Lisa Valle –
A Fire Breathing Horse

Photos Courtesy of Ken Stone,
masterstrack.com

The two of them were close throughout the race but Andi edged Lisa out on this day. Later on Andi told me that the race was only Lisa’s second attempt at the steeple. Soon Lisa would be getting faster; a lot faster.

But before I talk about her breakthrough, let me tell you about her life prior to 2009. Her parents were originally from New Mexico and her dad worked in the space industry. The family followed him around the country before they settled back in New Mexico.

Lisa attended high school in Alamogordo NM where she met her current coach and longtime friend Rene Sepulveda. He convinced her to go Idaho State as they offered her a full scholarship. Despite athletic and academic success, she left after one year to return home. She finished college at UNM and was a solid but not spectacular collegiate runner.

After college, she kept fit but eschewed racing for 10 years. Then in her mid thirties, she competed in sprint triathlons for a few years. But her old love would soon call her back. In the fall of 2007 she decided that she wanted to give master’s track a try. She contacted Rene and asked him to coach her with the goal of running a fast 800.

In 2008 she ran her first national master’s meet winning the 400 and 800 and placing 2nd to Christine Olen in the 1500. She was back and hooked. She returned to nationals in 2009 in Oshkosh and her 800 and 1500 results were essentially identical to those in Spokane. And of course she won her age group in the steeple.

While she was happy with her 800 performances, she knew she could do better in the 1500. She would have her chance to do so in Lahti, Finland at the WMA championships. She was to run the 800, 1500 and steeplechase races in that order.

The 800 in Lahti is an interesting race to watch. There are several lead and pace changes. Lisa stays close to the front at all times, but never leads. Three women kick strongly in the last 100 and Lisa edges past Germany’s Annette Weis to take the gold in 2:18.17. Obviously she was excited to win a world championship, but winning master’s 800s was nothing new to her.

After the 800, she considered skipping the 1500 to rest for the steeplechase. Rene said she could only run the 1500 if she ran with heart. He told her to stick with pre race favorite Nathalie Loubele of Belgium for at least 1 kilometer. If she died, then so be it.

Loubele’s seed time was 20 seconds faster than Lisa’s, so it seemed a tall order. But Lisa carried out her coaches instructions to the letter. The Belgian didn’t waffle and the pace through 1K was 3:05. Lisa and Weis and couple of other gals were hanging onto her at this point. Loubele picked up the pace with a lap to go but couldn’t get away from Lisa.

The last hundred was close but Lisa put her away beautifully. The video then shows her face light up in delight and wonder. Lisa had run 4:34.82 and had crushed her master’s PR. The time was just a few ticks off her all time best race at the distance.

I haven’t seen the steeplechase race, but Lisa out kicked world record holder Weis and narrowly missed Weis’ world record with her time of 7:01.91. She was now a three time world champion and the toast of master’s running. However, all of that doesn’t pay the bills so Lisa returned home to New Mexico and to her job.

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Lisa teaches biology at Albuquerque Academy, a prestigious private school with no religious affiliation.

Her kids are top notch students and she says that they keep her on her toes. She really enjoys the challenging atmosphere of a first rate school.

Lisa Valle, Lahti Finland 2009

She also did a little cross country running in the fall. I had a chance to meet her for the first time at club nationals in Lexington last December. I was warming down with her team mate Debbie Lee when Lisa joined us. She had been unable to score for her Southern California club at the race due to USATF rules at the time. When I commented on the rule she sighed and said “can’t we all just run”?

I was struck by the fact that she clearly loved competing and wasn’t interested in politics. I felt an immediate kinship for her. Later that evening Lisa would play a prominent part in one of the most entertaining nights that I have spent in recent memory. It showed that old ladies can have fun too.

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Indoor track was next up for Lisa. The highlight of her indoor season was the world record 4 x 800 meter relay she ran with Terry Ballou, Christine Olen, and Aeron Arlen-Genet. The 9:25.49 that they ran at the indoor national meet in Boston easily eclipsed the old mark. Lisa says that not only are the other women terrific runners, but they are also first rate human beings. She felt honored to have been their team mate.

Lisa also stretched her range by winning the 3000 meter race in Boston in 10:07. While she didn’t know it at the time, she would soon run the distance again.

For the last couple of years I have organized a first rate 3000 meter race for master’s women here in Portland Oregon. Carmen Troncoso and I discussed options for this year’s field. Lisa was the runner Carmen most wanted to see at the race. She knew that Lisa would run hard and make the race honest. She also knew that Lisa was fun to hang out with after the race.

Lisa was receptive when I contacted her, but she had a lot of travel plans this year and a teacher’s salary only goes so far. When I offered to put her up for the weekend, she said she was in.

Her goal coming into the race was to break 10 minutes. For most of the race she led a 4 woman pack behind winner Trina Painter. Kirsten Leetch moved past Lisa with two laps to go and gapped her a little bit. But Lisa fought back with a strong kick to run 9:56 for 2nd place.

Lisa’s next race was a world record attempt in the steeplechase. The old W40 record was 7:01.77 and Lisa obliterated it with her 6:52.60 at the Western Region master’s championships held at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa. The next runner finished almost 4 minutes later.

Most recently she ran the USATF master’s meet in Sacramento. With Karen Steen out with an ankle injury, she was once again all alone up front in the steeplechase.

She was right on record pace throughout the race. You could feel the “crowd” (it was 95 degrees in the shade and there was no shade) get tense as she motored down the homestretch and the clock ticked towards six fifty. She stopped the clock at 6:51.92 and the crowd exploded with applause. It was another world record for her.

From the stands, she seemed in total control of the 800 and the 1500. She had a huge negative split in the 800 to run away from early leader Christine Olen. She still ran 2:17 off of a first quarter that was almost 71 seconds.

The 1500 was tactical. Lisa led early with a couple of 80 second quarters. The pace quickened in the third lap as others tried to blunt her kick. But it was all in vain, as Lisa kicked hard over the final 200 meters, running an effortless looking 4:44. She appeared to be in a different league than her competitors.

Next year Lisa turns 45 and enters a new age group just in time for the World Championships in Sacramento. The W45 steeple world record and several American records at various distances look to be in jeopardy. Not to mention all those world titles up for grabs. This horse is just beginning to gallop.

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Watch Lisa Valle's races at the 2009 WMA Championships, by clicking on these links:

YouTube Video of the WMA W40 800m Lahti, Finland.

YouTube Video of the WMA W40 1500m in Lahti, Finland.

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