About 241 Runners Awareness
When given the diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy for her newly born daughter Dione, Ms. Lisa A. Thomas’ life began to make a drastic shift. After years of searching for the best possible medical care for her daughter and building a home in Houston, TX to ensure close proximity to the doctors which proved most competent to care for her daughter, Ms. Thomas became acquainted with an overarching problem she had never been exposed to previously. Lisa Thomas was exposed to the ever-present reality of non-existent childcare resources for her daughter and thousands of others with special needs. Armed with perseverance and an indomitable spirit, Ms. Thomas set out to aid in developing a program wherein she could offer childcare resources to the entire Houston community and in so doing, create resource and advocation programs for special needs children and their caregivers worldwide. This program opened numerous doors for Ms. Thomas and has borne fruit in many different ways. Lisa has served numerous children in the special-needs classroom as a paraprofessional, she has aided the Texas Department of Child Protective Services as a specialist in fostering children with special needs and those that are deemed medically fragile. Ms. Thomas has used her voice to improve public school inclusion initiatives and special-needs classroom monitoring programs state-wide. Within her sacrifice of time as a foster parent. Ms. Thomas legally adopted five of the numerous children she fostered and continues to work tirelessly to ensure that the children she cares for receive the utmost care available in all areas of their development. After over 30 years of providing care for countless adults and children through the development of Group Home facilities, Adult Day Habilitation, Host Companion Care, and Respite for parents and caregivers, Lisa A, Thomas has proven that the world does include those who give all to fight for the voiceless. Now, after many years of advocacy and care for the special needs’ population, Lisa has garnered new triumphs as a celebrated triathlete and has founded a new non-profit endeavor for voiceless populations worldwide. As a triathlete, Lisa’s accomplishments are unmatched. She completed her first triathlon in 2020 and within the same first year of competing, she completed 21 triathlons. Due to her massive achievements in the sport, Lisa became a member of Team USAT Foundation Ambassadors in 2022, a member of Team USAT Foundation Ambassadors Leadership Team 2023, and is currently a member of Team USAT Foundation Ambassadors 2024. She competed in the Stoney Point, NY Toughman Nationals Championships Long Course AquaBike 2021, where she qualified for Team USA. Lisa represented the USA in Samirin, Slovakia, in the World Championships Long Course AquaBike 2022, placing 7th in her age group. She then qualified for the Team USA World Championships in Ibiza, Spain, in 2023, completed the Standard Duathlon, and placed 17th in her age group as well as the Aquathlon where she placed 22nd in her age group. She qualified and competed in the Team USA Duathlon and Aquathlon in Townville, Australia in 2024. Lisa was a recipient of the MultiSport Master Award in 2022 and in 2023. In 2024 Lisa was awarded the Multisport Master Legends Award after completing seven races within the competition weekend in Omaha, Nebraska. Lisa is a six-time Ironman 70.3 Finisher. She completed The Ironman 140.6 in 2023 and was awarded The Ironman All-World Athlete Award for 2024. After completing 71 races within 4 years, Lisa continues to be a sparkling diamond in the crown of the global triathlon community. Lisa’s illustrious life as an athlete has greatly influenced her grit and determination as an advocate. Inside Lisa’s athletic accomplishments lives a new mission: 241 Runners Awareness. (241RA) This new non-profit foundation aims to create a unified dynamic identification database that will aid in identifying and tracking at-risk individuals by housing annually updated biometric information via technology. This foundation was inspired by the tragic death of one of Lisa’s adopted sons Israel. In March 2024, Israel ran away from home and then due to his compromised vision, was killed on a highway. Due to unliked databases, Israel was unidentified for six months despite tireless searches. During the search for her special needs son, Lisa identified several very large chasms in our current systems. 241 Runners Awareness will aid in syncing law enforcement systems with state and county identification systems in order to achieve a higher level of efficiency when searching for individuals who become displaced from their families. 241RA will also ensure that adoptive parents are provided with the adoptee's biological markers during the adoption process to facilitate medical treatments and traceability and encourage better media coverage of unidentified accident victims. Lisa A. Thomas’ presence on earth will prove to have lifelong effects on all that she touches. She is a superhuman individual who is empowered by challenges and finds strength in experiences that most people would never imagine attempting. Lisa A. Thomas currently resides in Houston Tx and lives a beautiful life surrounded by children who know her as ‘Mama Lisa’ as well as a host of family, friends, and deep community.