I am home, sleepy but in great spirits and I am going to write my own personal story next week of each account and step that I took...so many emotions, trials to work through along the way...very long trip home in the van...the fatigue of not much sleep has set in and caught up to me:)And those last miles she's talking about were AMAZING.
But hey...we did it and I am so thrilled and thankful for so many things...gratitude is a big word.
God was so powerful on this trip and was the most powerful the last 16 miles...really more than amazing... Nothing and nobody will ever take this away from me.
A disclaimer before I post this... I'm terrible at math, I have the attention span of a puppy and those numbers on the Badwater Race Results page are real small. So someone, please-- double check my analysis here.
But it sure does look to me like Lisa was the fastest woman and the fourth overall fastest on that last split.
- Jorge Pacheco, winner - last split time: 54 minutes
- Akos Konya, 2nd place - last split time: 51 minutes
- Chris Frost, 49th place - last split time: 58 minutes
- Lisa Smith Batchen, after 310 miles -- last split time: 59 MINUTES.
And then after this little sprint, it was up to the top of the highest mountain in the Con- tinental US where Lisa and the crew were greeted with... well, Mount Whitney Weather.If you Wikipedia "Mount Whitney" you'll find tidbits of info such as:
- The Mount Whitney area is notorious for its unpredictable weather.
- This weather pattern [monsoon season] is usually seen between June and mid-September.
- Lightning is the major concern during the monsoon season.
Then it was back to Las Vegas, where George was again able to resist running off with a showgirl, which may have been a feat requiring as much discipline as Lisa's 810. Leigh Corbin went home to continue her amazing blog which everyone should check out at turborunz.blogspot.com where she has a great photo montage. Terry relinquished his satellite phone and hopefully got some good rest before going back to Chicago. Laurie dried out her monsoon-ravaged duds before heading back to Idaho and Annemarie took no break at all, going back home after many miles to jump right back into work and parenthood. Scott finally took off his sunglasses for the first time since July 9th. (I have actually *never* seen Scott's eyes, and am beginning to wonder...)
And what about Sister Marybeth, the woman who surprised no one, yet amazed us all with her incredible spirit, contagious energy and calming presence? How did she decide to help recover from this demanding event?
Well, this is from Lisa's email this morning:
Sister Marybeth just called me and she ran a half marathon today in calif.!!!Which just goes to prove what I've said all along-- watch out for hanging around Lisa too much. You might just find yourself doing amazing things too. Consider yourself warned.
24 comments:
Hi Lisa,
Happy to hear you have made it home safely. Jay and the girls must be thrilled to have you back.Have a nice loooong sleep and rest well.
Thank you again for being so amazing and such an inspiration.
Love and hugs,
Tess
Lisa,
Simply amazing is all I can say.
Katie
You did it girl, unreal totally UNREAL!
Love
Scott
Wow - huge congratulations on your accomplishment Lisa! You 'da woMAN!! We were without internet access for 10 days so I wasn't able to follow along but have had fun reading up on what was happening on your blogs. Whew, only 508 to go.
Rock
Lisa
you amaze me! I followed you from day 1 to the finish and will do the same for the 508. I truly admire who you are as the most giving and genuine person and such an incredible human being. we need more of you on this earth. I hope you recover quickly and enjoy the memories
love
Shannon
Wow, you really did it! You are one of a kind and it is a great honor to be your friend. Think of how many childrens lives you and Sister have changed and how many more will be changed by this effort. What could be greater in anyones life than touching these littles ones in such a positive manner.
The power of faith is amazing as demonstrated on the summit of Whitney by Sister. How that approaching thunderstorm changed course absent any shift in winds is inexplicable to me. We were in a VERY bad spot and Sister prayed and all of a sudden storm shifted to a northly direction. That made a believer out of me.
Outstanding accomplishment and I am so proud of you and Sister.
Amazing Lisa....I'm nearly in tears thinking about what an incredible
journey that must have been. Congratulations to you Lisa and God bless you
and your crew! What an adventure that must have been for you and an amazing
accomplishment. You are a driven woman......xoxox
Wanda
Last picture is pretty awesome, best of all. Congrats again!
Lisa
I´m so glad to read that you got your Badwater buckle and you are being able to achieve all the goals that you set. The best part is that you are being able to help many kids and families with your passion. Is incredible to see how amazing things can happen when talent is mixed with leadership and a wish of help others.
Think that with every step you take you increases someone´s hope… but please stop someday, with you will you can easily run around the world…
Hope to see you at GT100 and congratulate you in person for completing 810 project… because you will. Go, go, go, go…..
Sergio
just wanted to say- I'M SO Damn PROUD OF YOU- you are truly amazing-
Jim S.
Lisa,
I wanted to let you know how proud of you we are. I hope you are resting and recovering from your journey. You are an endurance machine and you did an amazing thing. God is surely smiling on you!
Thanks for inspiring so many people,
Judy Rowland
Wow. Sister Mary Beth never fails to amaze me! Enjoy your time back home. See you soon :) :) :)
amazing feat for all of you, Lisa, the crew, and most of all... for all the childern that are helped through your efforts.
Thank you for all that you do for so many others!
Here's to a well deserved "break with the family" even if you never really take a break.
Lisa,
Congratulations on a special journey and a magical time! You make a huge difference in so many lives and you inspire us all. It was a gift to have time with you and Sister Mary Beth.
May you enjoy time with your family and friends in the Tetons.
Cheers!
Laurie
Lisa,
Well after a 'short' drive home from Las Vegas to Park Ridge, IL, I'm trying trying to get my act back together. I seem to be sleepy all the time now; it would be interesting to try to figure out how much sleep I actually did get during the last 2 weeks, but I have the feeling that the answer would be pretty ridiculous. Driving home straight through probably wasn't very smart either, but I did finally arrive around 11:00 Sunday morning (29 hrs).
Well, what can I say about being a part of your crew through this whole event? Heck, I have enough material to easily write an entire book about it. Let me just make a couple comments and leave the rest for later:
1) First of all, thanks so much for asking me to be on your crew. It was such a powerful and rewarding experience; I'll never forget it.
2) I've run with you before, but getting this chance to see you handle extreme adversity was a real eye-opener. You were simply great out there. And I hope I can draw on some of that when I'm hurting myself during races (most likely next month at your Grand Teton 100).
3) I have come to understand that the cause of AIDS Orphans is such a worthwhile one--and I honestly think we've really made a difference through our work, with plenty more to come.
4) Getting to know the rest of our crew was wonderful. When you spend that much time together, and under such intense circumstances, it's probably not surprising that there were times when we got pretty stressed out. But those were the exceptions, and we rarely lost sight of why we were there: to support Lisa, and in turn to help those kids. I feel that I have made lifelong friends during our 2 weeks together.
5) But maybe most importantly, I will forever be grateful for getting to spend time with, and getting to know, Sr. MB. Her deep faith, and unflinching optimism, seemed to carry us through every kind of adversity. I honestly felt like I was present for several miracles, but Sr was so calm and confident during those times that I have come to believe that this is simply how life must look when one has devoted their entire life to trusting God and helping others.
Get some well-earned rest, Lisa. You did good! Terry.
To all of you who have loved, supported and have followed us along the first stage of our journey...Thank you from the bottom of my heart to the top of my soul....this has been such a wonderful experience and it will stay with me and the rest of us for a very long time.
God Bless and love each of you
Lisa
Welcome home after your long journey. You did an amazing job. It will be good to see you and give and get a hug.
Lisa,
Congratulations on your effort! I just got home on Sunday night and read through the postings on your Blog this morning. How inspiring, woman!!!!
It's very heart warming to hear about your spiritual "journey" as well.
I hope you are resting and recovering and letting people look after you.
Your strength will inspire many others!!!
Shelly
Congratulation's Lisa! You are the best!
Aran
4th-Lisa Smith Batchen, after 310 miles -- last split time: 59 MINUTES.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You Smoked that last split Lisa!!!! So Awesome! Congrats Again!
See ya sooooooooooooon at GTR!
Going to be a such a blast!
Rarely have I seen anyone run with such focus determination and grit than you in this journey-What I saw those of us who were there that last incredible run up the Portal Road just amazed me.And the weather- evrything but a meteror strike!!!georgie
Lisa,
First off I would like to congratulate you on finishing your first leg of your journey! I followed and was in awe every time I read about what was going on. Friggin amazing!
I was telling people at work about it and they were amazed. It was almost like talking about the acomplishments of a superhero out of a comic book. All I could say was "Yeah, and she is the one that gives me my torture schedules every couple weeks!"
Anyway... Holy friggin crap! Gratz!
Leo
Congrats to you! I was following you through badwater and you're such an inspiration.
YOU ARE A TRUE CHAMPION # 1. GOD BLESS YOUR SPIRIT.
I'm looking forward to sharing our adventures.
Jill
Lisa and Sister MB
What a wonderful challenge you engaged in and it was a real eye-opener for us to see what determination can accomplish!
Congratulations on your great achievement!
Please keep our ranch in mind for any future training, travel, friendship or whatever. We will be watching for more super efforts on your part.
Good Luck, God Bless and remember; Life is for laughing, loving and living; not whining, working or worrying!
Chuck Hackley and gang @ The Resting Springs Ranch - Death Valley
Post a Comment