Well Drew had never run before, but we asked him if he wanted to go and do this mile race, and he did. I told him that a mile is a pretty long distance if you have never run before. We decided to let him do a practice run. We took him to the Junior High to run around the track and see how he fared. We told him not to start out too fast and to just go slow. He totally surprised us by running a full mile in 11 minutes and 45 seconds without stopping. Pretty good for his first try. For the next few days before the race Drew delighted us with all sorts of talk about how he wanted to win the whole race. We told him that it didn't matter if he won. We explained to him that in all of the races that me and Lamon have done, neither one of us has ever "won" a race. That isn't why we do it. But he was certain. We didn't want to tell him that we had looked at the results from last years race and the first grader who won it ran a 7 minute mile!
So the day of the race came and it was so fun to watch. Hayden decided that he wanted to run too. I was a little worried about how that might turn out. All I could think about was Hayden's soccer season when he would flop on the ground and lay there and tell the coach he needed a break after running half way down the field! But he did it. He ran with Kimball, and the two of them shuffled along together the whole way. They were all the way in the back, but they did it. It was so cute.
And as for Drew. In his very first race and his second time running a mile ever he ran a 9:10 min mile. He ran it more than two minutes faster than he had a few days earlier. I think he might have some runner's blood in him. And he is a bit competitive too. He was so dissappointed at not winning it all, but he has a little bit of a drive to practice and do better next year. And I have a feeling he will. I am so proud of my boys!
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