Ladies, start your engines - Motocross not just for boys

Olivia Meixner, from left , 6, and Courtney Leitner, 13, love racing their motorcycles in motocross races. (Lorri Sughroue)

Don't let the pink nail polish, headbands and giggles fool you: Courtney Leitner, 13 and Olivia Meixner, 6, may look girly-girl and are pretty enough for beauty pageants.

But make no mistake - these girls prefer pulling on helmets and jumping on motorcycles for fun.

Bundled up in protective gear, both McCook girls look forward to getting a little dirty as they tear through laps on motocross tracks, trying to keep bikes upright as they turn corners and maneuver jumps.

It's not as easy as it looks, Courtney said.

"After a race, I'm pretty tired," she said. "You have to hold on tight so it doesn't get out of control, or you can (wipe out) and hurt someone else."

Courtney has been racing since she was 9, after watching her parents, Gay and Rob Leitner, race dirt bikes.

"It just looked like a lot of fun," the 13 year-old said, adding that she likes the competition, too.

Olivia has been watching her older brothers race, but this is her first year at it.

"It's kinda scary when you start out, when you look down the track," she said. "It looks like you're gonna fall."

So what does she do to win - and not fall?

"Hammer on the gas!" she answered.

"Everyone's a little scared before they start," Courtney explained. "And it kinda hurts when you wreck. You just can't psych yourself out. After you get out, off the line, you don't think of anything else but finishing."

Becky Meixner, Olivia's mother, admits to feeling a little apprehensive when she watches her 6-year-old among the rough-and-tumble boys. But as the only girl in the "Pee Wee division, Olivia gives them a run for their money.

"I tell her to ride smart," her mother said. "And don't break any bones!"

Gay Leitner said as Courtney gets older and the races move a little faster, she and her husband get "a little more nervous."

"It's a little different than the boys (division), but we both support her," she said.

From April through October, the girls will compete in 14 races across the area. Each wears a helmet, goggles, boots, a neck brace, gloves, chest protectors, long sleeve shirts and pants.

"Yeah, it can get real hot," Courtney said. But neither of the girls let a little dirt or heat get in the way.

Courtney said she'll keep racing as long as it stays fun, while Olivia has her own reasons for continuing.

"The trophies," she said bluntly, "and sleeping in the car on the way up to races."