Perseverance in the face of heart-breaking loss is what put a South Burlington doctor

Perseverance in the face of heart-breaking loss is what put a South Burlington doctor with ties to Joe’s Pond in position to run the full 93-mile Lamoille Valley Rail Trail, and it’s what got him to the finish line in St. Johnsbury on Saturday. Chris Hebert ran across the state, beginning at one end of the rail trail in Swanton at 5:02 p.m. on Friday and finishing at the other end in St. Johnsbury at 11:46 a.m., Saturday, in St. Johnsbury. A doctor who owns and operates a medical practice in South Burlington and owns a summer home at Joe’s Pond in West Danville, Hebert is now credited with the fastest known time of a rail trail run at 18 hours, 44 minutes. In fact, he may be the first to have done it, as the LVRT is newly-constructed. The 93-run itself is not the full distance of the journey. It began in the days after Hebert’s wife, Lisa, died of cancer in February. Hebert said he needed to set a big goal to occupy his mind and time and give him a purpose as he learned to cope with the loss of his wife. The LVRT run was that goal. Hebert is an experienced long-distance runner, but until last weekend, 62 miles was the furthest distance he’d gone. The LVRT run was the first time he’d run overnight. Hebert credits a support system of friends and family for encouraging him to the starting line and seeing him through to the finish. He was alone for none of the 93 miles. In some stretches, multiple people ran or biked alongside him.