Twilight 1-Mile Fun Run

In all of my excitement about our new babysitter for the Twilight 5K, I completely forgot to mention the 1-mile run that was held before the 5K last weekend.  I decided to give my kids (5 year old son and almost 4 year old daughter)  the choice to run the race, and both were eager to do it.  So they went to their rooms and dug out their only running clothes--the red and white shirts we bought them two years ago for Cotton Row--see here and here.  We dug out some tennis shoes (my daughter's happened to be Mary Jane style pink ones!) and headed for the races. 

When the 1-mile started, I wondered how I would be able to stay with both of them.  Usually Rick takes our son, but that night it was just me.  My son wanted to run ahead of my daughter and me, and I decided to let him.  Near the end of the mile, I ran ahead of my daughter around a corner so I could see my son finish.  Well, he had already finished and was getting water from the coolers!  My friend said his time was 9:45.  It was the first time he'd broken 10 minutes! 

My daughter loved the attention from the crowd as she finished.  I've said it before, but our children can be a good reminder of how important crowd support is at races.  Adults may not react as openly as she did, but we surely get motivated when we hear those cheers and shouts of encouragement!  She LIT UP with all of the cheers.  Her face was just glowing as she turned from left to right, taking in the fans cheering for her.  Many were calling out, "Go Pigtails!" since her hair was done in the cutest ringlet pigtails that night.  She finished around 12:30, a PR for her!  Both of my kids have talked about how much fun that race was many times since then.  One mile fun runs are a GREAT family activity, and I hope we can inspire other young families to give them a try too!   

Little ringlet pigtail