a peek inside the fishbowl

Emma and Sarah both ran the Kids 1K this morning. It was pretty awesome. It took some time getting downtown, but I was glad we drove. Note to self: ALWAYS park at the World Exchange Centre! It’s free on weekends, and there was still plenty of parking that early in the morning.

I was so excited for the girls. They ran with a good friend who we picked up on the way there, which made it was extra fun for them.

Mark and I dropped them off in the “zone” and found a spot near the starting line to wait for the start. We only had about 15 minutes before the race began and my stomach was in knots for them the whole time.

I was so impressed by how organized the race was, and how fun they made it for the kids. They warmed up to music, someone chatted with them over the loudspeaker and got them all riled up and ready, and there was a guy dressed in a rabbit suit. That’s the pace bunny:

When I was looking at that group shot I realized I could see Emma:

Here’s what we saw from the sidelines… an ocean of kids! You have to watch this to get an appreciation of what it looked and sounded like. There were big cheers for everyone.

I was amazed to see so many kids: big and small, short and tall. Amazing. I got teary just thinking about how proud I was of all of them. And speaking of which, here are the girls with their medals!

We collected the girls in the kid corral. Some parents wore bright hats or brought helium balloons so they’d be easier to find. I thought that was pretty smart. It took us a few minutes to find them but it wasn’t a big deal. They munched on snacks while we checked them out. The whole process was very smooth.

As we walked back to our car we passed many adult runners who were obviously heading out to their own marathons. Many gave the girls big smiles and thumbs up. I thought that was so lovely and inspiring. I hope those thoughtful people know that their friendly encouragement really meant something. At least it did to me.

Next year: the Family 2K. Who’s with me? :)