Autumn Fun Run

One thing we have enjoyed since moving to Huntsville is the Autumn Fun Run that benefits the Huntsville Hospital.  Fallon and Birkley are athletic kids and enjoy competition.  We have now lived here long enough to have just competed in the second annual race for us.  Last year, 5 year old Fallon ran her heart out and came in ninth out of about 100 girls her age.  We didn't know at the time that being in the top ten was a very big deal.  She got a special ribbon, awards ceremony, and picture taken.  This year, Fallon was so excited to compete again!  Birkley was, too, but Fallon was more driven for success!  She kept saying, "I want to do better than ninth, I want to do better than ninth."  I reminded her that I would be running with Birkley and that she would be running on her own.  I decided to run Birkley in the first grade race with Fallon so we could all run at the same time.  The mile long race is set in a zig zag pattern so that I can always see Fallon no matter how far away she is...and numerous volunteers from the Huntsville running club guide and support the kids. 
When the rope dropped, we were off!  Fallon, like I had told her, started at a great pace...not burning herself out too early.  Birkley and I started our trot.  What a great little runner Birkley is!  She can run the entire mile without stopping!  In addition to running, she talked to me the ENTIRE race.  She commented on everything from the day, to people's outfits, to what's for dinner!  Every once in a while, I would scream my lungs off for Fallon as she was quickly getting farther and farther away from us.  I would crack Birkley up because I would yell for her at the exact same volume even though she was right next to me. 
Ok, I felt a lot of pressure for this race.  I knew Fallon wanted to place so badly.  It sounds horrible, but I almost wished she hadn't done so well the year before because that was such a high bar she set.  I didn't want her to be disappointed...even though it is a part of life...blah, blah, blah.  Although she was pretty far away, I kept trying to count the runners to see if she made the cut into the top 10!  I saw that someone from the running club was shadowing her, which I thought was a good sign.  Eventually, Birkley and I made it to the finish line.  There is a certain point where parents leave the course so that every little runner crosses the finish line under their own power.  As I got closer to Fallon, who was waiting for us, I could see that the bottom part of her number had been removed.  That is a VERY good sign.  Nonetheless, even though this is a tremendous achievement, Fallon was disappointed to be ninth again.  She really wanted to beat her record.  We will be back next year!

*One note I must make is that the running club members that run with the little runners are amazing.  Fallon said he kept encouraging her and supporting her as she reached that amazing goal.  WOW!