Elizabeth White has been playing catch-up most of her young life.

Now, others are trying to catch up with her.

The 13-year-old Lurgio Middle School student won her first national championship in cyclocross last month, traveling to Kansas City, Kan., and enduring some of the harshest weather conditions she’s ever faced.

“A cold front and ice storms had just come in,” said White. “It was so cold and muddy and icy.”

In fact, the thermometer struggled to reach 25 degrees during the race.

Still, winning the Junior Women 13- and 14-year-old age group in inclement weather was less of a challenge than she usually faces.

Elizabeth’s father, Jerry White, said the entire family took up cycling when “Libby’s” older sister, Stephanie, decided she didn’t like tennis.

“We wanted to do something we could all do together, so we chose cycling and started doing little rides on the railroad bed and things of that nature,” said the elder White.

But he soon picked up competitive racing, as did the rest of the family.

“Libby … started riding when she was 5, and the fact is she’s always been trying to keep up with adults and her big sister,” said her father.

Stephanie White, now 18 and attending the University of New Hampshire, has had her own successes. In addition to national titles, she came in second place this year in the collegiate division – with a flat tire.

Elizabeth, watching her older sister and parents race, started her cycling career by participating in short, children’s races before she jumped on a tandem bicycle with her father.

As her passion for the sport bloomed, she soon picked up mountain biking and eventually cyclocross, among other events.

“You really have to have a lot of dedication and love for the sport,” she said. “If you don’t, you’ll just give up. I’ve seen it happen so many times before when a junior cyclist comes in because their parents made them, and they just get discouraged and quit.”

Racing with Northeast Bicycle Club-Cycle Loft, Elizabeth usually competes against older women, often in their late teens and 20s, and sometimes older.

With her father’s tutelage, she beats them. But winning never gets tedious for her. “There’s always somebody faster,” said Libby’s father. “She’s already picked out the person she wants to try to beat next year when she gets to nationals. Unless you’re the world champ, there’s always somebody faster, and even though she has a smile on her face whether she wins or loses, it’s really about the competition for Libby.”

The elder White said it isn’t unusual for cyclists his daughter’s age to be coached by a parent.

“It’s only later on, when they get into their late teens and go off to college, that they usually hook up with another coach,” he said. “… We learn from each other’s mistakes as far as technical aspects of riding are concerned. I just help her with the right things to eat and how to train … Most of it comes from reading, watching videos and talking to other people. It’s really just been a family thing.”

There is no specific distance in a race, said Jerry White. Cyclocross is a timed event in which competitors attempt to outlast each other.

“Cyclocross works unlike a lot of other events in that you race for 40 minutes, which doesn’t seem that long, but it’s 40 minutes of going just as hard as you can and going way above comfort level,” he said. “Your whole body is telling you to stop, and it’s just who can hold out the longest.”

Elizabeth and her family aren’t alone in their affinity for the grueling sport. Six years ago, the last time the cyclocross championships took place in Kansas, 600 riders entered. This year, the event welcomed 2,045 participants, up from 1,940 riders in Providence, R.I., last year.