The humans got a two minute lead before the zombies started. Bernie kept saying that his mantra was "eat Colin, eat Colin!" Colin was pretty confident that there was no way Uncle Bernie was going to catch him.
We lined up at the start and Colin took off. I didn't see him again until I crossed the finish line. He totally beat me! Colin ran the whole race without stopping. This was the longest Colin had ever continuously run. His resolve to not be caught by his favorite zombie kept him going in the cold, up the hills, and through the woods. He finished the race in 27:31. I couldn't be more proud of him!
It turns out that Colin didn't really have to run as fast as he did to meet his goal. Kerri and Bernie stuck together and came up with a plan to run the downhill portions and walk the rest of the way. Kerri is 10yo and 3.1 miles is a long way at that age if you haven't been practicing. They crossed the finish line almost twenty minutes after Colin.
The "final instructions" for the race indicated that the course was challenging and we should not expect to achieve a personal record. I took that to heart. When I passed a really beautiful part of the course, I stopped take a picture:
When I looked at the results of the race this afternoon I realized that I missed my 5k best time by just 12 seconds. Had I not stopped to take a few pictures, or if I had just run a little faster, I would have beat my best time. There were parts of the race going up or down hill that were rocky and covered with leaves. I proceeded with caution. This makes me optimistic that I might be able to run my best time in the Mancheter Road Race this year, where there will be no reason to hold back.
Today, I am thankful for resolve. Colin never looked back once he started. He was beaming at the end knowing he achieved his goal. It is easy to give up when things get difficult. Running has taught me that anything is possible with a little preservance. I am thankful that Colin is learning this as well; and that he is learning it so early in his young life.
It was a fun, albeit chilly morning. Thank you to Gayle and Phil for watching Jack and Vivi while we ran, and for bringing Colin and Kerri to the race. Colin says we are doing a mud race next. I am not so sure I am up for that chllenge, but it is hard for me to say no to him. Stay tuned.
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