On The Run

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

On the Run
This past Saturday was the 5K Run to benefit the Trinity Free Clinic at our church. We figure it gives us a chance to run together in the cool fall weather and we can raise some money for a good cause at the same time.

Last year Joseph and Belle ran with me and the little ones waited for us at the finish line. Gavin is only six and 3.1 miles is a long way on little legs. He wanted to run with us this year, though, so I decided to push Caroline in the double jogger and let Gavin run until he got tired and then he could hop in and ride the rest of the way. It would be a tough push for me, but it would also give me an excuse to walk more than run.

Gavin, however, had other plans. Other than riding in the stroller for about 15 seconds just past our first mile, the little guy ran like a champ. I was blown away. He was simply awesome.

I'm coaching 4th and 5th grade cross county this year at the kids' school and I have been equally impressed by some of the effort put forth by many of my runners. For the most part, these kids, many of whom are new to the sport of running, show up at every practice and push themselves to do more than they thought was possible. They have all improved their times in their 2K or 3K distance and some of them showed marked improvement in each successive race. I am so proud of the ones who really get it. They understand that working hard and keeping their head in the game will result in better performance. That's a pretty cool lesson to learn for any of us, but especially these young boys and girls.

Tonight is our last practice with our final race tomorrow evening. I didn't necessarily want this title of "Coach", but I am so grateful that I have had the opportunity to introduce the children to running. It has been my friend for only two years now and it has made me a better person. I hope they will be able to say that they have come to enjoy its friendship as well.

Posted by KC at 11:03 AM