Elizabeth (Liz) Duclos-Orsello
Who I am & my journey with (and through) running.
I’m a mother, full-time college professor and administrator, author, busy community volunteer and social justice advocate with an eclectic personal and professional background hard to sum up in a sentence. I’m also an RRCA certified running coach. At 47 years old, running is my solitude, my sanctuary, my solace. It has humbled me when I was at my highest, and lifted me up/saved me when I thought hope was lost. It is been my constant companion through the blessings and the challenges and struggles of the past 30+ years: struggles with anxiety and depression, back surgery, chronic injuries, global moves and upheavals, family tragedies, complications from childbirth, a full time+ job... In these ways my life looks and feels like the lives of many women I have met, even as I’ve benefitted from a range of privileges. And for me, lacing up a pair of shoes has made the world look better on many a day. For this I am grateful.
As a runner at times I’ve been “fast” and seen as “good”. But competition against others is not what it about for me. Frankly, I am quite anxious in competition, and stopped taking part in any races after one year of college. I thought that meant my “running” days were done.
But I never stopped running. I just did it for myself. And when I turned 40 I began to have faith in myself again and I began to realize that running could be about what *I* needed it to be, what lifted me up. I didn’t have to do it like anyone else. I didn’t have to do it for the same reasons as anyone else. I didn’t have to wear the *right* shoes or clothes or do lots of races. I could just run. And it has been glorious. Freeing myself to run for me led me to running for the love of it and along the way I began marathoning. To date I’ve completed 15 marathons, including 5 Boston marathons, a number of smaller ones, and the Alexander the Great marathon in Greece. I’ve done half marathons, a 50k trail race, a 1/2 Ironman triathlon and many costume 5ks too! (I can’t say no to a chance to wear a costume). But mostly I just run by myself, for myself wherever and whenever I can.
I continue to have setbacks yet I keep on, and after years of being too sick or injured to run I find joy in all the ways my body serves me now no matter how or where or when I run: The early morning runs with the sun coming up; the winter runs with images of hot cocoa sustaining me, the runs in new cities and in new-to-me streets of my city, the familiar spots that comfort me, and (even) the steamy summer runs on the hot pavement that make me curse at times but leave me feeling accomplished when they are done.
Because of my jobs, family obligations and opportunities, I’ve been blessed to log miles in many parts of the United States and in more than 13 countries on 3 continents, most often exploring landscapes and locales of people whose lives and contributions have been ignored or overlooked by those in power. And, at the same time, I’ve sought ways to use running to empower or build bridges between and among groups of people who might not connect: across gender, age, language, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality. Among other things, I’ve served as a running ambassador for the city of Boston with its sister city of Strasbourg, France, guided young women to run a 5K in Greece, developed and taught a university course on “The Wisdom of Running”, and offered running meditations as part of a spiritual retreat. I’ve also raised more than $10,000 for social justice non profits through running.
For me, running is about making peace with my body, identifying and celebrating my strengths (even when its hard to see them), and building up stores of self-love and confidence to both manage and thrive in my life and tackle big change in the world we share. Every day I am upright and taking steps forward is a good day. The journey….is the point.
Coda: For those who care about numbers and paces: I ran in high school (1600, 3200, 3000) and college (XC, 3000, 1500) clocking times I can only dream of now. Half marathons, 5ks and marathons have been my races of choice for the past 10+ years with marathons (plus one ultra 50k trail marathon and one ½ ironman triathalon) being the latest addition. All my fastest post-college road racing times were in 2018-19: 5k (20:40); ½ marathon (1:35); marathon (3:22:00). My 1/2 IM was just under 6 hours.