Saturday, April 19th was the Salt Lake City Marathon. Along with — of course — the marathon, there was also a half-marathon, 5k, and a jaunty kids’ 1k. So of course I’m thinking sweet, an event for everyone in the family!
Jon had already signed up for the half-marathon weeks ago, and I went ahead and signed myself up for the 5k and the kids for the 1k. Then I sat down and started thinking hard about how exactly we were going to pull the whole thing off. Jon’s race started at 7 at the U of U, my race started at 7:30 at Liberty park, and the kids’s race didn’t start until 10 back at the Gateway. So, ummm…. hm.
Well the answer, of course, was my mom. How many times do you find yourself in a debacle and the answer turns out to be your mother?
My mom was already playing host to my sister, Sam, and her boys for the week. So mom signed up Paige for the kids’ run, and Sam signed up Parley for the kids’ run. And then all of the kids had a sleepover at my mom’s Friday night. My sweet and crazy mom (with the help of my sister) then carted 5 kids up to Salt Lake on Saturday morning via Trax, the light rail system that my kids are completely freaked out over because of an unfortunate incident a few years ago when I tried to take Jachin, Zoe, and Paige all to the zoo via Trax and left Paige at the U of U stop on the platform while the train rode on… but that’s another story. Saturday morning, all was fine with the Trax ride, and no one was left behind on the platform, chasing after the train with wild, crazy eyes and panicked screaming. Everyone arrived at the Gateway on time, in their t-shirts and runner’s bibs. Elmo was there… or so we heard. But with 600 kids and their parents, we never actually got a glimpse of him. Jachin was fine with that, as he actually “booed” when it was announced that Elmo would be giving high-fives at the finish line. I mean, come on… how baby-ish.
It was decided that I would do the 1k with the kids, because we wanted them to somehow stay all together with no one getting lost, y’know, if at all possible. So off we went. Small kids — who are unfamiliar with the idea of “thinning out” early in the race — went sprinting full speed. Kids were falling down everywhere. And of course, when kids fall, they don’t get up quickly and move off to the side to assess their wounds… they lie in the middle of street, screaming, while other kids continue to trip over the kids who have already tripped.
It was a party.
Paige fell over one of these screaming children, but I quickly picked her up and told to keep on keeping on. She was fine, and showed off her road rash in pictures at the finish line. Creamies were had by all, and medals were awarded simply for finishing. Everyone was feeling pretty good about themselves.
Jon did fantastic in his race. We’re still waiting for the official “chip time”, but his self-time was about 1:43. Yeah… that’s nicely under two hours, people. He got a medal, too. The only one who didn’t receive a medal? Me. My 5k time was actually slightly slower than my 5k time from last month, but this course was a little longer. And a little uphill in some parts. And I wasn’t running with anyone else… I mean, other than the 2,000 strangers who were passing me… These are all the things I tell myself at night when I start thinking about my lousy time.
Fun stuff, though, racing. The kids have caught the bug, I think. Jachin says he’s ready for a 5k now. Know that if my 8 year old beats me at a race, I will cry.
And now we are off for naps and ice.
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What was your 5k time?
Comment by Grant — April 19, 2008 @ 3:31 pm
@Grant- Official chip time was 34:03. Eventually I’d like to be able to run an entire 5k without stopping to walk…
Comment by admin — April 19, 2008 @ 7:19 pm
That was a fun day! We are defenitly going to be there next year.
Comment by Sam — April 22, 2008 @ 7:20 pm
What a great day! I think it’s awesome that you got everyone on board.
Comment by Leslie — May 5, 2008 @ 7:31 am