Lisa Hogben

Team Running Free Alumni

Age: 54

Member Since: 2011

Occupation: Accounting

Home: Orangeville

About Me: I joined a Learn to Run clinic in 2005. My first race was the Summer Solstice, that led to 5 Peaks and then to road races. In 2006, with 12 races under my belt, I joined a Learn to Tri clinic. I started with the Womens Only Triathlon and then the Suburu Triathlon Series. I have raced over 100 Runs and Tri's including the Mississauga Half Marathon and the Muskoka Half Ironman. I have been a Group Leader in the Running Free Start to Run since they opened 5 years ago, and helped launch the Beginner Women's Only Triathlon Group in Orangeville.

Athletic Goals: In 2009 I trained for and raced The Muskoka 70.3 Half Ironman. I was slow but I finished the race. I planned on returning the following year with lessons learned but was sidelined by Breast Cancer a few weeks after that race. I have spent the last few years trying to recover from 4 surgeries and to just keep working at it and never give up. I used what I learned in training and racing to get me through Cancer and I owe a great deal to the sport and the wonderful people I have met in running and triathlon community. My goal is to continue to build up my fitness level and slowly rise up the stat sheets. I hope that one day I will return to Muskoka 70.3.

My most catastrophic racing experience was: The Missassauga Half Marathon was an amazing experience but it was a lesson in how not to train for a marathon . I panicked a few weeks before the race and ran the full distance in my two training runs when I should have been tapering and hurt my knee. My knee popped on the 10th km in the race and I was so determined to finish that I walked/ran and hobbled the rest of the way. It took over a year for my knee to recover. I now advocate using a coach and following a training plan.

My most memorable racing experience was: The Muskoka 70.3 Half Ironman. Having my Husband and 3 Sons, my parents and friends cheering me on in the last kilometre of a 112k race is a memory I will never forget.

Favourite Race: Chase the Coyote

Favourite Race Food: Endurance Tap