708. Elizabeth Smart, Child Safety Activist and Marathoner

Ali on the Run Show

Ali Feller

Fitness, Sports, Running, Health & Fitness

4.9 • 4.2K Ratings

🗓️ 26 March 2024

⏱️ 68 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

"It's OK to prioritize time for happiness. Hard times will come. It's really important to know what happiness feels like to you so that when you're in those dark times, you know that happiness is real, you have hope for the future, and you can hold onto that — that you'll be happy again."

Her story captivated the nation: Elizabeth Smart was 14 years old when she was abducted from her home in Salt Lake City and held captive for nine months. During that time, she was repeatedly raped and abused by her captors. Remarkably, Elizabeth has gone on to live a happy, healthy life. She's a mom of three, and she's a child safety activist and commentator for ABC News. She's also a four-time marathoner. In this conversation, Elizabeth talks about how she found running, the role it plays in her life today, and what the marathon means to her.

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What you'll get on this episode:

The role running plays in Elizabeth's life right now (4:30)
Safety, fear, and running: Elizabeth's take (9:00)
Why Elizabeth's story captivated the nation (13:00)
Elizabeth's feelings on being a victim vs. a survivor (19:00)
When life went "back to normal" for Elizabeth (23:30)
How Elizabeth found running (30:00)
Why Elizabeth decided to run a marathon (37:30)
Why Elizabeth kept running marathons (49:10)
What's next on the run for Elizabeth? (54:25)
On running marathons vs. competing on The Masked Dancer (58:10)
Elizabeth's message to fellow survivors (1:00:30)

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the Alley on the Run Show. I'm your host Ali Feller and every week I talk with people who are doing exciting things on the run and beyond. From professional athletes and
0:14.8	celebrity runners to the everyday, amateur, and back of the pack runner, we are here
0:20.3	to celebrate everyone and anyone who enjoys a life on the run.
0:24.3	Whether you are running towards something big or away from something that's been
0:28.5	holding you back, I am here to hold your hand and help you pick up the pace.
0:34.0	My guest today is Elizabeth Smart.
0:36.8	And if that name sounds familiar, yeah,
0:38.9	it's the Elizabeth Smart.
0:41.2	Elizabeth Smart, who at just 14 years old was abducted from her home in Salt Lake City and
0:47.8	spent the next nine months being held captive, being tortured, being sexually abused, and after nine months in captivity, she was found.
0:58.6	So the story of course has a happy ending, a happy beginning.
1:02.6	Elizabeth has gone on to live a full wonderful life.
1:07.1	She is a mom of three.
1:08.6	She lives in Utah.
1:10.1	And, you guessed it, since she's here on the show,
1:12.7	she's a four-time marathoner.
1:15.8	That's what we're talking about today.
1:17.9	We are talking about how Elizabeth found running,
1:21.1	the role that running plays in her life. and of course we talk about safety on the run.
1:26.0	Elizabeth is a child safety activist and a commentator for ABC News, so she has a lot to say on the topic of safety on the run.
1:35.0	I really appreciated getting to chat with her.
1:37.5	I remember her story from when I was younger and it was really cool to get to talk to her. We didn't talk a lot about her trauma.
	...

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