| Lisa Smith Batchen to Run 50 Miles Per Day in 50 States! May 9th in Panama City! 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 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 Edgecombe of the Draggin' Tail Runners and Panhandle Runners & Triathlon Club, local running clubs 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). |
| Draggin' Tail Runner |
Draggin' Tail News and Events
 | |  | |  | |  | |  |
 | |  | |  |
 | |  |
Route Description:
Mostly flat with only a max of a 10-12 foot incline in a spot.
No real inclines to speak of. Country club in name only. It is
a public road with very minimal vehicle usage. Most of the
loop has shade but not all of it. There is also a bathroom
adjacent to the loop and a water cooler.
Mostly flat with only a max of a 10-12 foot incline in a spot.
No real inclines to speak of. Country club in name only. It is
a public road with very minimal vehicle usage. Most of the
loop has shade but not all of it. There is also a bathroom
adjacent to the loop and a water cooler.
Lisa Smith Batchen will be running in
Panama City on May 9th. Starting at
5:30 a.m. Panama City Country Club
in Lynn Haven.
Panama City on May 9th. Starting at
5:30 a.m. Panama City Country Club
in Lynn Haven.
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 along side 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.
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 along side 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.