A young man in our ward sponsored a 1K and 5K run to benefit The Gatehouse. The Gatehouse is a woman's shelter whose mission is to help women and children in crisis and get them to a safe place. We like to help where we can when the young men in our ward are working towards their Eagle, but this is also such a worthy cause.
The week leading up the race Ryan dusted off his running shoes and each girl went out with him on his walk or run. The girls both decided to do the 5K, because 5K doesn't sound like that much. Despite trying to convince them that 5K is really a LOOOOONG way when you're not used to it, they were adamant about doing the 5K.
Saturday morning we all got ready to go. Ryan, Kyra and Addy to run. Kim, Griffin, Joselyn, Layla and Brianna to cheer and support the runners. The young man and his family had a nice set up for registration- where you checked in and you got your bib and a t-shirt for the race, snacks, juice and water, and my kids' favorite- DONUTS!
The weather around here has been very wet this spring. While we haven't had any issues with flooding, many areas in Texas have flooded, so it has been wet! The area they were running on was a field out behind the local middle school, so it was squishy and muddy and HUMID!!! The faster and the more you ran, the more you kicked up mud behind you. By the end of the race all their shoes were sopping wet and muddy and they all had some degree of mud splatter up their backs and legs.
While Dad and the big girls were off running Griffin and the little girls hung out on the tennis courts to run and jump in the little puddles left behind by the rain. They had a bunch of fun and it helped that they were allowed to eat anything off the food table as long as mom gave the OK.
They all started strong running from the start line, but the lack of experience in running didn't take long to kick in and the 5K run became more of a 5K walk. Kyra actually surprised me by running more than I thought she would and eventually was off by herself to run/walk to the finish. I really think if she put a little effort into it she could easily be a runner. Addy had the hardest time and walked much of the way. Ryan was great and stayed right with her encouraging her and at one point even carried her piggy-back style for a short distance.
I am so proud of all of them, but mostly I'm proud of the girls for choosing to not only support this young man's project but by completing their first 5K run!
Comments