Meet Lizzy Fowler

Ultra-Marathoner, Survivor, & Documentary Filmmaker

Elizabeth “Lizzy” Fowler is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, ultra-marathoner, and a twice-survivor of sexual violence who has turned profound personal pain into a catalyst for global advocacy. After a career as a Division 1 volleyball player, Lizzy’s life was redefined by a traumatic brain injury that left her in a coma for two weeks. She awoke to a world where she had lost her sense of taste and smell, along with all memories of her life before the injury. Just one year later, while still navigating this new existence, she survived a sexual assault—followed by a second attack years later during a training run.

Amidst the darkest parts of her life and the weight of intense PTSD, Lizzy found glimpses of light by utilizing flow state as a gateway to healing and truth. Following her second assault, Lizzy retreated from Florida to the High Sierra, skiing 14 miles into the wilderness to live off-grid in solitude near the John Muir Trail. It was there, amidst the relentless beauty and demanding terrain, that the mountains offered a mirror rather than an escape, continually showing her what she was capable of and challenging her to transform this profound pain into something meaningful to help others.

This realization—that she could transform the experience rather than be defined by it—birthed the “Unsilenced Miles” project. This mission takes a story once meant to be hidden and carries it across high-altitude mountains in an attempt to set a 223-mile Fastest Known Time (FKT) on the JMT. By partnering with organizations like Take Back the Night, Lizzy integrates her identity as a filmmaker and elite athlete to break the silence and empower those without a voice. Whether through documenting the largest flow state data set in history or pushing her limits on the trail, Lizzy proves that “feeling alive” is about how we inhabit our own skin—even when facing our greatest discomforts.