While some fathers may have a little trouble finding something to relate with when talking to their teenage daughters, that is not a problem in the Overby household.

When all else fails, Eric Overby and his daughter, Madison Overby can always talk about running.

The two have loved running as long as hey can remember and Madison still recalls running for a one-mile stretch with her dad when she was four years-old. Ever since then, she’s been almost as intense about running as her dad is.

“He’s an inspiration every day,” Madison said. “He gets up super early and runs and then he’ll go out with me and run again in the afternoon.”

On a weekly basis, Madison runs about four to six miles a day while running five or six days. Eric isn’t able to take that day off as he runs at least five miles every day.

“I guess it’s an addiction or something,” Eric said.

This Saturday, Eric will be defending his title in the Hog Jog five-mile run as he won last year’s race and has four titles to his credit. He said you never know what to expect or who’s going to show up at the Hog Jog, but he’s hoping to put up another good performance.

“I’d like to say (I run) just to get out there, but I definitely want to win,” Eric said. “To be able to run with Madison is special and it’s fun to watch her come in. A lot of our conversations are about running and it’s nice to have that in common.”

Madison, who will be a freshman at AHS this fall, has run in the Hog Jog three times already and she’s looking forward to her fourth race this Saturday. Madison ran in the mini-piggy one-mile race as a youngster and she even won it a couple of times.

Madison began running competitively in sixth grade and she’s already run in two Class ‘AA’ state cross country meets. She finished 20th in the state this past fall.

While running at state is quite an experience, Madison also likes the joy of running with a lot of familiar faces in the Hog Jog.

“It should be fun. It’s a lot more laid back and it’s really nice to have my dad out there,” she said. “I’ll probably see a few friends and we usually have lunch after the race.”

Eric ran track at Kenyon High School, and he went the state track and field meet just once, when he ran in the 3200-meter run at state his senior year.

While Madison hasn’t yet made it to state in track, she did break AHS’s school record in the 3200-meter run.

“She’s better than me that’s for sure,” Eric said of Madison’s running career.

This is the 30th year the Hog Jog will be held in Austin. The race starts at 8 a.m. and is sponsored by the YMCA of Austin. It is USATF sanctioned and the cost to run is $20.

There will be race day registration from 6:45-7:30 a.m. at East Side Lake where the race will start and finish. Results will be posted on Online Race Results at www.onlineraceresults.com and the Y’s website.

Besides being an avid runner, Eric Overby serves as the race director for the Hormel Nature Center 8K, which takes place Sept. 8.