All Lisa Caccavale’s life, she has done things that feel rewarding to her. Her journey started in 2003 with her uncle being in the running group known as the Calumet Region Striders which ended with him introducing her to the group. At the time, she had a love-hate relationship with it, as do most runners. Caccavale then joined the Striders in 2004 and the passion for running just grew.
In 2008, she became a board member for the Striders, which led to her becoming the race director in 2017. Being the race director means putting on the well-known Buckley 5 Miler at Buckley Homestead County Park. Half of the profits from the race get poured back into the park.
“I always feel that Buckley Homestead Park is kind of like a hidden gem,” said Caccavale. “Unless you were signed up to do the race, you might not know the beauty that exists back there in the trails, but I think that it's nice to introduce people to the Buckley Homestead Park because it's so pretty.”
The Buckley 5 Miler race is always held on the third Saturday in July. About 150 runners attended the race this year.
Something unique to The Buckley 5 Miler is that it hosts a beat the farmer race. The board will pick two people – one male and one female – who are typically fast runners, and they're considered the farmers. If anybody can beat and outrun them, they win.
It takes Caccavale three months to prepare for the race. Whenever she has the time, she will make awards for the winners as this brings happiness to her heart. This is a prime example of her dedication to the race as she makes the awards herself and goes out of her way to make them different every year. To her, handing these handmade awards to the winners is not only rewarding to the winner but to her as well.
Runners are a close-knit group of people as everyone shares a passion for running with each other. Before the race, everyone goes to bed early on Friday and gets up at the crack of dawn on Saturday to compete. For the board and race director Caccavale, they are up at 3:30 a.m. preparing for the race to come that morning.
Running is also how Caccavale met her husband.
It started when Caccavale designed racing tank tops that she was unsure if people would buy as they fell on the pricier side of the scale. One race day, she noticed that her soon to be husband, Ed, purchased one of the tank tops and began wearing it to races. This intrigued Caccavale, and one day she caught him wearing the same tank top. She then approached him and asked to take a picture with him. After that, she continued to invite him to group runs, and they have been running together ever since.
This then led to them getting married in Las Vegas during the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon in 2017. During this race, you are allowed to get married on the course, so it was a perfect opportunity for these running fanatics. Lisa could not imagine getting married a better way.
“I just knew I was never going to be the type of person that would have like a traditional wedding and have everybody stare at me and have this big dress,” said Caccavale. “So, it just makes sense that we would get married at a race because we both loved to run since that's how we met.”
The Caccavale couple was even featured on the TLC “Say Yes to the Dress” show. Although it was just a snippet of them during the show, this is how they came out to the world as they kept their marriage a surprise.
The couple is always doing something running related. Her husband is a cross country coach, and she is their photographer – which is another passion of hers. If she is not running the race, she is taking pictures of it.
Anytime anyone needs help, she will step in. After working her way up by volunteering for years, she is the official photographer from Mile Five for the Chicago Marathon.
Before Caccavale even got into running, she used to volunteer at the Humane Society and would take animals to nursing homes. She did that for about two to three years, then had to stop after getting into the running club.
“I volunteer a lot, and I've been doing it for a lot of years,” said Caccavale. “Sometimes it's stressful and sometimes you get some of the people who don't appreciate it. But ultimately, it is very rewarding, that's why I continue to do it because I don't have to do it, I choose to do it.”
With all the volunteering she does, it is hard to believe she has time for anything else let alone being a family law paralegal for a rising company. But she does it with ease as she learned to balance her two worlds a long time ago.
Originally, Caccavale worked at Burke Costanza & Carberry LLP for 28 years but then joined the team over at Smith Legal Group LLC.
Smith Legal Group is a family law firm that offers affordable rates, accessibility, and peace of mind in their years of experience to ensure that you receive the best representation possible for your guardianship case. It has been open since 2019 and has been a very busy law firm that is growing and continuously outgrowing the space it resides in.
By the end of the day, Caccavale loves helping families and easing their minds through difficult situations.
“It's not always easy, but I just have to remind myself that this is a very hard time in someone's life that they're going through,” said Caccavale. “It's constantly putting out fires. Every single day is new and different at my job.”
Caccavale had no idea she would ever end up having this job. In high school, all she knew was that she was good at typing and wanted an office job. When she was 19, she was offered a receptionist job at Burke Costanza & Carberry LLP, and from there she worked her way up the law ladder to where she is now.
Throughout her life, Caccavale’s education has been paid for. She attended Calumet College of St. Joseph for two years through an office business program that would help shape and strengthen your office skills and prepare you to work in one. A grant was given to the State of Indiana that made this possible, and only a handful of students would be picked, Caccavale being one of them. Then years later, Burke Costanza & Carberry LLP paid for her to get her Paralegal Studies Certificate at Merrillville Adult Education.
“I always feel like the best way to give back to your community is to really volunteer for something. It could be anything,” said Caccavale. “ It makes you feel good giving back to your community.”