My name is Lisa Smith-Batchen, this is a story about me but ultimately it’s a story about God. I couldn’t do these things or even want to without Him. I am a 52-year old ultrarunner and elite endurance athlete. I am the adoptive mother of two little girls, Annie and Gabby, although in the last month we have now taken on a 14 year old girl who was in need of a home. By God’s grace they are my light and my motivation and my husband, Jay, is my strength. We live in a working class mountain community in Victor, Idaho. We had three adopted children. We had a son for three and a half year, but we had to give him back. That is a whole chapter of my story which I am willing to open up about in time. Like everyone else, my husband and I work hard and we are thankful for and take pride in what we have. Together, we own a small running store and fitness center called Dreamchasers Outdoor Adventures. In many ways, I lead a perfectly ordinary life, but running has allowed me the opportunity to do some extraordinary things and see some extraordinary places.
I have felt the red Moroccan sun against my skin as I ran through the Sahara desert. Ive experienced the deep chill of a wild Himalayan night. And Ive felt the harsh, oven-hot headwinds of a Death Valley summer.
I wish I could adequately explain the passion I feel for this sport. I wish I could find the words to explain to you the excitement and joy of ultrarunning. It’s a sport that might never be able to gain the same following as other professional sports – basketball, baseball, football, soccer. There’s not much money involved in ultrarunning. It’s outside the mainstream. But it’s pure and accessible, open to allow perfectly ordinary people the chance to do extraordinary things. I‘m grateful to be one of them.
This sport has brought a great deal of adventure to my life. In a very real sense, running has saved my life. The pain of drug addiction, eating disorders, and sexual abuse all color my past. I have used running to confront that pain and move through it. To grow in spite of it. For many years, I raced sometimes two times in the same day to win, to beat anybody who tried to go up against me. And very often I was successful. The whole experience awakened in me a desire to push harder and dig deeper, to get out of life all that I can. Ive spent most of my adult life thinking about what it means to endure, and I still dont have a definite answer. I think it has something to do with humility so it is definitely connected to God. Every great endurance athlete I have met seems to possess a certain nobility of the soul. They conduct themselves with grace and honor.
I strive to live up to this standard every day of my life. In 2010, I became the first person to run 50 miles in 50 states in 62 days to raise money for AIDS orphans in India and Africa. It was one of the greatest challenges of my life. During my 50 mile run in Texas, state 26 of the project, I stepped into a pothole and broke the bones in my feet. I finished the 2,500 mile run with a broken foot. The project was called Running Hope Through America (www.runhope.com).
You could say I am driven. Motivated. What motivates me? Over the years, I have worked with Sister Marybeth Lloyd, a member of the order of the Religious Teachers Fillipini, known affectionately in the ultrarunning community as the running nun, to raise funds for AIDS orphans. We have many missions full of children that need our help. According to Sister Marybeth over the course of 26 years, I have raised $7.5 million to help these children around the world. I have adopted the philosophy of running for a purpose: I believe in using ones gifts for athletic endurance to benefit the less fortunate. Raising money for orphans is one of the defining passions of my daily life.
As a coach, I believe in leading by example, and I thoroughly believe in using ones own story to inspire others to make positive changes in their own lives. I have started writing a book to tell my story but it keeps getting put on the back burner because I feel the strong need and desire to continue running to raise money.
In the past few years I have become aware that my next running project needed to focus on helping so many who are without WATER! Currently a billion people lack access to safe drinking water, and 2.6 billion lack access to basic sanitation. According to World Health Organization(WHO), the contaminated and infectious bacteria that cause diarrhea account for 4.1 percent of the global disease burden killing 1.8 million children a year. Right now more folks have access to a cell phone than a toilet! I want and need to help solve our water worries. When God calls I have learned to sit still and listen. He talks about water a lot. With water we can alleviate world hunger, lower global disease and show the needy that we care about them.
Sister Marybeth, my inspiration, has started many missions where we have hundreds of children with little or NO water. Please see the attachment, Mission Info, to learn where they are and how many people live without safe, clean water. For many years I have run to help feed the children and build schools but now I see the progress that could be made with GOOD water. Less sickness, less death, more health, time and energy to grow food and even prosper!
Everyone deserves a life of dignity and grace; everyone deserves good water!
On July 15th I will start my next running project called ‘Running From Badwater 4 Good Water’.
I will stand at the starting line of the Badwater 135 mile endurance race with 99 other athletes from around the World who have been chosen to participate in this race. This will be my attempt to become the first women to complete the ‘BW 135’ ten times.
The race starts at Badwater in Death Valley which is the lowest point in the USA, -282 feet below Sea Level and finishes 135 miles later at the Portals of Mt. Whitney which is just over 8,000 feet. The race is hot, hilly and hard! God willing I will continue on to summit Mt. Whitney which is considered the highest point in the Continental USA, 14,876 feet. I will then make my way back to Badwater for a total of 292 miles and then start all over again, Badwater to the summit of Mt. Whitney and back to Badwater to finish with a total of 594 miles. The goal is to cover the Badwater course 4 times coming up with the project name Badwater 4 Good Water.
My longtime friend and mentor Marshall Ulrich who will be running his 19th Badwater race will join me during this project. I am honored and blessed to have Marshall along because he is has already accomplished the Quad. (4 times Badwater)I was on Marshalls crew when he completed the Quad and he continues to always inspire me. I will be the first women to attempt the Quad and I feel confident in my ability to accomplish this goal. There are very few things in my life that I have started and have not finished, especially when it involves a commitment to helping others in need.
Here is the link to the Badwater race http://www.badwater.com/
You may wonder why you are getting this very long letter from meJ You are getting this letter because I need your help. As you can imagine doing these projects can’t happen without the love and finical support of others, organizations and companies that believe in what and why you are doing it. In 2008 I started the Dreamchasers Foundation with Sister Marybeth so that money raised we knew was going to go directly to where we wanted it to go and where those who made donations would feel good about and know exactly what there donation was helping. At this time we still don’t have an “official web site for the DC foundation” and we are seeking someone who would volunteer their time and service to do this for us. We have several people who are on the board who have helped for years with getting donations. An example, last year Alexa ran the Badwater race and raised over $6,000 for our mission in Brazil. www.dreamchasersfoundation.com
In order to complete this project I have estimated the cost would be $12,000. This would cover airfare, hotels, van rentals, gas, food and supplies for a total of 11-13 days. I have a crew of 6-8 people that will donate their time and energy to helping me accomplish this project with the hopes of raising a great deal of money and awareness for Water!
Please sit back and take a few moments to pray and mediate on this project. Think about where and how you can help either with press release, setting up FB page and all social media, or connect me to a corporation that believes in this project as it is a tax write off and will gain National attention.
Sassi800 children
Zalambessa..900 children..
Adigrat 900 children..
These are in Ethiopia and most needed Munagallapalli, India 300 familiesabout 1200 children plus adults all in the village would use the well.
For more information: http://www.dreamchaserevents.com/About-Us/Lisa-Smith-Batchen/
Face Book Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Badwater-4-Good-Water/507957382596658?ref=hl
Thank you for your time to read this and any efforts you may be able to offer.
I am forever grateful.
Lisa Smith-Batchen
Dreamchasers Outdoor Adventures
Victor, Idaho
www.dreamchaserevents.com
Excellent-thank you ! I am a 56 yr old marathoner and working on my fist ultra-also a Christian