Swift and Speedy: Cross-Country Season

This week was the last of our school district's six-week after-school running club, the Landsharks. This year Josh joined Ben in the practices and races and both had a great time. Ben once again proved to be fast, really fast, and reveled in the joy of running. Josh stayed in the middle of the pack, wearing a big smile through his races. I am glad the kids love to run so much. We sure love watching them race!

It's a great program. There are three weeks of twice weekly practices. Then there are three races over three weeks, one race a week, which cuts the practices down to one per week. The slogan for the program is "every finisher a winner." The kids are encouraged to race against themselves, trying to do better every week than they did the week before. When they publish the results, it is all alphabetical, not by finish time. I really love that philosophy for these little ones of ours. It keeps the kids running and enjoying themselves. And as parents, Adam and I encourage the kids along these same lines. But of course, especially for Ben, who is so quick it amazes us, we keep track of all the official stats in secret. :) So here they are:

Ben chose to run the 1.5 mile race, the longest option, all three weeks. The first race he ran in 13 mintues, 21 seconds. Only 4 2nd graders total ran the 1.5 mile that week, the rest of the 34 runners were 3rd-5th graders. He was almost 12 minutes ahead of the next 2nd grader. He came in 5th overall and all the kids that beat him were 4th and 5th graders. The official time from the first race was a little questionable, since in the second race, Ben ran the 1.5 miles in 9 minutes 51 seconds (a 3+ minute improvement, but without much change to his placement). But WOW! That's just a little under a six-and-a-half minute mile! He was 8th out of 31 runners. This time only one other 2nd grader ran the 1.5 mile race. It was his good buddy, Luke, who was only 1/2 second behind him. It was fun seeing them stick together. The third race Ben finished in 10 minutes, 8 seconds, coming in 6th out of 43 runners, again only beat by 4th and 5th graders. He's heading to the citywide 1.5 mile race next Monday night. It should be a fun evening! He's really excited. He just loves it. We are so proud of him!
Josh ran the half mile race all three weeks. His time in his first race was 5 minutes, 30 seconds. As he was finishing the race, he heard us cheering for him and a huge grin split across his face. You could tell he was feeling like a rock star! His second race he showed a huge improvement, just like his brother, and finished in 3 minutes, 59 seconds. His goal was to do better the second time, and he did more than meet that goal, he destroyed it! His final race was run in 4 mins, 18 seconds. He was sad it was the last race, because he really enjoyed race night. When we asked him why he said, "Because I get a treat at the end." They hand out fruit snacks or a Clif bar at the finish line. The way to that boy's heart is definitely through his belly! What a crack-up! We are incredibly proud of Josh too. Both boys put in a lot of effort this season, and it paid off!One of my favorite things about race night was the stunning Colorado skies. I love our beautiful sunsets here. It was perfect to be outdoors in the warm (actually HOT!) late-summer/early-fall nights we've been having, cheering on my boys, experiencing their pleasure in the sport, and watching the glorious beauty of the Colorado skies.