Last night was the annual Pink Pacer Community Fun Run at Sadie's school & this year was the first time we had a student actually participate! Her friend Hadley joined us & the 2 were inseparable all night:
Our friend Coach Tidwell from Wakeland High School came over to help lead the stretches in the opening ceremony & then we headed to the kiddie corrals which were set up by grade:
Of course they had the older kids in the front & the younger kids in the back. There were a lot of students out there - I think I heard almost 500 registered for the race. And there were a lot of kindergarteners there - boys & girls that she was excited to race with:
The race was 2.2 miles & Sadie had been talking about it for the past week. She was DETERMINED to win! You know she is our competitive one! I kept telling her that 2 miles was a long way so she needed to keep a good pace & not run too fast at the beginning so she wouldn't get tired. So yesterday morning she woke up & said "Mom, I don't want to run with any of my friends - I want you to run with me & help me keep a good pace!". I was flattered but I also laughed because she had a game plan to win! Poor girl sprinted at the beginning & I couldn't even catch her for the first 1/4 mile & I was exhausted already :( She stopped for a second & said her side hurt & she was really down on herself. She said there were kids in front of her & that she was never going to win. But I reminded her that those were older kids in front of us since they started before us & I gently told her that we needed to slow down & find a good pace to run at so she wouldn't burn out. Then I had the brilliant idea of turning on music for her - Kids Bop & she found her rhythm. She ran a consistent pace for the rest of the race eventually picking up speed:
She never once stopped again or took a water break. When we got closer to the school, I asked her if she wanted to finish by herself & she did so I ran to the finish line while she completed her last lap:
I could tell she was tired so I sprinted the end with her cheering her on along the way & she finished strong!
When she finished, she was told she got 2nd place:
She was so excited to be in the top 3 & receive a medal! Her friend Hadley came in after her & got 3rd place also:
After they cooled off, we stood at the finish line & cheered for all of their friends & then they had fun playing, dancing & eating the rest of the night:
Come to find out, the girl who got 1st place technically cut the course & her parents thought it wasn't fair since she didn't earn it so they gave her spot up & Sadie bumped up to 1st place instead! I cannot tell you how excited Sadie was! She really did kill it out there & beat everyone else in her grade by quite a bit. At the end they had an awards ceremony & she got her medal from her principal, Mrs. Record:
then she got recognized as she walked across the stage & was greeted by Rowdy:
Then she got to go to the platform where they took pictures of 1st, 2nd & 3rd place winners who were Sadie, Hadley & Avery:
As soon as she got up there, she knew what to do - she held up her medal like they do in the Olympics!
I am so proud of her for not giving up, setting a game plan & following through. And even when she thought she didn't win 1st place at the beginning, she still had a positive attitude:
Way to go Sadie! I am so proud of you & I had so much fun running with you!
Next year, hopefully Bryan can run with her. This year he borrowed our neighbor's golf cart & rode with Sophie along the course since he can't get around very fast with his broken foot. I wish I would have gotten a picture of them! Luckily I caught a great picture of Sophie later in the evening:
She made sure she got every last drop of that snow cone! And after the medal ceremony she was able to go see Rowdy also:
Such a fun night & perfect weather! I just love that our school is so involved with the community & encourages such a healthy lifestyle. Hopefully these healthy habits will continue for these kids as they grow older.
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