In Memory of Her Son, Lisa Barton Readies for My Big Run

Lisa Barton, 53, of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, is ready for My Big Run on June 3, 2020. She posted on Fleet Feet’s Strava group that she will run this year in honor of her son.

“I am so excited for this! Last year I PR’d at this event! I haven’t done much since then because my son passed away but I’m back at it and my goal is to PR this year again! Running in his memory and his name!”

In an interview with Fleet Feet, Barton says that the past 20 months were the most difficult of her life. She was tested by her own near-death experience followed by the death of her son, the loss of her job and the uncertainty of COVID-19.

But just before her world turned upside down, Barton started running. She says the journey helped her find meaning despite the difficulties she has faced.

“In the beginning, my son, Ben [Woodward], was the one who got me out the door to run,” says Barton. “In a way, I feel like he was teaching me how to one day run without him and keep his legacy alive.”

Today when Barton goes for a run, she does so in her son’s memory. She writes his name on each new pair of Brooks running shoes and talks to his photo as she laces them up.

Chris Kvech (18) says he still carries the life lessons Woodward taught him in middle school, like how to be the bigger person in a conflict. “He was that guy you could talk to about anything,” Kvech says. “He wouldn’t judge you.”

At the funeral, a group of student athletes from Loch Raven High School approached Barton. “One said that Ben gave him his first pair of running shoes,” she says. “It turned out about six kids said that he gave them shoes.”

As the group shared stories, Barton says, everybody started to laugh. Each student thought they were the only one Woodward had helped. “I think he gave in secret because he didn’t want anyone to feel shame,” Barton says.

She and Woodward knew how it felt to need shoes they couldn’t afford. Barton was a single mom who worked two jobs in order to provide for her four kids. She couldn’t afford new running shoes when Woodward started his first cross country season. So, another family offered to take him shopping.

They bought Woodward shoes, and wouldn’t let Barton pay them back. Instead, they requested that Woodward and Barton help someone else when they could. “I had no idea the extent to which he would fulfill that promise,” she says.

Garrett Harris, 19, was another student who Woodward coached and looked out for. He says, “I didn’t grow up with a father and he kinda took that spot.” Woodward taught him how to be mentally tough, something he also helped his mother with.

What Woodward saw in his mother

“I was overweight as a kid,” Barton says. “I never tried any sports because I didn’t want somebody to make fun of my weight.” Her struggle with negative self-talk and fear of failure got in her way.

Woodward challenged her in March of 2018 at his half marathon in Virginia Beach. She was there to cheer for him and his younger sister, Olivia, 20. Ben crossed the finish line, and she ran to greet him.

“Mom, don't you ever get tired of waiting at the finish line for me?” he said, and held up his finisher’s medal. “Don't you ever want to cross it yourself, and have one of these around your neck?"

In that moment, Barton realized that she did want to run a half marathon. But she wasn’t sure if she could. She was 51 and had never run a step in her life. Ben was an experienced runner and coach. He insisted on training her. They made a goal that she would run the same half marathon the following year.

But Barton's reaction to this setback surprised everyone. “Instead of the typical negative voices coming into my head, a warrior came out,” she says. “I was going to do that half marathon no matter what and I worked closely with my surgeon to make sure that would happen.”

Sure enough, with two months to recover from the fall and her surgery, Barton got clearance to keep training. She completed a turkey trot 5K with her family that November. “My face went numb but I kept running,” she says. “I cried when I crossed the finish line. I was so stinking proud of myself.”

Barton continued to train, and made it to the Yuengling Shamrock Half Marathon in March of 2019, joined by her daughter, Olivia. Ben’s school had scheduled a student trip to France, and he had to miss the race.

Barton ran farther than she ever had. By the ninth mile, her knee was hurting and her toes were asleep. She called Woodward to ask what to do. Incredulous that she would call during the race, he walked her through it, then told her to call back when she was finished. She got past the pain and crossed the finish line. When she texted her son to thank him, he responded, “I gave you the idea, but you did the work.”