Team Born 2 Run [Boston]
Aimee, Bob, Emily, Katie, Glen, and Betsy

100 miles
6 people
1 van
2 nights
17 hand-offs
12 pairs of sneakers
3 old friends (Katie, Aimee, Betsy)
3 new friends (Glen, Bob, Emily)
90 degrees
4 cases of water
18 sets of sweaty clothes
14 hours
2 rounds of beer
1 condo with 15 beds

100 miles on Route 100, Heart of Vermont Relay

Canadian Triathlon

The best run I've had in months: 2 miles straight down a rocky trail, followed by 2 miles straight back up the same rocky trail.

Fred and I just returned from a 10 day road trip in Canada that was filled with camping, beaching, hiking, running (a little), and good seafood. We drove and camped all over Nova Scotia, and concentrated most of our time in Cape Breton Island national park. Between the cliff drives, whale watching, local beer sampling, and photographing, we also found time for some hiking, trail running, and swimming....which we later found out is known as the Canadian Triathlon.

After a quick 6 mile hike around the Skyline Trail outside of Cheticamp Nova Scotia, we headed towards the Fishing Cove trail, hoping to just get a short trail run in before grabbing some lunch. What we didn't know was that the trail was STRAIGHT down a rocky gorge for 2 miles....think burning quads and twitching muscles by the time we reached the bottom. But we were rewarded at the bottom by the most beautiful, pristine, isolated beach I've ever seen: clear blue water, cliffs on either side, a small freshwater stream, and bald eagles soaring up above.

view from the trail head at Fishing Cove

Soaking up the scenery, we steeled ourselves for the 2 miles straight back UP the gorge. It took a lot of willpower and quad strength, but Heartbreak Hill has nothing on me now! We rewarded ourselves with a picnic at another little isolated stream, and took a quick swim before heading off to do some more sightseeing.

How can you not have a good time with a boyfriend that looks like this?

Little Betsy and Dad run a Big Race

Today was the annual Beach to Beacon 10k in Cape Elizabeth Maine--something of a family tradition for the Gotts. The 10k race began 12 years ago by none other than Joanie Benoit, my running hero and fellow Bowdoinite. Since the inaugural Beach to Beacon, my Dad has run all 12 years, and my brothers and I have joined him whenever our summer schedules allow.

As things usually are in the Gott Family, the race becomes The Competition of the summer. When my brothers Ted and Tom run, we always talk a big game and try to out-train, out-talk, and out-run each other. When it's just Dad and me, I always train secretly and then try to crush him after the first few miles.

Last year's Beach to Beacon fell during my training for the Chicago Marathon....and being in really good shape, I ran a 10k PR. Today was a completely different race though. Coming off this knee pain and having raced just 36 hours ago in Boston, I decided to stick with Dad for the whole 6.2 miles this year. He (literally) dragged me through the first 3 flat miles, and when we hit the hills at mile 4ish, I actually started to feel a little more warmed up.

This race is fun and special because I started running it way back as a semi-interested high school runner. I wasn't very fast, or very excited about running, but it was a fun thing to do with my Dad. It was neat to run with him this year because Dad was a huge reason I ever started running in the first place! He ran in high school and at the University of Maine, and even when I brought up the rear in high school track meets, he was supportive and excited. We crossed the finish line together this morning, and although I tried to let him win by a step, we actually tied in the official results!

Here's how we spent the rest of the afternoon: