We can still do the 508.

Hi there folks -- it's your celebrity guest blogger here with a non-update post.

Lisa may not have reached the finish line at 29 Palms, California* but we can give her a 508 that she'd much rather attain.

On Friday's blog post we announced that Lisa's 810 has raised over $500,000 for AIDS Orphans Rising, the incredible organization that works to shelter, feed and educate children in Africa and elsewhere so they can become healthy, self-reliant adults. Since 100% of donations go directly to the children -- not a penny to salaries, rent, administration and the like -- it means that those half a million dollars will go directly to helping these orphans.

Let's complete the 508 by raising just 8,000 more dollars by the time Lisa gets home. Send the news to all your friends, acquaintances and family members and ask them to donate whatever they can afford. $10, $100, $1000, $1,000,000 - any amount brings us closer to $508,000.

With the donations that folks have been sending via the internet just during the time that Lisa's been riding is $420.00. We can raise $7,580 within 24 hours if everyone does a little outreach. And of course, if you haven't had the chance to donate yet, you can do so here.

Thanks! And like Will Abrams wrote to Lisa in a great comment -- "All the children don't care about the desert cup, just survival. You have ensured this!"

-M

*Did this town actually name themselves after a Robert Plant song?

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Update

Just a quick note to let everyone who has been checking the time splits page know that Lisa is okay and at the hotel.

Lisa didn't make it to Almost Amboy this year, but did go far beyond what she was able to do last year. I'm afraid I don't have many details to offer, but I did get a message earlier on from Cathy about the weather: "bitter cold, rain and wind... Lisa is having a hard time with the wind. Very strong, gusty winds.... 30-40mph with stronger gusts."

As soon as I hear more, I'll give updates.

Baker ------> Kelso (mile 417.55)

The 508 website has been updated with non-time warp stats, and Lisa passed Kelso around 7:00 PM! She's en route to the second to last stop at Almost Amboy.

Those who followed Lisa's previous attempt at the 508 know that she didn't make it to Kelso last year. She was forced to stop just 100 miles from the finish due to a very serious back problem.

But this year is different, not in a small part due to the fantastic bikes she's riding thanks to the generosity of some amazing people.

For non-cyclists like myself, a bike is a bike. But to take on one of the hardest endurance bike races in the world like the 508, having the appropriate bike can mean the difference between finishing and a DNF.

Last year Lisa rode over 400 miles on a bike that wasn't suited to her, and wasn't ideal for the conditions of the particular race. Her back paid the price. This year, she's riding on some beautiful bikes.

The first one comes thanks to Leigh Corbin and her friend Dr. Kay (below) of the most wonderfully named "Ouch Sports Medical Center". This BMC bike is "fast and amazing" according to Lisa. She'll be using it for climbing.

The second bike is lent to her by her friend Aran and is a lovely little pink number which looks very sharp with Lisa's Pearl Izumi shirt, I must say.

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The third bike was sponsored by a very good friend of Lisa's who does not want to be named.

So this year, rather than one bike that proved to be the wrong one, Lisa has three bikes thanks to some very generous friends. As Lisa said to me the email describing the bikes and the people who provided them: "What can I say? I am blessed..."

Mini-Update.

Time warp confirmed.

Apparently the race timers were just a bit behind on posting the results because they've now put up the info that Lisa blazed through Shoshone at 27 hours and 22 minutes.

She then cycled through a wormhole somewhere around the Ibex Pass, because according to the site she cruised into Time Station #5 in Baker at 7:00 hours and 55 minutes.

I hear that based on the special theory of relativity Lisa could theoretically, be traveling faster than the speed of light. Skeptics might argue that this would be impossible due to the fact that to accelerate to the speed of light any particle, including Lisa, having subluminal velocity would require infinite energy. This means that to surpass the speed of light (in a homogeneous space) Lisa would need more than infinite energy. However, this can easily be explained-- Lisa has many, many packets of GU in the crew van.

Should Lisa have cycled through an alternate energy-vacuum located somewhere between the World's Largest Thermometer and the Mad Greek Restaurant both in Baker, then she could indeed have arrived at Time Station Five in 8 hours.


Or the website could have just screwed up.

Shoshone ------> Baker (mile 382.62)

Mild heart attack averted.

I've been obsessively checking the Time Station splits page on the Furnace Creek 508 site like a woman desperately trying to avoid exercising. (Which, I most certainly am not doing. Not at all. Not one bit.)

The more I hit "refresh" the more anxious I get. There's been no time posted next at Shoshone. It's a very tough stretch with tons of incline, and I've noticed that the DNF rate is increasing exponentially. I knew that Lisa wasn't one of those folks, but the fact that she hadn't hit Shoshone meant she hadn't finished 73 miles within 14 hours of riding.

Add to that the fact that she hadn't shown up on Spot for a while, I got a wee anxious. I text Jay, just because he loves it when I text him repeatedly. But he writes back that he's heard nothing. I call Colleen, my trusty repository of all news. No word.

Finally, I get a text back from Jay that Lisa is 14 miles outside of Baker which means the official 508 website didn't report her stop at Time Station #4. Which can only mean that she blew by them so quickly they weren't even sure if what had passed them was human.

So forget about Shoshone; our girl is practically at Time Station #5, Baker. Word on the web is that this part of the 508 is the least hellacious of the 8 stages. This is a bit like saying having your pinky toe gnawed off by rabid wolves is the least hellacious of the 5 toes, but I suppose it's something.

I'll update the blog when Lisa hits Baker. Assuming that she goes by it slow enough for them to register her time.

Furnace Creek ------> Shoshone (mile 326.39)

Just a quick update -- Lisa finished up the most brutal section of the race and clocked into the Furnace Creek Time Station at five minutes before 6:00 AM. (17 hours and 55 minutes)

NB: Never have an art major figure out your splits. If the race started at 7:00 AM on Saturday morning, I can safely say -- after 6 hours of careful study -- that 18 hours later cannot be 6:00 AM on Sunday, unless Lisa cycled through a worm hole in Towne's Pass.

According to sources who are knowledgeable in these sorts of things, 7:00 AM plus 18 hours = 1:00 AM, not 6:00 AM.

No recent news from the crew, but checking in with their Spot, we can see that Lisa is indeed closing in on Shoshone. Spot 1 is her location at 07:49:33 a.m and Spot 2 is her location at 09:19:56 a.m.

Trona -----> Furnace Creek (mile 252.89)

Ole Eichhorn has done an amazing "route recon" page for the 508, and here's the description of the Trona to Furnace Creek 99 mile stretch.

This is definitely the "queen stage" of the whole ride, with plenty of rollers, long flats through the desert, a massive climb, and a massive descent at the end down into Death Valley. And much of it will be ridden in the dark, whew. Not to mention an uneven road surface through the Panamint Valley.

The only good thing about this stage is that Lisa could do it with her eyes closed. Yes, it's the same place she was just 12 weeks ago, only on two feet instead of two wheels. Not including all those Death Valley training camps, I count at least 10 times Lisa's been racing out there on those roads. She knows what she's doing, which is the only thing that keeps us from going completely out of our heads with worry.

California City ------> Trona (mile 153.78 mi)

here's Lisa in the stretch between California City (TS#1) to Trona (TS#2). This section is where the heat blasts hardest, apparently. Look at a topographical map, and you'll see long expanses of flat desert. (In fact, this route passes the Honda "Proving Center"). But maps are deceptive, as they don't show the phenomenon known as "Desert Rollers".
Lisa & Crew blasted through the rollers and hit the Trona Time Station at 9 hours and 41 minutes.

Now on to Lisa's home-away-from-home: Furnace Creek.

Lisa's "spotted"

Thanks to one of her incredible sponsors, we've been able to locate Lisa despite her crew being out of Blackberry range.

Spot Tracking Device has a page where we can log in and get the whereabouts of Lisa's last message which indicates not only that she's okay, but that she's right about here:Actually, she passed that a while ago (at 3:43 PM) but it's such a nifty thing to be able to spot her whereabouts on a map that I just had to share it with y'all.

As for the latest update, you can check out the webcast on the official 508 site, right here.

Whoooooooooosh.....

...is the sound Lisa makes as she flies by. She came into Time Station #1 (California City) in 5 hours and 19 minutes at 12:20, with 83.60 miles behind her... And she's lookin' good is what we hear from our trusty crew.

508 = 500,000!

Just 14 hours before Lisa hits that starting line for the Furnace Creek 508, the news officially came in. Thanks to everyone who has donated.

= Lisa's 810 has raised half a million dollars =

That's $500,000.00 of which 100% is going straight to help those kids who need so much to be able to succeed. Sister MaryBeth is right now in Brazil working right now to help AIDS Orphans. Let's see how much we can raise OVER this amount!

After running, a quick recovery and back to work

Well, after running all those miles, climbing the insane Mount Whitney, going back to Vegas and then going back home.... it's back to work.

Lisa came home to a mere 1,651 emails in her Inbox. A good 500 seem to be from either Mr. Moses Odiaka from the credit and accounts department of Union Bank of Nigeria or an anonymous Samaritan giving her stock tips for an undiscovered company with Big News. Either way, it looks like Lisa is poised to receive a wad of cash for AIDS Orphans Rising!

In fact, so diligent is Lisa in her work that I received an email asking if I have been following my training schedule while she was away. Because I know how busy Lisa must be, I decided to not respond to that question. I was just thinking of her. Really.

Now that the crew has access to computers, the photos are coming in fast and furious. We're working on a thorough gallery which will be up shortly, but here are some great links in the meantime.

Ben Jones, a wonderful guy and great photographer also known as the Mayor of Badwater, has a set of 559 photographs from the Badwater Ultramarathon. The above photo is number 529 or so-- if you pop ahead to the 520's, you'll see a series of fantastic finish-line photos. (By the way, Leigh and Annemarie are in the crew van behind the runners, which is why you don't see them in the picture.)

Ben Jones' Gallery

Crew member Annemarie Deal's Gallery

Crew member Leigh Corbin's blog has great photos too.

Even without the checks that have been mailed in to Sister Marybeth directly, we're up to almost $400,000.00 for AIDS Orphans! So close to the goal of $500,000.00.... The fundraising site, www.active.com/donate/lisas810 will be Open and Ready For Business throughout the entire 810, so you can still donate throughout the summer.

We'll keep everyone updated and alert you to the airdate of the Today Show piece as soon as we get word. In the meantime, here's Part II of the radio piece on Lisa's 810 from Endurance Planet and a video that Leigh put together:

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Stages 1 & 2 of L810 - COMPLETED.

Lightning, snow, rain.... the weather at Mt. Whitney is pleasant this time of year.

Despite the weather, they made it. And Sister Marybeth experienced her first mountain climb. For her very first climb she chose the highest summit in the continental US. How's that for chutzpah! Well done!

Despite the frightening picture, Lisa is doing well. In her own words she said "whew... I am one cooked rooster." Which I never really considered Lisa to resemble, but I won't argue with the woman.

And of course, where Lisa goes, so goes the quilt...

Speaking to Terry this morning he sounded the most relaxed and coherent I've heard him in a long time. He was at breakfast with George, but he said "we decided to let Lisa sleep in."

And that there, my friends, is just a small example of the crew's generosity. Okay, okay-- they were more generous than that. They really did go through an amazing amount of discomfort, to put it euphemistically, during all these days to help Lisa make this enormous challenge in the name of charity actually possible. As strong and strong-willed as Lisa is, no one could do this alone.

And of Lisa's strength and will, I am reminded most of something Mahatma Gandhi said:

All of my most secret inventions are cooking and simmering in here. Old Slugworth would give his false teeth to get inside for just five minutes, so don't touch a thing!

Oh. Wait. No, that was Willy Wonka. Sorry about that. Here's the right one:

Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.

While Lisa does possess a great deal of the the former, she has an almost inconceivable amount of the latter-- enough to endure 312 miles of running through an environment most folks take care to avoid. And no doubt much of that will is powered by the knowledge that in her suffering, she is mitigating the suffering of others. And that's a darn noble thing.

Okay, you can start training for Furnace Creek 508 now, Lisa. But first, a milkshake.

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.

LISA'S 810 - No Change for Badwater Route

The course shall remain the same, so sayeth Badwater Race Director Chris Kostman at exactly 10:36 PM PST, or.. approximately 1:30 AM New York time, where I had just finished posting My Big Scoop on the re-routing of the Badwater race course, complete with graphic. Dang.

Well, it was officially announced that they were going to "almost change" the course, but didn't. So cheers all around, L810 goes to Whitney!

Here's a shot of Lisa snapped by the race director himself, not long after Lisa's 10:00 AM start.

(Lookin' sharp in her Moeben sleeves)

STAGE TWO, DAY ONE - midafternoon update

I was only able to speak to Lead Crewmember Leigh Corbin for about 45 seconds today, but that was basically all I needed to find out how Lisa is doing.

Lisa is doing amazingly.

Lisa is an hour ahead of schedule.

How a person can smile after running 177 miles through bats and blisters is something my brain is having a hard time wrapping itself around, never mind having done all that and still having the Badwater Ultramarathon ahead of you.

But Leigh assures me that Lisa is just unstoppable. Also note that Leigh will have internet access tonight when she gets to Lone Pine, so all comments posted here will find their way to Lisa on the course.

More updates (and photos) as I get 'em. You can also check out the webcasts at the Official Badwater site, which also has some great snaps of Lisa and the gang.

LISA 810 - stage one is finished!

After an incredible journey, crew leader Leigh Corbin had enough energy left to give us a full update.

"I am sitting in the crew van and it is almost 10 at night trying to get a signal. I am unable to get many pictures out becuse the signal is so weak. I happen to be listening to the rain pour down right now as I write.

Lisa is doing great. We finished stage one at 1:18 AM this morning. It was the first real night's sleep that we have had since we begun. My cell phone is no longer working so I can not send pictures that way.

Things were tough for Lisa as you would expect. Suffering is part of what Lisa does, and she dose it well. You would be hard pressed to find a woman as kind as Lisa. Even when in pain and struggling, she is always thinking of those around her. She is kind to everyone, even at 2 AM.

Lisa has handled herself like the pro that she is. Strong beyond words. She says that she would not have made it if it had not been for Sister Mary Beth.

Lisa has had some strange challenges while out on the course. One night she was attacked by a bat that had gotten caught in her hair. Last night just as the sun was getting ready to set, she was having hallucinations and thought she saw Indians climbing the mountains with no robes. This sent her into a silly spell and she did not even realize that the crew had put her feet into an icey water bath to cool them off and help to reduce the swelling. This is always painful but was done before she even realized it.

She has absolutely enjoyed the route that had been created for her to run. It was very scenic and beautiful. Early this morning as she touched the Badwater plaque where the race will start on Monday morning; she had great relief. She had done it and with few problems physically.

Her feet are in great shape and her stomach held out till the end where it started to give her a hint of a problem. She feels very determined and knows that many prayers will get her through, that and having Sister Mary Beth by her side. That is an amazing duo! Here is a picture of Lisa at the finish."

Thanks Leigh! Tonight I'll be posting a photo gallery of shots Leigh has sent me on the "updates" page of lisas810.com -- check it out!

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