She Believed She Could, So She Did

One of the things these two girls of mine love to do is run! Don't know where they got this love or when it started but they both love to run!

Elizabeth has gravitated towards long distance, and the longer the better she says.

Rachel prefers a mid distance run, think 800m but tolerates and is learning to appreciate a longer run.

At the beginning of the summer their High School Cross Country coach challenged each of the athletes to run 100 miles this summer! Sounds big, but very doable with consistent effort! Elizabeth was motivated as she saw first hand last cross country season what happens when you do not train over the summer. Rachel knew it would be good for her but lacked some enthusiasm. To support the girls in their goal we signed them up to run a 5K on the 4th of July while we were visiting Grandma Sue in Grantsville, UT.

Elizabeth was pleased with her time, it being not far off from where she ended the previous cross country season. Rachel was surprised to learn that during that 5K she took 1st place for her age division with a PR and only a short distance behind her sister.

Right at the end of the summer to spur the girls along they participated in a virtual Ragnar challenge, Chase the Moon, where they were to run 6.7 miles to contribute to the Ragnar worldwide community goal of circumnavigating the moon 5 times.  3.1 miles of that run was done as part of a local 5K race.

In-spite of the heat and waking up early in the summer, I am happy to report that they each reached their goal; Elizabeth running 132.01 and Rachel running 102.97 miles this summer! 

I love watching my girls find an activity they love, find an activity that teaches them to work hard, find an activity that challenges them mentally & physically, find an activity that they can enjoy together, find an activity they can do the rest of their lives and find an activity that shows them that they can accomplish great things when they believe!