I talk with Liz Warner, an inspiring woman who combined her love of travel with helping others. In early 2019, Liz launched Run to Reach, an 18-month fundraising campaign based on running 30 marathons in 30 countries before turning 30. Her goal was to raise money to support local women-empowerment organizations in each country. We talked only a few days after she successfully completed her project. Liz shares what sparked her love of travel, why she started running, and what inspired her to create Run to Reach. She also shares some challenges, and how this unique experience has changed her.
I do have to mention that I conducted this interview at midnight, and although I managed to be coherent I forgot to select my professional mic as my audio input. Sigh. Please forgive my lame audio quality. Thankfully Liz sounds great!
What You’ll Learn
- What sparked Liz’s love of travel
- What led her to start running marathons
- How the idea of Run to Reach was born
- Her experience living in Japan for 5 years
- Her approach to her international project
- How she managed to finish all 30 marathons, despite the pandemic
- How much she raised for organizations
- About the subculture of marathon travelers
- How she funded her project and travel costs
- About her final two races which happened during the COVID-19 pandemic and the anti-racism uprising
- What Paris has been like during the pandemic
- How the Run to Reach project transformed her
- What her future plans are
About Liz Warner
Born and raised in Atlanta, Liz turned to running almost 7 years ago while living in Tokyo as a way of grappling with her father’s recent passing. Soon after, she decided to combine her new love of running with her passion for travel and deep, deliberate exploration of other cultures. In 2019, Liz launched Run to Reach, an 18-month marathon fundraising campaign with the goal of running 30 marathons in 30 countries before turning 30 in June of 2020. She raised $51,000 to support local, women-empowerment organizations in each country visited. Instrumental to Liz’s mission was her desire to leave a positive social impact on the countries she visited, one equal to their impact on her. Liz’s journey has taken her everywhere from the dense jungles of Sierra Leone, to turquoise waters in Yemen, to the central highlands of Afghanistan – undertaking some of the world’s toughest marathons. Whether it’s transforming education facilities in local towns and villages or providing women with the resources they need to become leaders of change, Liz hopes that Run to Reach will support change around the world.
You can find out more about Liz on the Run to Reach website, and say hi to her on Instagram or Facebook.
Sponsors
This episode is sponsored by Waypoint Goods, makers of beautiful and functional travel scarves and journals. Globetrotter Lounge podcast listeners get a 15% discount – enter JETSET at checkout.
The episode is also sponsored by Manta Sleep. Their sleep masks and other sleep accessories help you maximize enjoyment of life and unlock your full potential through achieving quality sleep. Use JETSET to get 10% off at checkout.
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