Sharing stories is the primary job of Elyse Lamszus, Ph.D., professor in the Department of English at Olivet Nazarene University. In both the general education and major requirement courses that she teaches, one of her goals is to help students step into the power of storytelling through literature, poetry, essays and their own writing projects. Outside of the classroom, she has also discovered the impact of telling stories one endurance race at a time. 
Running with Purpose
Sometime toward the end of her own collegiate journey, Elyse was inspired to hear her university chaplain, Tim Hoekstra, share his incredible story of running 50 miles in celebration of his 50th birthday to raise money for World Vision, a nonprofit organization committed to ending the global clean water crisis. Her interest was piqued, but it wasn’t until almost a decade later, when a World Vision representative spoke in her home church about the opportunity to run the Chicago marathon for clean water, that she really considered how she might get involved.
Less than a year prior, Elyse and her husband had welcomed their first child. Being reminded of the challenges that many women and children have around the world in acquiring clean water that is necessary for cooking, sanitation and hygiene struck a chord.
“Seeing that many mothers have to walk multiple miles each day to get water for their families — that’s often not even clean — really hit hard for me,” Elyse reflects. “I had run several half marathons, but never considered doing a full. The idea of getting to support the work of World Vision led me to believe that I had the capability of doing a full marathon. I decided to sign up for the marathon as a personal challenge.”
Elyse’s husband was supportive, which meant a lot considering that the training schedule was increasingly intense in terms of the amount of time and energy required. But, with his support and friends and family cheering on from the sideline, Elyse completed her first Chicago marathon in October 2017.
“It was really hard,” she says. “But it was such an amazing experience. I knew after that first race that I wanted to do more.”
The following year, Elyse and her husband welcomed a second child and with two little ones at home, she decided to take the 2019 season off from marathon training as well. In 2020, due to pandemic restrictions, Team World Vision organized a marathon route along the lakefront in Chicago. Elyse completed her second marathon that fall, and although it didn’t count as an official Chicago marathon result, this time, the race itself mattered less. Her purpose had shifted to maximizing her contributions to the work of World Vision.
Early in the training for the 2020 marathon, Elyse completed the initial fundraising goal of $3,000 — enough to provide clean water for 60 people — and was encouraged to raise the goal to $5,000. In 2022, when she signed up to run her third marathon with Team World Vision, she fairly quickly surpassed her initial goal of $5,000 and was again encouraged to up the goal to $10,000. She was amazed that by the end of the race, the entirety of that goal — representing clean water for more than 200 people — had come in.
“That was a lot of money!” Elyse reflects. “I was blown away by the community support. Multiple people made multiple gifts, but even the little bits individuals gave added up to something incredible. It was such a cool opportunity to see God moving beyond my expectation.”
Going Farther, Together
Through her commitment to running for clean water over the past eight years, Elyse has raised more than $50,000 for World Vision by inviting other people to step into her story of running with purpose.
Earlier this year, Elyse took on an additional running and fundraising challenge with Team World Vision, by participating in a 24-relay Women for Women event in Santa Barbara, California. She raised almost $12,000 to support educational and socioeconomic initiatives for communities that have received clean water sources and need additional support for women who now have more time and energy in their days.
“I’ve been reflecting on the ripple effect of running for World Vision,” Elyse says. “People who I’ll likely never meet get to experience life in a different way because of clean water. But even in my own community and at Olivet, I’ve connected with and encouraged other people to get involved.”
Last year, in the starting corrals on marathon day, Elyse met an Olivet student who was also running for World Vision. They ran the first several miles of the course together. At the 20-mile training run that Team World Vision organized along the Chicago lakefront this fall, Elyse connected with several current and former students, including one who ran several miles of the 2024 Chicago Marathon with her. Her example may not be the only reason for the students’ participation, but Elyse’s supportive involvement surely emphasizes the Team World Vision motto to “Go Farther Together.”
On Sunday, October 12, Elyse will join hundreds of Team World Vision participants for the 2025 Bank of America Chicago Marathon. So far, they have raised over $4 million by using their abilities to support the lives of people around the world. It’s a story worth telling over and over; step-by-step and mile-by-mile.
To anyone who is compelled to contribute to the work of World Vision, either by donating to a marathon runner’s fundraising efforts or by signing up to train for a 2026 race, Elyse encourages getting involved without hesitation.
“Just do it!” she says. “I want people to dream big and think big — see what God can do.”
To support Team World Vision through Elyse’s marathon fundraising page, visit www.teamworldvision.org/chicago25 and search for her name at the bottom of the page. For more information about the Department of English, visit Olivet.edu/Academics.
