Whenever I think of Nicole, I think "caboose".  It's not her fault.  Nicole first joined Girls Heart Rockets for our first 200-mi 12-person relay, Hood-t o-Coast.  Not only was she our 12th and final runner, but at some point was the absolute last runner in the whole, entire race!  Again -- not her fault.  The 11 of us who went before her just couldn't compete with the sub-6 min/mile pace of the other teams given the absolute latest starting times.

Well, whenever I think of Nicole, I also think "what's the absolute greatest elevation gain I can give her in a race?"  The Wild West Relay presented the challenges of both altitude adjustment and extreme elevation changes, and giving Nicole the hardest leg was a no-brainer!

Anyway, Nicole races often and recently started a company that provides training plans and advice to endurance athletes NEO Endurance Sports.

Check out the lovely photos from a local Fall 2010 Cross Country race series, in which she placed 2nd in her age group!