I am falling behind terribly on my posts! Not sure what I do all day, but never seems to be enough time to get to the computer and throw a few ideas together for my next blog post!
I wanted to write about the second SRRA trail race at Cranberry Flats for a few reasons. First of all because it is the first time I have volunteered to help at a running race and this was the first time I would be running without thought to finishing time as I was running with my eldest two children.
The week before the Cranberry Flats trail race, Peter Goode sent out a Facebook message asking for volunteers. Seeing as I was still a little sore from K3 and was planning on running this trail with my eldest two children, I thought it would be an opportune time to volunteer. So, Sunday morning, Bailey, Aidan and I arrived 90 minutes before race start and helped man the registration table. Thankfully most participants had pre-registered so our job was not too difficult and those that came to register were well taken care of by my two registration pros! They alternated being responsible for giving out race bibs and writing down participants info. I busied myself hanging out with our dog and schmoozing with other racers. Really quite an enjoyable first time volunteering gig. Hopefully Peter doesn't mind if we help out at the next race in September.
I was getting a little anxious close to race start even though I was not racing, but more so for my offspring who would be running their farthest trail race to date. We weren't quite finished at the registration table at start time, so I sent the kids off and I finished up what needed to be done. I watched as they placed themselves firmly at the back of the pack and cruised out of sight going at a good pace. A few moments later I was able to get on course and the dog and I went after the kids. This course at Cranberry is a tough, sandy and hilly, so I was expecting to catch up to the kids quite quickly, but to my surprise we didn't catch them until they were almost done the first lap. They had agreed to do two laps, so we stopped real quick for a drink at the water station and off we went. Aidan (my 10 year old) was still looking strong, but Bailey (my 11 year old) was having trouble with her shoes and socks and was quickly losing her joie de vivre. We started running/walking 1 and 1s, but that wasn't enough running for Aidan and was too much for Bailey. So Aidan took off ahead of us and Bailey and I ran from pin flag to pin flag. This little game seemed to help take her mind off of her feet, but her resolve to finish was taking a big hit. I have to admit, I thought we would eventually catch up to a winded and broken down Aidan, but he was not to be seen until the finish line, where he was waiting for us. Bailey was a trooper and with some encouragement from Dad, she finished her 5.5 km in under 60 minutes. Aidan had finished 6ish minutes before us and was enjoying the fresh biscuits and juice boxes at the finish line. He was so pumped and very proud that he "beat" his Dad the ultra runner! Bailey even managed a smile and some laughs once she had some food and drink. Both are super excited to volunteer and run the third SRRA trail race at Blackstrap in late September. Hopefully they have been bitten by the trail running bug.
Again I have to send a shout out to the SRRA and more importantly Peter Goode (and his merry band of volunteers) for his (and their) efforts to get this trail series off and running. What a great addition to our city's running schedule.
