Everybody Is On The Team

Lisa Smith-Batchen has won some of the toughest races on Earth. She has conquered Badwater 135 and crossed deserts. Lisa has also coached athletes chasing goals many people would call impossible.

But the most powerful part of her story is not found in a race result. It started with someone telling her she was not good enough.

Told She Was Too Slow

As a freshman in high school, Lisa tried out for the cross-country team. She didn’t make it. The coach told her she was too slow. Those words stayed with her for years.

Instead of seeing herself as a runner, she believed what she had been told. She carried that doubt through high school and college.

Looking back, Lisa realizes how powerful words can be.

One comment from a coach nearly kept her from discovering her true potential.

The Race That Changed Everything

Everything changed because of a local Thanksgiving Turkey Trot.

Lisa wasn’t planning to run. She was volunteering. Another volunteer encouraged her to sign up. At first she resisted while saying she wasn’t a runner.

Eventually, someone loaned her the $10 entry fee and she entered the race.

Then she won. Not only did she win the race, she won a turkey. More importantly, she discovered that the story she had been telling herself for years wasn’t true.

She wasn’t too slow or incapable. All she needed was someone to believe in her.

Running For Others

As Lisa’s running career grew, she found success. She won races and set records. Despite that, something felt missing.

Winning didn’t bring the happiness she expected. Instead, the breakthrough came when she started using running to help others.

Fundraising for causes bigger than herself gave her running a deeper purpose. Rather than asking what running could give her, she started asking what running could give to others.

The joy in those moments became bigger than the finish line.

Life Changed In An Instant

Just two weeks before appearing on Enduring Minds, Lisa suffered a stroke.

The experience forced her to slow down and face uncertainty. Instead of responding with fear, she focused on gratitude. She talked openly about trusting her doctors, listening to her body, and being patient. For someone who has spent decades pushing limits, patience has become her newest challenge.

Yet she approaches it the same way she approaches endurance sports: one step at a time.