run in the blood
To be innate, as of a skill or quality. All of my relatives are doctors—medical prowess just runs in the blood. That type of passion can't be taught—it has to run in the blood.
run in the blood
Also, run in the family. Be characteristic of a family or passed on from one generation to the next, as in That happy-go-lucky trait runs in the blood, or Big ears run in the family. The first term dates from the early 1600s, the second from the late 1700s.
run in the blood/family, to
To be characteristic of a family or peculiar to a nation, ethnic group, or other group. Richard Brinsley Sheridan used this expression in 1777 in The School for Scandal (3.3): “Learning that had run in the family like an heirloom!”