They drove past sights they had happily marveled at a day before: a waterfall, a row of apple trees, a series of twisting ducts that looked like a roller coaster. But the mood was different now. Rodney looked at Kaytlynn through the rearview mirror. Her thumbs were busy on her phone.

“You quit on us today,” he said.

“No, I didn’t,” she responded.

“Yes, you did. A lot of people run with a stubbed toe, even a broken toe. They put it aside and do their best. Did you do your best?”

“Yes.”

“Your time shows you certainly didn’t.”

Deep down she believed he was right, and she kept her eyes on her phone.

Heading to Hawaii

Back home, a podiatrist examined the toe. Nothing was broken, though there was a possibility of a hairline fracture. Just in case, Kaytlynn did not resume racing until two weeks later, and she began recording some of her best times.

Last Sunday, the girls ran a half-marathon through the streets of Houston. The temperature was only 41 degrees. With Halloween so close, Heather insisted on running in her Pocahontas costume, but her older sister was all business, even pulling off the shirt she wore for warmth.

Kaytlynn’s pace was so fast, Rodney cautioned her to slow down, but she maintained her same long, swift strides. To Rodney, it was as if she were saying, “Hey, Dad, look what I can do.” She finished in 1:28:39 — five and a half minutes faster than her personal record.

That sealed it, Rodney decided. In December, he would take the girls to Oahu in Hawaii. They would go up against the very best, running along serpentine paths through steep mountainsides at the Xterra trail run world championship.