The One Mile Race

Today was finally the day that James & Andrew got to run their one mile race.  It was a gorgeous fall day, especially for Chicago which is not known to have the fall season.  We usually go straight from summer into winter.  It was a bit chilly first thing this morning, so we arrived all bundled up. 

We pulled out some new superhero hats & gloves which they are showing off.

We had about an hour to kill between packet pickup and the kid races.  Thankfully, the race was based out of the Prospect Heights park district center so there was a baseball field with a few kid activities and plenty of space to run around. The three big boys all got their faces painted with superhero masks. 

Caleb entertained himself by running around dragging hula hoops behind him.  I'm sure the hula hoops were meant for some type of game, but no one was playing it.  And, it kept him happy for a good 20 minutes, so we didn't interfere.

James and Andrew lined up for the one mile race and it seemed to me that there was only one kid younger/smaller than them.  An older girl who ran her first 5k today gave them a little pep talk before the race.  The race director gave them directions about the course and then they were off. 

They paid close attention, but I was still worried that they'd make a wrong turn.

And they're off to a super speedy start.  Seriously, the kids were all sprinting right away.

I walked partway down the course and was able to see them pass by about halfway through the race.  Andrew was so focused & determined and James was all smiles and happy when they passed by me. 

Aaron and I hightailed it to the finish line and cheered them both on.  Andrew finished in 9:02 minutes and James finished in 9:58.  They both did a good 90 seconds faster than our last practice run.

Andrew coming down the finish line.  Afterwards I asked him if he heard us cheering, but he was concentrating too much and didn't really hear or see us.

James ran past and gave Aaron, Andrew & I high fives on his way to the finish line.

They were definitely tired and both went for their water bottles right away.  After they caught their breath, they were super excited and proud of their race.  They are already talking about doing it again next year, or maybe even the 5k.  These guys amaze me.  I'm pretty sure there is no way that I could have or would have been interested in running for 10 minutes straight when I was six-years-old. 

Finished...time for water!

Next up, Aaron got to do a 50 yard dash.  He was the youngest by far.  It was for kids 9 and under, but everyone else was over 7 years old. 

Kids lining up at the start.  Aaron is in the middle.

 Before the race, he informed me that he wasn't going to get sad or cry at all this race (unlike the race last month where he was confused about the start).  He kept his word.  And he got a finisher's ribbon (which both of his brothers were slightly jealous of). 

So proud of his finisher's ribbon.

Here is a quick picture of my three speedy racers before we got back in the car and headed home.