Whidbey Marathon runner raises funds for new start-up

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, April 7, 2026

Emma Smith laces up her running shoes, bracing for yet another long training run — and, if she’s being honest, rolling her eyes just a little.

She’s not rolling her eyes at the distance to complete the Whidbey Island Marathon on April 26. Nor at the hills she definitely didn’t sign up for and only discovered months into training. But at the voice in her head that sounds suspiciously like her late cousin, Pava LaPere, who might be equal parts inspiring, irreverent and probably amused.

Smith, an Issaquah resident will be racing in the Whidbey Island Marathon on April 26 to raise money for a new start-up tied to Pava LaPere’s legacy and led by Smith’s uncle, Frank LaPere. The start-up will focus on strengthening Baltimore’s entrepreneurial community and close support gaps for youth.

LaPere co-founded EcoMap Technologies at the age of 21, which landed her on the Forbes 30 under 30 list. The business sells artificial intelligence that provides “ecosystem management solutions for economic developers.” She also helped establish an entrepreneurship hub for students called Innov8MD at Johns Hopkins University. The 26-year-old was tragically murdered in 2023 in Baltimore. Her work continues through the Pava Center.

“She had a star power about her,” Smith said. “We laughed that she was like a 5-foot-2 giant.”

As one of the older cousins in a large, tight-knit family, LaPere was both leader and the sassy instigator as a kid, Smith said. Summers in Rhode Island meant beach trips, cousin adventures and a clear chain of command.

“Anything Pava said, we fully did,” Smith remembered.

One of the stories that stuck with Smith the most was LaPere’s brief flirtation with endurance sports. Despite openly disliking running, she once trained for a triathlon — only to ultimately decide not to race once she realized it was no longer a challenge. LaPere was fiercely determined, intense, deeply self-aware and entirely capable of deciding something was both worth doing and completely unnecessary at the same time, Smith said.

Smith, apparently, seems to have inherited the latter trait. Before December, her running resume capped at the occasional two-mile run, and by her own admission, fell into “fake runner” territory.

“I was not a runner at all,” Smith said.

Following a second ankle surgery in August for her broken ankle, she was just getting back into short runs, three miles at a time. Once she started training for the Whidbey Island Marathon in early December, she built up to 18-mile long runs in just a few months.

“I’ve learned a lot of patience,” she said.

Though Smith trains alone, she’s not entirely by herself.

“I see Pava when I trip on ice on my runs” she said. “Or, when it’s pouring out I’m like ‘Pava, are you kidding me?’”

If Pava LaPere were here, Smith said, she would think it’s awesome the money is going towards benefiting entrepreneurs, she might be proud of Smith for her training and she might think the whole thing is a little ridiculous.

Smith will be turning 26 in May, the same age Pava LaPere was when she died, and the same amount of miles Smith will race in the Whidbey Island Marathon.

The Whidbey Island Marathon will offer panoramic ocean, mountain and farmland views. Runners will traverse the country backroads in a full marathon, half a marathon, 10k, 5k or children’s 1k. Learn more about the marathon at www.oakharbor.gov/756/Whidbey-Island-Marathon.

Contribute to Smith’s fundraiser at www.gofundme.com/f/running-for-pava-honoring-her-legacy.