Ever since she saw photos of the legendary Wilma Rudolph running the 1960 Olympic Games 100-meter race in Rome, Alisa dreamed of becoming a runner. But it took hard work for that dream to become a reality.

Alisa's family moved around a lot when she was in elementary school. Moving around so much made it hard for her to make friends.

Her runninng talent was first discovered by her gym teacher when she won the 600-yard run as part of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. At each of her schools, her gym teachers would encourage her to run and participate in track meets.

Between junior high and high school she grew 3 inches and gained about 20 pounds. She joined the track team anyway in the spring, but she was discouraged by her awkward body. She wanted to call it quits because she just couldn't run like she used to. Her teachers again encouraged her because they had heard about her reputation. She stuck with it, lost the extra weight, and began winning races again.

Following in Ms. Rudolph's footsteps, Alisa attended the University of Tennessee on an athletic scholarship. She was the first person in her family to go to college. As a student, Alisa was an 11 time All-American in track and cross-country and was the 1500-meter NCAA Division I champion in 1986.