LEFT: Lisa Smith-Batchen, center, is joined by friends and supporters as she walks a 2.5 mile loop around Teton Village’s Shooting Star in Jackson on Friday. Smith-Batchen is the first person to run 50 miles in each of the 50 states to raise $1 million for orphaned children in America and abroad. PHOTO COURTESY PRICE CHAMBERSDriggs resident and famed ultra-marathoner Lisa Smith-Batchen finished her record-setting 2,500-mile run Saturday at The Spud, welcomed back by a crowd of well-wishers after a 62-day effort to run 50 miles in all 50 states and raise $1 million for orphans in the U.S. and abroad.
In addition to breaking an endurance running record, Smith-Batchen broke her foot and a toe as well, injuries she described as “a blessing in disguise, because it will let me move forward more gracefully.”
“Sunday night was my first night home, and I woke up at 5 a.m., soaked in sweat, running in my sleep,” Smith- Batchen said. “I did the same thing today. You cannot turn it on and off that quick.”
Smith-Batchen is not the type to sit still for long. She’ll be back at Dreamchasers next week, teaching classes to local fitness enthusiasts. She said she also looks forward to writing a book, and possibly doing speaking events.
“I want to help others realize their dreams, to help others use their gifts,” she said.
“I know what my passions are, I know my purpose – that’s why I could do this,” she said. “You owe it to yourself to find out what your passions are, and organize it – and you can’t do it all at one time, because then you’ll never finish – or you’ll never figure out what in your heart is truly yours to do.”
Smith-Batchen said that although she still plans to raise money for needy children, she’s now retired from racing.
“I have no desire to beat anybody, I have no desire to set any record,” she said. “What’s the point? A race is to challenge yourself – I’m never going to go any faster, I’m never going to go any further.”
“I can’t wait to be on the other side of the race,” Smith-Batchen said. “So many people have given me so much in this sport. It’s my turn to give back to those people.”
One of those people is her husband, Jay Batchen, who is leaving soon to run a race in California.
“He’s been so supportive – it’s his turn now,” said Smith-Batchen. “I told him, ‘When I get home, you’ve got to give me a few days.’ He leaves Thursday.”
Smith-Batchen also said she intends to spend some time with her two daughters.
“I’m so excited to wake up on Saturday mornings, when you’re supposed to do a long training run, and sit eating chocolate chip pancakes with my kids and watching a movie,” she said.
Smith-Batchen will also spend the next several weeks recuperating a broken foot and broken toe, injuries she suspects she sustained while on the Texas leg of her run. Undeterred by the fractures, she ran the remaining 1300 miles in constant pain.
“When I knew my foot was pretty bad, I wanted to continue,” she said. “It wasn’t pretty – I was a disaster – but I knew in the end it would be able to heal.”
“I definitely got a sense of what suffering is, but I always knew I’d be able to get out of it at the end of the day,” she said.
“It drives me crazy when people say, ‘She’s crazy to run on a broken foot,’” Smith-Batchen said. “If that was my only hold-up, why would I stop, when I know it will heal?”
“I had Badwater [an ultra-marathon in California, from Death Valley to Mount Whitney] in three weeks, and I was looking forward to that being my real retirement from racing,” she said. “I’ve never been fitter than I am now. I’m fi t, I’m lean – if this foot wasn’t hurt right now, watch out, man.”
Smith-Batchen said Teton Valley Health Care orthopedist Mo Brown called her Monday morning to talk with her about her injury and the upcoming race.
“I said, whatever Mo Brown tells me, that’s what it is, and he said, ‘Lisa, there’s no Badwater, and I’m going to put a hard cast on you if you don’t listen.” Smith-Batchen cancelled her plans to run the Badwater race, and Brown is allowing her to recover in a soft brace.
“It’s hard to think you’re the fittest you’ve ever been in your life, and you can’t do something with it,” she said. “But I did do something with it.”
Source: Valley Citizen, 6/24/10. Author: Mike Polhamus
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