By this time next year, 18-year-old Kristen Latch will be a college freshman, a moment most teens eagerly anticipate because it represents the first significant opportunity to break away from mom and dad. 

But the Doylestown resident shares an especially strong bond with her mom that neither one is reveling in relinquishing. “She is my best friend,” mom Leslie says. “We often walk after dinner in our neighborhood. We walk and talk for hours.”

In 2004, with Kristen firmly entrenched in her tween years, Leslie jumped at the opportunity to join a group of neighbors and register herself and Kristen for a triathlon in Sandy Hook, NJ. The annual event was part of the Danskin Women’s Triathlon Series, which boasts the motto “Finishing is winning.” It was a chance for Leslie to instill in Kristen the importance of living healthy and confident. Even more so, though, it was an avenue to spending lots of time together. 

The preparation and the friendly competition proved addictive. “When we cross the finish line, we both feel on top of the world,” Leslie says. “It’s a wonderful shared experience. We prepare together and then on the big day we encourage each other to do our best.”

This year’s triathlon, which will be held September 13, will be bittersweet for the mother-daughter duo because it will be their last one — at least for the time being. “We already decided the year she is out of college,” Leslie says, “we will do it. We were even trying to figure out if we could have three generations do it together. We will see.”