The Barri (more than one Barrus): The Not So Fun Run

Friday, October 3, 2014

The Not So Fun Run

Today was the annual Fun Run at school. Traditionally, the Fun Run has been in May, but the PTA decided there was too much going on in May, so they moved it to the beginning of October. It is not the very most favorite thing my kids look forward to each year. Neither of them are particularly athletic and they don't like to run, so the idea of running nearly three miles with the whole school doesn't appeal to them a great deal. But I agreed to run/walk with them, and they agreed to participate.

I must here lavish much praise on both the kids. They were troopers. They were willing to run much more than they did in May, they did it without complaint, and I think, if you asked them, they might even admit to having a good time. We were joined by Ellen Mason (Blythe's BFF) and another of Blythe's classmates, Summer. We walked some and on easy parts of the course, we ran. I would say, "It's all flat through this section. Let's run to the stop sign!" and we would run to the stop sign. We ran to"the fourth tree," "the second parked car," "the water station," "the horses," and to the "last orange cone." About thirty yards from the end, the last short stretch before the finish line, Blythe said, in a super whiny voice, "I can't go any further. I don't want to run any more," and she very nearly threw herself on the grass. I grabbed her hand and hauled her to the end, encouraging her and Brandt and Ellen and Summer to just give it "one last push!" before they could stop and be done, and they made it. Not only did they finish, but they finished like 200 places better than last year. It was a HUGE jump. "I was very proud," said the mom, delighted with her children's performance. Yeah for the Not So Fun Run!

Pre-Race Photos