It was inevitable that our four-year old granddaughter Nola would eventually run a race. After all, she’s been tagging along to races ever since she was born, as her mother Gretchen and father Dave, ran trail races and camped thoughout the Pacific Northwest. As you can see by the photo below at an early age she would often run with Dave on one of their many camping adventures. She had already camped on Mount Rainier before she was a year old.
Nola Started Running Early-Following Dave on One of Their Many Camping Trips
So Johna and I were not surprised when Gretchen told us she wanted to run a kids fun run 1-k race to be held in conjunction with the Deception Pass 50 and 25k trail races in Oak Harbor, Washington on the coast north of Seattle. On Saturday Dave ran the 50k race, and Gretchen the 25k on Sunday, which started just before Nola began her race accompanied by Dave.
Nola has her own style. No Vaporflies for her. She ran the race in her rain boots. Not unusual for a girl from the rainy Northwest. Her Christmas themed headband features two upside down feet, presumably representing Santa or an elf going headlong down the chimney.
Starting Line-Everyone is Number 1
Nola and Dave Rounding the Bend
You may think, “Well of course she runs. Look at what Gretchen and Dave do. It’s in her genes.” But it’s not. Nola was adopted as a newborn, so maybe this is an instance where “nurture,”not “nature,” is the answer. Watching all those adults running has to have had an influence on her. In any case, we have no idea what lies in store for her running, but we know she will do it in her own way, with her own expressive style. Go Nola!
runforeverblog 