Being able to provide end-of-life care to a loved one is a blessing. Vicksburg resident Lisa Kreutz helped her father fight a brave battle for 17 years before his disease brought about his end. The long battle had a profound and lasting effect on Lisa.
At the end she was 55 years old and needed a release, so she turned to running. Running helped her “zone out’ and provided some mental relaxation. It may have been a response to her father’s illness; he was in a wheelchair toward the end of his battle. Early on she ran three times a week. Now, at the age of 63, she runs twice weekly.
Somewhere in her early running hobby she decided to take part in a 5-kilometer race. The hobby would soon become what some would call an obsession. Running became part of family vacations. She would find races in the states they were visiting. The expansion of running in other places was exhilarating, and soon vacations were expanded to run races in nearby states. And somewhere along the road the end goal became to run races in each U.S. state.
In the 48 contiguous states, this meant driving with her husband Chris Kreutz and the family dog, Hailey, at the beginning of the journey, and then Bronson after Hailey passed away. Chris and the dog were assigned to meet Lisa at the finish line at each of those races. The most races completed in a two-week vacation was six, in six different states in the northeastern U.S. Chris and the dogs did their job in each state other than from Alaska and Hawaii. Both required air travel, so Chris was on his own to greet Lisa at the final two races.
The quest was completed with a final race on January 20, 2024. It took her 2,821 days, or almost 8 years. Total miles in training and races added up to just under 3,371 miles. Lisa ran in 25 states under the age of 60 and the other 25 over. The highest elevation in her quest was 8,723 in Laramie Wyoming, and the highest elevation gain was 634 feet in a five-mile trail race in California. Lisa finished in the top three in 12 states, and her personal best time was 28:23 in Greenwood, Mississippi, where she won the Grand Master Award for being the first female over 40 to cross the finish line. The quest began with a race in Ohio and finished with a race in Hawaii. One of her races, in Omaha, Nebraska, was run virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic.
All the memories hang in the Kreutz home on a wall plaque picturing the 50 U.S. states and holding all the medals received. Close friend and neighbor Patti Bowen describes Lisa as an “inspiration,” and points out that her grandson Brayden Odell, 17, is being mentored by Lisa. Patti adds, “Lisa gave a plaque, identical to hers, to Brayden and he has already completed races in 9 states.”
(Writer’s note: This story was completed with information provided solely by Chris Kreutz and Patti Bowen to surprise Lisa with this tribute. This explains why the obvious question of “What’s next?” was not asked.)
