An Ultra Cause

Lisa Smith-Batchen is an ultrarunner who has competed in and won some of the most difficult ultramarathons in the world. She is a role model for aspiring runner-moms everywhere, and is famous for this picture of her running up a hill pushing one kid and pulling another.

Besides being a talented and dedicated runner, she is also a woman on a mission. After adopting two children, she has been interested in helping orphans in big ways. She has used her running as a means to raise awareness and money for the charity AIDS Orphans Rising. Her latest endeavor, crazy as it sounds, is to run 50 miles in all 50 states. Fifty miles a day, state by state.

Running a 50 mile race is something most people will never do. Even among the subset of athletes who are marathon runners, most will never run that far. It is crazy far. And here she is doing it daily. I can't even imagine her knees, ankles, feet, blisters, toenail-less-ness, sunburn, chafing, and soreness. And the emotional fatigue.

She has run in 46 states already, fifty miles of running, shower, eat, jump in the RV and drive to the next state. Tomorrow, she will be running 50 miles here in Portland, on the waterfront loop. Others are invited to run with her, and anyone is invited to donate to AIDS Orphans Rising through her project.

Check out her project's website, Running Hope Through America, and her blog and be inspired.