NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Like many in Commodore Nation, Vanderbilt track and field assistant coach Lisa Morgan packed a bag and hit the road in March. But this wasn’t a spring break excursion. And there were no beaches in sight. From Nashville to Nanjing, China, by way of San Francisco and Beijing, Morgan trekked more than 30 hours each way to coach Team USA’s distance runners in the World Athletics Indoor Championships.
Counting the return leg, she spent about as many hours on planes and waiting out layovers as were allotted to the entire three days of competition in China.
The trip produced tangible results. Americans in her charge won medals and set personal bests. Still, Morgan’s life and travels in track and field are evidence that the clock and medal stand rarely tell the whole story. Returning to Nashville and her Vanderbilt student-athletes, she can spin tales about Americans sweeping the men’s and women’s 4×400 relays and other glories. But stories about lost luggage, sightseeing mishaps and the small moments of camaraderie that make long days memorable offer insight of their own.
Not all lessons come from the medal stand. They come instead in how you get there.
“To be on that level, the training is different, the commitment is different,” Morgan said. “The athletes that make it at that level, they train, they’re committed and they sacrifice. That’s what I share with our student-athletes, that to achieve your goals you’ve got to sacrifice and want it, mentally, spiritually, emotionally and physically. It’s about really putting together the whole package and going for it.”
In other words, the lessons come from a life spent giving yourself over to the journey.
She’ll point to Team USA athletes as examples. They aren’t the only ones.
Julia Rosenberg, Audrey Allman and Lisa Morgan celebrate during the Music City Challenge (Alondra Munoz Sandoval/Vanderbilt Athletics).
Her Own Amazing Race
Growing up, Morgan dreamed about what happened on the track. Where that track was located didn’t matter. She dreamed about being an Olympian, not traveling the world to get there. A standout collegiate middle-distance runner at Kentucky, she got closer than many, but it was coaching that turned out to be a ticket to the world.
A celebrated prep and collegiate coach in New Jersey, where she’s enshrined in the New Jersey State Coaches and Armory Coaches Halls of Fame, among others, she has been on the USA Track and Field…