Lisa DeNardo - Strength Personified; Overcoming Adversity & Returning to an Old Friend! | RunChats Ep.67

Lisa DeNardo is a badass single mom to five amazing kids who has overcome some huge life obstacles. She loves to play in the mountains, enjoying ski/snowboard and hiking adventures with her kids. Lisa was in a 7-year marriage, filled with domestic violence and abuse, and it was life or death. Through the help of Victims of Prevention, they secretly moved, got legal help and counseling, and completely rebuilt their life. Lisa is strength personified!

As a kid, Lisa forged a deep connection to running, recalling vividly how the cinder track felt beneath her feet the first time she won a race at a Jessie Owens Meet when she was 8 years old. Lisa had real talent as a runner, competing all four years in the 4x400 at Penn Relays. She earned a scholarship to run at West Chester State, but gave it up because she was feeling the pressure of how to make it all work and decided to focus on Art at school.

Fast forward 20 years, to the onset of the pandemic. When others were out in search of toilet paper, Lisa went out and scored a pair of running shoes. It was time to get reacquainted with her old friend. She laced 'em up and ran every day with her son, who runs high school cross country.

Sharing miles together was special and lit the fire, and her love of mountains and play led her to her new love—Ultrarunning.

"Lacing up those running shoes when there was nothing to do but run felt like the return of an old familiar friend. It felt powerful. Like, here we are again. Let's get to it. We've got unfinished business."

Lisa won some age group awards at trail races, worked her way back from a stress fracture in her foot, and recently finished her 1st Ultra at the JFK 50 Mile. Once Lisa saw that she still carried her passion and drive for running, she jumped all-in to ambassador programs for Altra Running, UltrAspire, and Bigger than the Trail, and connecting with other athletes through these communities has been a game-changer.

I'm so grateful for Lisa sharing her amazing journey and I'm excited to follow her adventures! I hope you all enjoy this convo as much as we did!

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Instagram: @lisadenardo

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