Tartan distance runner learns to win in the race for life

Tartan senior Erika Nolby had a promising start to her track career as a distance runner, finishing sixth in the 3,200-meter race at the state meet in 2011 as a seventh-grader, then returning to state in the 1,600 as an eighth-grader in 2013. She even broke Tartan's records at those distances.

"I joined track and I didn't have any goals or any expectations. I didn't even really know there was state until I got there," Nolby said. "It was super fun when I was younger because I was doing really good and I had a lot of accomplishments."

The success was cut short, however, in May of 2014, the end of her sophomore season. Nolby discovered she had a marker gene for a genetic heart condition. Known as arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia (ARVD), the heart muscle of the right ventricle is replaced by fatty tissue, weakening the heart's ability to pump blood.

Before Nolby's testing for the marker gene, she had found out her dad, Mark, had the genetic disease and therefore could pass it on. Her brother, Seth, tested negative, but she tested positive for the gene, meaning the disease could come on at any time.

"It's a rare heart disease … and they don't really know that much about it," Mark Nolby said. "All they seem to really know is that excessive exercising can bring it on. … So they basically say they don't want you to do extreme stuff."

The diagnosis meant Erika Nolby would have to run cautiously and switch her focus from winning to protecting herself. Mark Nolby said his daughter went from running nine miles a day to restraining herself.

"She can't push herself to where she used to," Mark Nolby said. "And she's frustrated because she's used to running all the time, but she's had to learn to be a good leader without necessarily being the best runner. As parents, it was a little hard at first, but she's got her health and we want to keep it that way."

"She has to realize that she's running for fun and not running for the glory anymore," Boyle said. "It's also the reminder of how important sports are minus the success. … That team aspect as far as connecting and enjoying an activity to get outside and relieve some stress … It's just fun to watch her know how important [that] is."

Erika Nolby acknowledged she was frustrated when the diagnosis happened because at the time, her promising career was just beginning. But over time, she said, she began to appreciate the team aspect of the sport.

"Once I learned about [ARVD], I wasn't doing as good and I became more frustrated," Erika Nolby said. "But once I got over that … I didn't think about it as winning, I thought about it more as making friends and being a good captain and still participating. I was just happy I could still participate at that point."

For Mark Nolby, it was tough to see his daughter's blossoming career curtailed, but said her health obviously comes first.

"She wouldn't get the OK to run in college, so that's why her running career is cut short," Mark Nolby said. "Which is a bummer, but it's part of life."

Meanwhile, in the final track season of her career, she received Tartan's St. Paul Area Athena Award for outstanding achievement in athletics, and continues to focus on encouraging her teammates.

"The whole point of the sport isn't that you have to be super good," Erika Nolby said. "If I don't give up, then they won't either."