Here at runladylike.com, Fridays are all about sharing the inspiring stories of fit people who motivate all of us to be better tomorrow than we were yesterday. My Friday FITspiration series profiles runners, triathletes and casual exercisers who are making choices every day to be as healthy as they can be – in both huge ways and through simple, small victories. Their stories are about the journey of transforming from ordinary to extraordinary each and every day.

Today, I’m excited to introduce you to Lisa Jameson from Run Across the U.S. who ran 50 half marathons in 50 states in 3 years. I had the chance to meet Lisa when we ran Ragnar Trail Atlanta together last month. Lisa is here to tell us what it was like to conquer a half marathon in every state, which were her favorites, how training went, bouts with injury and everything in between.

When did you start running and what inspired you to start?
Like many young impressionable girls before me, in 7^th grade I had a giant crush on a boy who was on the track team: Scott. Although he went to a different middle school, our schools came together to form one track team. And he was my reason for joining the track team in 8^th grade. It turns out; I was pretty good at running. I decided that for high school, I would increase my running by also joining the cross country team. (It didn’t hurt that Scott was also on that team as well.) I kept both sports up all 4 years of high school, and some of my best friendships today were forged during practices. I attempted to continue track in college, but after several months I quit for a variety of reasons and hung up my running shoes until I was 25. Once I got back into running, wouldn’t you know Scott was the one who introduced me to the wonderful world of Ragnar Relay and I was hooked. (I’ve run 10 Ragnar events to date with 4 of them being on Scott’s team).

What made you decide to commit to running 50 half marathons in 50 states?
This is a 2-part answer.

I was peer pressured into my first half marathon – the Country Music Marathon in 2010 – and I didn’t train. It was the worst experience of my life, and ironically, I swore I would never do another. A few months passed, and my girlfriend Becca convinced me I should actually train for one and then re-evaluate. I joined her in our local Fleet Feet half marathon training program and put in the necessary long runs to better prepare myself. At the time, I was a health coach for work. One of my regular members was 60 and still a competitive triathlete. She asked if I was training for anything. I let her know about my upcoming Women’s Half Marathon. Apparently she was an avid half marathoner and her best clocked in at 1:58. True to my competitive nature, I had secret hopes to beat her time by our next appointment in 6 weeks and also gain credibility by giving her advice for her training. I ended up running a 2:15. Since I wasn’t near a 2-hour finish, I looked for another half I could complete. It turns out there was one in Louisville 2 weeks later. I finished in a 2:03 despite constant walk attempts. I knew if I could minimize walk breaks a sub-2-hour was achievable. One of my friends lives in Huntsville, Alabama, and told me there was an upcoming FLAT half in the coming weeks. I made the quick 2-hour drive and surprised myself with a 1:58:57. I thought to myself, since I already had 3 states down, how neat would it be to run a half marathon in every state? This was a fleeting thought for about 2 months.

What sealed the deal for making this an actual goal to pursue was my need to fulfill my sense of purpose. Somewhere along the way from high school to college to “the real world,” I lost both my confidence and myself. I felt that all my peers were farther along in life than I was – home ownership, marriage, kids – all of which I didn’t have. Once both my brothers had their first children in the fall of 2010, I felt more “behind” in the race we call life. I wanted something I could control that would make up for my lack of development in other areas, but also something I could be proud of. In sharing my thoughts with the same friend who got me into half marathons, she said if I decided to race the states she would join me. In January 2011, we made it official and started crossing off the states!

How long did it take you to complete 50 marathons in each state from the time you started to when you finished?
I did have 3 states under my belt before I decided to take the leap to cross the other 47 off the list. Once I made 50 states my goal, it was just more than 3 years.

If you had it to do all over again, would you still have done it?
I would have done it again if all my circumstances were still the same (e.g. age, marital status, job). I lucked out starting at age 26, having a flexible job, being single and having no children. The constant traveling makes it difficult to maintain local friendships, so I can’t imagine leaving a family back home or even asking anyone for permission prior to booking a race. That being said, some of my dear friends I met along the way with the same goal have kids and are married and they make it work, so it is possible.

What was the biggest lesson you learned about running and yourself through your journey?
Very early on, a fellow racer came up next to me and shared a mantra that worked for him that I continue to use when I’m gunning for a time: “Your legs will get you to it if your mind can get you through it.” For me, running is more mental than physical. This journey taught me that if we can quiet that voice inside our head that tells us to slow down or that we can’t do it, we’d truly surprise ourselves.

Additionally, I think we often neglect how important having a sense of purpose is. So many of us just go through our daily routine and don’t have any variety or added value to do something extraordinary. By getting outside of my comfort zone and pushing myself, I’ve not only gained confidence again in who I am as a person, but I truly feel I’ve now embraced living to the fullest and am more open to exploring new opportunities versus playing it safe.

What was your training like? How did your body respond to so much racing?
Due to the sheer volume of how much I was racing, once I had my base, I just did maintenance runs and didn’t have to plan out a schedule. I tried to do a longer run on the weekends and anywhere from one to 3 shorter runs during the week. Although I’m decent at it, I HATE speed work. I’m bad about planning out my runs and then truly pushing myself. Since I realized I needed something to help me get faster, I did a lot of runs on tired legs. I would go to boot camp or some other class and then do my run afterward. This was instrumental in allowing me to get stronger and faster relatively quickly. If you don’t mind speed work, embrace the track! Despite a lot of cross training, I still managed to get injured 3 times during my 3 years due to not listening to my body.

• During the first year, I had IT Band Syndrome from doing ALL my runs with one of my friends who was 1.5 to 2 minutes per mile slower than me. Due to constantly shortening my stride, it put a strain on my hips and shortened my IT Band. ITBS reared its ugly head in the middle of state #5 (Georgia) and it took a solid 3 months before I was back to normal. I learned that although it’s okay to adjust stride/pace occasionally, you have to have some runs just for you as well.
• During the second year, I had Plica Inflammation. I made a rookie mistake and decided to train for an early fall (September) marathon. Nashville had the hottest summer in years (solid month of triple digits and near 100% humidity). I mainly only logged my long runs on the weekends and didn’t do much during the week. I survived the 20 miler and during my 21 miler I started to get severe knee pain. My doctor told me plica inflammation is due to overuse, and in my case, doing too much without proper build-up of mileage. It took about 2 to 3 months of dialing back mileage and taking anti-inflammatories before I could run pain free.
• Finally, in my third year of the journey, I got severe calf pain. Last April, I was sick of my Saucony Guides as I felt they were too bulky. I got re-evaluated and found out that my gait had changed and I no longer needed a stability shoe and could switch to a neutral. I went crazy in researching light stability shoes and settled on the Saucony Mirage 3s. I was in love. My Guides were an 8mm drop in the heel and the Mirages were a 4 mm drop. I didn’t run enough in them before my next half marathon in Maryland and although they felt great and enabled me to PR, within a few weeks I developed severe cramping in my left calf. Anytime I ran longer than 1 mile it would get extremely tight and I would have to walk. Typically in the half distance, it would go away around 8 or 9 miles, but up until then it was brutal. After 4 months of only running my races and lots of foam rolling, it went away.

What was your favorite half marathon you ran?
Hands down Hawaii. Not only was I in paradise in the middle of January, but it was the big 5-0! From the beginning, I wanted Hawaii to be my last state. What better way to end an important part of my life and then kick back and relax? I chose the Maui Oceanfront Half Marathon, and I honestly can say this fit the bill perfectly! When registering for the race, there was a section that said “Tell us something unique about you that we can announce when you cross the finish line.” Naturally, I shared that this would be the 50^th state in my quest. There was one other half marathon runner and 12 full marathon runners who were also running their 50^th state for the race. The race director sent out an email to all participants congratulating us on our upcoming accomplishment and gave us all bib #50. I don’t save any of my bibs, but this one is in the process of being framed!

My parents have always been my biggest supporters in any venture that I tackle, and I was truly touched on race morning when they came out of the bathroom to surprise me with their shirts they had made in my honor! If you have loved ones that can share in your grand finale, it makes it feel like that much more of a celebration!

Lastly, this is hands down my absolute favorite race photo. All my emotions were surfacing as I was getting ready to cross the finish line for the last time on my quest. It’s so hard to put into words everything you’re feeling as you’re winding down, but I think this captures the moment perfectly.

Which was the most scenic half marathon you ran?
I’ve been fortunate to run quite a bit of pretty races, but what stands out the most is the Amica Insurance Half Marathon in Newport, Rhode Island. Although some of the course is run through neighborhoods, a large chunk runs along the Newport Beach/coast and is absolutely breathtaking. I’m a sucker for water, so I enjoyed the waves, ocean breeze and finishing on the beach.

Which was your fastest half marathon?
My intention with racing all 50 states was never to “race” any of them. Three weeks prior to the St. Michaels Running Festival in Maryland, I decided to register and fly out there solo (one of the few races I didn’t have a travel buddy). After looking at the pancake flat elevation, I decided going into it I would just leave it all out there and see how close I could get to breaking 1:40. Although I fell short of my goal and finished with a 1:40:58, it was the first and only time I felt that I pushed myself beyond my comfort zone and I was truly proud and giddy at what I accomplished. When the time comes where I’m ready to tackle the half marathon again, I will be revisiting getting past the 1:40 barrier.

Which half marathon was the most fun?
Honestly I have a tie for this one.

How can you not have fun wearing a tutu? I’ve only splurged on one Disney Race – the Princess Half Marathon at Disney World – and it was a blast. For someone who LOVES taking photos with statues/character /anything cool, this was heaven! I stopped and got a photo with every character and not once did I look at my watch!

The other was pacing my oldest brother Eric for the Air Force Half Marathon. He is 6 years older than me, and growing up we were never that close nor did we have much in common. Running brought Eric and me together, and through my journey he decided he wanted to try and tackle his first half marathon. I was so touched that I could inspire him and was beyond thrilled when he asked if I could pace him to try to beat the 2-hour mark. For the first time, I was running someone else’s race and was able to be their cheerleader and encourager along the way. Watching him cross the finish line and get his medal was far more gratifying than almost all my own finish lines. Since then, he has completed 4 half marathons and is currently training for his 5^th.

What was your least favorite half marathon?
My most miserable race actually had little to do with the organization itself, and more so on temperatures and digestive issues. My St. Louis race tops the cake as worst racing experience. It was April and temps reached 94 degrees. Any marathoner who didn’t cross 10 miles by a certain time was diverted to complete the half marathon. High temps mixed with a protein bar laden with sugar alcohols the morning of the race led to several bouts of diarrhea and vomiting throughout the course. It wasn’t until I had another similar scenario in Pennsylvania before I realized I cannot consume sugar alcohols before a half marathon without having diarrhea (anything that ends in –ol; sorbitol, malitol, xylitol, etc.). You live, you learn.

To the half marathon maniacs out there who are currently trying to run a half marathon in every state or for those thinking about starting their journey, what advice would you give them?

• Learn your geography. Double headers are your friends! Whether you’re driving to your destination or flying, it pays to look at surrounding states to see if it’s feasible to travel to another one in the same weekend. Not only does this cut down on costs, but it also saves you one more weekend of having to be away. Depending on where you live, some states are pricey. For me, New England states can be tricky, and I tried to get as many double headers out of there as I could, but also looking for a cheaper airport and driving when it’s reasonable. I was able to pull off 6 double headers during my quest: Wisconsin/ Michigan, Connecticut/Rhode Island, Idaho/Portland, Iowa/Nebraska, Delaware/New Jersey, Maine/New Hampshire.
• Use your races as a way to reconnect with old friends and family. Many of the races I did were chosen based on my ability to stay with someone for free, but also to spend some quality time with that person. Not only did it allow me to catch up with friends I haven’t spoken with in quite some time, but it also strengthened my existing ones by being able to spend more time together. You may even inspire a few of them along the way to join you for that particular race.
• Have fun with your races. 50 half marathons gets monotonous. Try to throw in some fun themed races to keep you excited about yet another half marathon!

You have never run a full marathon. Do you think one is in your future? Why or why not?
To me, a marathon requires a lot of mental strength – something I’m constantly battling. I did train for the Air Force Marathon 2 years ago since it’s in my home town and my parents would be there. I did not make it to the start line. I know I can complete the training and the race just fine, but I’m stubborn and would immediately want to qualify for Boston on the first time – silly right? I know when I’m able to come to the realization that it’s okay to just run the marathon with no big time goal; that is when I’ll be ready mentally. For the time being, I’ve completely dialed back my mileage as I’ve been enjoying pressure-free running. Eventually, there may come a time when the marathon distance sounds appealing, but it’s not in the immediate future.

How can people connect with you?
Blog: http://runacrosstheus.blogspot.com/
Instagram: @lisarun2
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisa.jameson.33

Do you have a desire to run a marathon or half marathon in every state? Why or why not? How many states have you raced in so far?