CELEBRITY UPDATE - DAY THREE

M here again.


Yes, I'm a little late. In fact, we're on Day 6, and I'm only just now doing a Day 3 report. But it's hard keeping up these Hollywood types.

Lisa's really changed. Now that people recognize her on the street (folks recognize her from CNN) she's taken to wearing sunglasses at all times. Even at night. You wouldn't even believe Sister Mary Beth. Yesterday she punched out a photographer that got in her face. She's started hanging out with Sean Penn, too.


Avon, Connecticut was great -- weather was perfect and the run was an out-and-back on a Rails to Trails path. The only damper was a call from Sister Mary Beth who had been in New Jersey the previous night and was driving up from Morristown to Connecticut; she told me her car had broken down right by the Tappanzee Bridge. But I knew better -- Sister's always in rough shape the morning after when she hangs out with Lindsay Lohan.


Meanwhile two Shenipsit Striders showed up and banged out a good 50K with Lisa and Sister Mary Beth while Mike and Mike set-up and handled logistics, Ashley made one PB&J sandwich after another and I fielded requests from the media (seriously.)


Sister made her way to the run thanks to her good friend Pat, who not only picked her up and brought her to Avon, but was nuts enough to drive to Providence as well.


CT NBC showed up for an interview, a link to which I can't find anywhere - I promise to call the producer today. Then the lovely Kristine Thompson from the Orphan Foundation of America called with an interview request from CNN.


The day ended around 6:30 and Lisa came back to Juan's for a few sips of wine (I thoughtfully finished the glass for her so she wouldn't look ungrateful), an ice bath, a great spaghetti and turkey meatball dinner and a drive to Providence, RI.


The next morning while we drove to the location at 4 in the morning, Pat drove Sister Mary Beth back to Morristown so she could receive an award from the Girl Scouts of America that evening. I suppose it was just a "coincidence" that the Sisters were having a rave at Villa Walsh at that time.


I'm telling you- things have changed. But of course I'll keep you updated about that.

Stage Two, Day 2 update

This just in! As of 7:00 AM PST, Lisa was 4 miles up Portal Road and running-- she's shooting for that belt buckle which means she has to come in under 48 hours-- GO, GO, GO!!!!

According to Leigh, it was a really rough day. The crew is beat (but undoubtedly still cheery) and Lisa has really gone through a lot -- but this surprises no one.

Leigh was with Lisa during her Badwater Double last year, and assures us that "all in all, she is in better shape then she was at this time last year."

As we speak, Lisa's out on the course, gittin' 'er done, as I've heard them say in Idaho.

Here's a snap of Leigh and Sister Marybeth giving the magic finger treatment to Lisa's leg as George treats her feet.

I'm not 100% certain of their exact location right now-- I'm trying to get that info. But Leigh promised that her next batch of photos would be of Lisa "climbing up Whitney Portal" -- so you know she's closing in.

Temperatures out there look to be averaging about 114 degrees.

LISA'S 810 - STAGE TWO, DAY TWO 10:45 AM (PST)

LIVE UPDATE! Terry Madl called from the road to let us know that Lisa has come about 83 miles so far.

She and the crew went pretty much right through the night. Lisa got about 90 minutes of rest at 2:00 AM after her stomach started bothering her; apparently some cashews, which she is allergic to, found their way into her system. Update: Jay informs me that Lisa is not allergic to cashews and is in fact quite fond of them. Perhaps Terry said she had swallowed some "cat's shoes" and I mis-heard.

So for the past six hours her stomach has been a consistent problem, but she keeps going, with Sister Marybeth constantly at her side.

"Sister Marybeth is terrific" Terry said. "She'll take long turns out on the road and it does Lisa just a world of good."

Both Terry and Lisa also contribute the "re-opening" of the course to Sister Marybeth's crewing. According to Terry, "There were severe thunderstorms, they were going to close the route because of flooding... And then Sister said a little prayer - and bang!! We're back on course! It was incredible!"

So basically, Lisa is in pretty good hands. Above is a photo courtesy of Leigh Corbin, of Lisa coming into Panamint along side of George Velasco. And as anyone who has ever run with George knows-- when you're with running with George, you're running with someone who cares. George Velasco will give you the shirt off his back, followed by his socks, his shoes, the last of his water and a vital organ should you need it, and he'll do it while telling you a story about the Army Days just to keep you distracted. You would have to try really, really hard to feel bad in George's company.

It's 7:00 AM in the photo, which means they're hitting Panamint still ahead of schedule.

More details (and photos) to come.

It's finally here! ...and so is the Today Show

Greetings, everyone-

I'll be subbing for Lisa while she's on the road from Las Vegas to Mt. Whitney, keeping everyone updated on her latest whereabouts.

As you can see, Sister Marybeth has arrived, and here she and Lisa are with the 810 Quilt. The quilt will be making the trip along with Lisa -- through the desert, up Mt. Whitney -- after which it will be auctioned on the Lisa's 810 Ebay site. Stay tuned.

As I write, Lisa and Sister Marybeth are giving a public lecture about "Running With A Purpose" at the St. Joseph Husband of Mary Catholic Church Parish Hall in Las Vegas -- in fact, the very spot that Lisa will set out from at 9:00 AM tomorrow morning.

And with her at the start of the 810 will be a crew from the Today Show and the local NBC affiliate in Las Vegas, KVBC. We don't know if they will be airing the piece live or at a later time, but we will let everyone know as soon as we receive word. For those of us outside of the Las Vegas area, we can watch the KVBC live at their website, http://www.kvbc.com.

So far there has not been any indication that Leigh has lost her kids' inheritance at the blackjack table, nor news of George having married a dancer from Cirque de Soleil. Hopefully they will make it until 9:00 AM tomorrow and leave Las Vegas as free of sin as when they arrived. Ahem.

And don't forget to check out www.lisas810.com to fly over the course Lisa's running and to get the latest news and, of course, to donate to help the cause. We're already at $240,000.00 -- help us reach the goal of $500,000.00!

-Marianne