As with most people, my kids are the greatest joy in my life. My oldest daughter, Taylor, just graduated from high school and is moving on to the next phase of her life. She loved to run from an early age. Her consistent smile always reminder me of the joy of running at times when I wasn't doing it for the purest of reasons. As she aged, she started to run with friends and not her old man anymore. As natural as that is for a growing girl, it was a loss for me.

My middle daughter, Megan, has never shown any interest in anything that involves breaking a sweat. She's a completely different kid and I love and appreciate that about her. Imagine my surprise when she came to me in April and said, "Dad, Will you start running with me once a week'? YES!! We have been doing this and it's been great. We've shared a lot with some fun and challenging conversations. Today, we ran the Nielson Challenge together just as Taylor and I did so many years ago. Megan smiled the entire two miles, just like Taylor did. It was deja vu. This 10 year old is showing me how pure running can be by the joy she exhibits just from the act of running. Our future runs will bring joyful, sad and impactful conversations. I often forget how beautiful the sport of running can be from the camaraderie, aesthetic beauty of our surroundings and peace of minds it provides. Thank goodness I have a beautiful little ten year old to remind me of that.....over and over and over again.