Race Day Arrives

The setting was the 36th annual Georgia Blueberry Festival in Alma, GA. That's where Mimi and "Uncle Lee" live. Emma has been running off and on with me for a few weeks, preparing for this race...and she would not disappoint. But first, Phillip had to run his 5k. What once was a specialty of his, the years have increased while the miles have not. And boy was it hot for 8am!

With a great Ipod playlist of classic 80's hits, it was a fast race that only set the stage for more in the future. He finished 20th overall in 22:41.But the day was really about Em and her first race.

The gun fires and we are off...the first race adrenaline rushing through the system and daddy has to remind those short legs that she has a whole mile to run. A funny moment occurs about 300 yards into the race when Em asks, "We can stop if we want to, can't we?" The competitve daddy says, "No we can't stop! You want to win a trophy don't you?!"So the encouragement starts sooner that I thought.

She did great and really began to see how a race is run. I pointed out a little boy in front of her and told her to go catch him. She passed him, and with a proud daddy by her side, Em strided it all the way through to  her very first road race in 9:48!

The best part as a dad was cheering her every step of the race and seeing her finish. When her name was called for a trophy, she sprinted to the table. We are so proud of her.

Here she is with her trophy as one of the top 10 student finishers. She finished 10th overall!