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On a crisp morning before the neighbourhood is awake, Lindsay Carson layers, and laces up her running shoes, stepping out the door into the pre-dawn inky darkness.

She starts running towards city limits, along a long gravel road next to Schwatka Lake.

The only sounds as she runs are her breathing and the steady crunch of snow with every stride.

After a long, meditative run, she returns along the stretch of gravel towards Riverdale. Nestled into a valley, the city lights twinkling, Whitehorse wakes up as Carson, 27, returns to town.

鈥淭he view of the city as it wakes up is quite beautiful,鈥� says Carson.

She has transitioned with the seasons, running as the snow falls, but has had a long summer of training.

Following a difficult race at the Ottawa race weekend in May 鈥� Carson was recovering from a foot stress fracture 鈥� she opted to take the summer off of track racing and focus instead on a solid block of training.

Utilizing Whitehorse鈥檚 extensive trail system, she set out on training runs in the woods 鈥� Hidden Lakes trails 鈥� and on the pavement 鈥� Millennium Trail loops and Chadburn Lake Road鈥檚 familiar features.

The shift in focus from racing to training, allowed Carson to build a solid base upon which she鈥檚 been able to stay mostly injury-free for the past six months.

鈥淭his year has gone alright,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 really have a summer season, so when I started running in the fall, I was just trying to get into the swing of things.鈥�

While not focusing on races, she did still compete in a number of local events over the summer months, which she used as benchmarks for how her training was progressing.

First up was the Yukon 5K Championships, which she handily won in 17:34 on the classic Millennium Trail Riverdale loop.

鈥淭his is just a good check-in for myself of where I鈥檓 at,鈥� she said at the finish of the race. 鈥淚t鈥檚 still not my fastest but it at least gives me a gauge of where I鈥檓 at in my training and where I need to be in the fall.鈥�

Next, she was the top female finisher at the Yukon River Trail Half Marathon. She followed that up with a win at the Yukon 10K Championships in August and a sub-hour time at the Pre-Skagway 10 Miler at the end of the summer.

Carson started running in a competitive club environment in southwest Ontario and the move to Whitehorse was a bit of a shock to the training group mentality.

Her mother Leslie, and father John, were also runners out of the Tri-City Track Club in Kitchener, Ont., so when the Carsons moved to Whitehorse, so did a built-in training group for Lindsay.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a bit of a family effort,鈥� said John of Carson鈥檚 training.

鈥淲e鈥檙e used to running in a big social club.鈥�

So they began a small group of runners with about the same ability who do intervals together about three times a week.

Carson began competing in her early teens and said she likes the sport because the results are pretty straightforward.

鈥�(Running) rewards hard work and it鈥檚 not subjective. It鈥檚 very kind of black and white,鈥� says Carson. It also doesn鈥檛 discriminate.

鈥淚 grew up in a very strong club system. It鈥檚 the type of energy I feed off of in workouts.鈥�

Work however, doesn鈥檛 always allow the group afternoon workouts, and especially at this time of year, when snow blankets Whitehorse and the seasonal Klondike Road Relay warriors hang up their runners in favour of other pursuits, morning solitary runs are the fuel for her training.

鈥淯sually each workout has a goal or a purpose so if it鈥檚 getting me ready to do a certain race, or getting a certain pace,鈥� says the runner, who never uses music on her outdoor runs. 鈥淚 focus on the short-term goal of the workout and know in the back of my head the longterm goal.鈥�

The longterm goal this year: a top 10 finish at the Canadian Cross-Country Championships in Kingston on Nov. 26.

All her races and training have pointed to the race. It鈥檚 the true north on her 2016 running compass.

After a summer full of building a training base, she started the fall racing circuit with a fourth place at the Vancouver Eastside 8K road race in September. It was a soggy affair, but one that arguably built some character.

Carson hasn鈥檛 always been known for pushing through tough conditions.

鈥淲e used to tease Lindsay that she鈥檚 a bit of a princess,鈥� says her coach and father, John.

But since the training has been mostly injury-free, they鈥檝e been able to add in what he calls 鈥渉ardships,鈥� such as hills or headwinds 鈥� there is likely to be both in Kingston.

Carson ushered in the cross-country season at the Yukon Championships at Mount Mac in September, an eight-kilometre race that she finished in under 30 minutes.

At the B.C. Cross-Country Championships in October, she finished just off the podium in fourth.

The race in Kingston will be a 10-kilometre event. It marks the first time that both the senior males and females will have distance parity in their events.

鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be tough those last couple kilometres,鈥� says Carson.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 an extra 15 minutes in the mud,鈥� her father says.

Carson expects there to be a strong field chock full of Olympians and a strong collegiate crowd, as well as elites like herself. A strong placing would potentially book her a ticket to the World Championships on Team Canada.

鈥淪he鈥檚 definitely been fearless in the past,鈥� says John of Carson鈥檚 propensity to go out hard at the start. 鈥淪he鈥檒l go out and run as hard as she can until the body won鈥檛 take it anymore.鈥�

This is the first story in a series of profiles about the local runners representing Yukon at the National Cross-Country Championships.