running and walking all day. The heat, of course, adds to the difficulty. Lisa is shown here taking a short break on a hot day. Unfortunately, it won't get any better for the next week and a half as she makes her way from Virginia to Texas, running through all of the southeast states. After that, however she will be heading north through the mid-west and may get a bit of relief. The southwest, obviously will tend to be hot for a couple of days in early June, but at least it will be much lower humidity, so sweating or pouring water on yourself actually cools you down. Best of luck Lisa!

April 30 Update: Yesterday Lisa completed 50 miles in Pennsylvania after a rest and travel day. Today she is well on way toward 50 miles in Delaware and will be up to 500 completed at the end of the day. Lisa was reported to be running well and her pace was quoted as being quick. Lisa says that she heard it gets easier after the tenth day. I guess she will see if that is true. So far she is holding out well, in spite of running 500 miles in a week and a half.

April 27 Update: Today Lisa is running in Vermont. Early in the day it was raining, then it changed to snow! In spite of the weather, Lisa was reported to be running well and to have a smile on her face. Not bad for someone with 400 miles on her legs in just over a week. (We are impressed, having run a 50 miler and barely being able to walk after). After she knocks out 50 today she will have a day off to recover a little before a string of 4 more days of 50 miles starting with Pennsylvania and ending in West Virginia, working her way South down the Atlantic seaboard. The next block after that will be Virginia through Georgia, followed by Florida through Louisiana. Her feat is basically 9 consecutive 300 mile weeks, less one day and a few miles, plus several thousand miles of travel, not to mention the interviews and fans reducing her recovery time. Lisa is one tough lady. If you want to help out the cause she is running for, go to www.runhope.com. Remember, she is doing this to help out orphans, not just because she thought it would be fun to run 2500 miles, although if you saw "Running on the Sun", you may have the impression that she really does think that ultrarunning is fun.

Actually, ultrarunning is fun early in the race, before the pain sets in. However, that leaves you wondering if the elite like Lisa don't feel pain in the same way or if they are just such complete runners that the pain does not set in the same way. The rest of us suffer late in the race. If Lisa does, she doesn't really show it.

April 26 Update: Lisa is running in New Hampshire today and is reported to be doing very well, even though she did have a bit of pain in her right shin yesterday. Hopefully the leg is better and she can keep going. Today is state 7 of 50.

April 24 Update: Lisa is running miles 201 - 250 today in Boston, after her typical 5:30 AM start. Her crew report that she is feeling great and not having any real difficulties so far. However, her story is starting to capture the attention of the national media. In fact, the constant interviews and reporters asking questions are starting to add to the difficulty of her task. She reports that media attention is wonderful, but it is exhausting. Reporters are following her as she runs and requesting interviews after she finishes her 50 miles for the day. She has granted many interviews, among them a spot on CNN. Click Here to see her interview Friday with CNN, which was filmed in Boston, where she is running today.

Apparently she is also being treated as a celebrity wherever she goes. Personal Motivation Coach Connie Carpenter had her picked up in a limo after she finished 50 miles in New York on Tuesday and taken away for an ice bath and a good night's sleep. Her friends report that Lisa has it pretty cushy right now, well except for that 2,500 mile thing. Yeah, I guess there is that part making it a little less than cushy.

April 22 Update: We believe Lisa completed miles 151 - 200 in Rhode Island today but haven't heard officially. Word is that she is running very strongly and smiling all the way. Tomorrow is a rest and travel day before running in Boston Saturday.

April 20 Update: Lisa finished New Jersey yesterday and as of 1 PM today was at mile 35 in New York. Keep it up Lisa! If you want to make a donation to support the cause: http://www.runhope.com/donate.html

Original Story - April 11: From April 19th to June 19th, 2010, Lisa Smith Batchen, one of the world's premier ultra-runners, will be the first person to attempt to run 50 miles in each of the 50 states in an event called Running Hope Through America (www.runhope.com). Though two people have previously run a marathon distance in each state, no one has ever taken on the challenge of completing a series of ultras in the same period of time. She is attempting this feat in order to raise money for charities for children orphaned by AIDS.

Her schedule is to run 50 miles in each of 4 different states on 4 consecutive days and then rest 1 day, repeat as required. She continues this pattern for all 50 states except for an extra day off to travel between Hawaii and Alaska. The result is 2,500 miles in 62 days, covering all 50 states.

If you read the book "50 States in 50 Days" by Dean Karnazas, where he tells of running a marathon in every state on consecutive days, you may at least catch a glimpse of what an incredible undertaking this is. He was running about 3 to 4 hours per day, but the travel and activities around it limited him to about 4 hours of sleep each night. Lisa will be running approximately 12 to 14 hours per day. Then she has to travel to the next state to do it all over again. Without every 5th day off, we suspect she would be in the hospital in a week with this schedule, in spite of being one of the toughest ultra runners in the world. Most of us would have trouble completing the first day, but imagine jumping on a bus to ride all night so you can do it again a few hundred miles away, or in some cases having to deal with airports and flights.

Accompanying Smith-Batchen on the run will be a small support crew including her good friend and running partner, Sister Mary Beth Lloyd. Sister Mary Beth, 61, belongs to the order of the Religious Teachers Filipini, an order dedicated to education. Members of this order are not allowed to dress in clothes other than a habit. Therefore, Sister Mary Beth will do as she has always done-- run alongside Smith-Batchen in her full habit: a black wool tunic over a white shirt and underskirt, black headpiece and a black woolen belt. And sneakers.

All funds raised through the event will be donated to help orphans in the United States and abroad. The Dreamchasers Foundation will disperse 100% of donations between three organizations: The Orphan Foundation of America, AIDS Orphans Rising, and The Caring House Project. Donations can be made on the project website (link at top of story).

Lisa starts in New Jersey on April 19th and will wind her way across the country. She will be running in Panama City May 9th. For a complete schedule see below. To join her on a run, you can click on the "Join" link in the schedule below. She is looking for local runners to run with her for a day, or you can just show up and cheer.

Joe Edgecomb of Draggin' Tail Runner, a running club in Panama City, brought this story to our attention. He was contacted in order to arrange a course in the Panama City area. (If we do not have a link in the schedule below for route, you may want to go to Lisa's site to look for updates).

About Lisa Smith Batchen: Lisa's very first ultramarathon was the legendary Badwater Ultramarathon in 1995 where she earned 2nd place in the women's division. She set the women's record two years later with a finishing time of 37 hours and 01 minute. Eleven years after her Badwater debut, she decided to double the race. She is one of the few females to have run the "Badwater Double" -- also known as the "Death Valley 300".

By the time adventure racing exploded onto the scene in America in the form of the reality show "Eco Challenge" Lisa was already an accomplished endurance athlete and it was no surprise that she was asked to participate in the Eco-Challenge in New England in 1996, followed by the Eco-Challenges in British Columbia and Australia.

In 1999, Lisa achieved something no American has yet duplicated: winning at the infamous "Marathon des Sables", a 10 day stage race in the deserts of Northern Africa. She took the prize for the women's division, and still stands as the only American to have ever earned an MDS trophy. As an added bonus, she met Jay Batchen who was part of a crew filming the event for an Outdoor Life Network documentary. Less than a year later they were married.

But Lisa is known for more than her racing-- she is an unflagging fundraiser and advocate for children who have lost both mother and father to AIDS. Her 2006 Badwater Double raised $294,000 for AIDS Orphans Rising. She also introduced other ultramarathoning legends such as Ray Zahab and Marshall Ulrich to the work of AIDS Orphans Rising, and they too began to use their talents to fundraise. In 2002, Lisa and Marshall were invited by Pope John Paul II to visit the Vatican so he could thank them personally for their work helping the charity.

Stories about Lisa's athletic achievements have appeared on the covers of The NY Times, The LA Times, The Washington Post, Running Times Magazine and more. Additionally, she has appeared in Runner’s World, Sports Illustrated for Women, ESPN Magazine, Outside Magazine, Ultrarunning and numerous other national and international publications. Television coverage includes segments on ESPN, Discovery Channel, ABC’s Wide World of Sports, NBC’s Nightly News with Tom Brokaw and Good Morning America. She was a main character in a feature length film on the Badwater Ultramarathon, entitled Running On the Sun. She has also appeared in two Outdoor Life Network specials on the Marathon des Sables.

Lisa currently lives in Driggs, Idaho in the Teton Valley where she runs Dreamchaser Outdoor Adventure Events with her husband, Jay. They have two daughters, Annabella and Gabby.

Copyright 2010 by Florida East Coast Runners. Reproduction or reprinting without written permission is illegal.

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