But Boatn already said it killed the gym manager!

That was never proven.....

My 8 year old and 5 year old got to run in their first race this past weekend. The North Face Endurance Run offered a kids 1K race with their very own bib and a (rubber) medal once they crossed the finish line. And they got to run with the likes of Spongebob, Snow White, Buzz Lightyear, GI Joe. . . And the kids and I got to mean Dean Karnazes. Granted, they didn't know who he was, but I've read all of his books and had him sign one of them. Kinda hoping that the excitement of their first race gets them excited to run. I know I was very proud of them.

So adorable! Congratulations to both of them! (Loved the pics, too).

I think it's great when the kids are running. I ran a 5K this weekend and there were 6 and 9 year old girls, and a couple 10 year olds.

This was my 2nd 5K and I finished 3rd in my age group. OK, I confess, there were only three guys in my age group, so third is also last. But I have a shiny medal, the first I've ever won for running.

And I would have finished second in the 45-54 group and third in the 35-44 group. There were only 110 runners, and most of them were women, so it was pretty easy to place in the men's groups.

The race was for the humane society, and a bunch of people ran with their dogs.

Well Done NP and Brain!!
This is how you teach the next generation! Talk is cheap, its what they see you do that they remember!
I managed 3rd this weekend too Brain. Maybe I can win one in October, Ive got a couple 5 K's coming up. NOt much hope of winning the duathalon, but I'll give a shot!

I'm looking forward to a 5K next week. It's calledd Miles for Meso, and is a fundraiser for mesothelioma research. Our bank will have a team of 9 runners and 18 walkers. They expect over 600 people to participate. After the regular 5K is an Elite 5K with some outstanding runners. A team of Kenyans usually sets the pace. The course is very hilly, and I don't like hills. It's also mostly on cobblestones. Should be interesting.

We've got a 5k this weekend... it's inside the Zoo so I'm pretty psyched about it. Got our registration packets this weekend with our T-shirts, bibs and tracker-thingies.

(double post)

Brain, I have seen 5K's where Kenyans have finished in the 14 minute range. They can hold an incredible pace!

Mani, the race through the zoo sounds fun! Love the "tracker thingy's"! Causes visions of some dewd in a control booth with a satellite camera on you....
"She's entering the T-Rex paddock...."

::trips goat on way through:::

Fixed (for Matt)

Goats - Always just one bad day away from a gyro.

I was picturing the scene from Jurrasic Park with the goat in the T-Rex pit. Figured I'd slow that sucker down and make my escape!!

Dont have to be faster than T-rex, only faster than the goat (or the kid running next to you)!

Or maybe lay really flat! T-rex cant do pushups!

Why else do you think I tripped the goat?

I just hope I don't get distracted by all the animals on Sunday and trip over something/someone.

You need to learn to sing "If I Could Talk To The Animals" from Dr. Dolittle! (the original, not the Eddie Murphy thing) You could sing it as you run through!
You dont grow up with a vet as a dad and not know Dr. Dolittle!

Speaking of animals, we saw a HUGE owl this morning on our walk... s/he was circling around near the edge of the golf course making all kinds of noise. The pups are used to hearing the usual singing birds, but the hooting freaked them out.

5k this past Saturday had several little kids in it. One that I noticed on my way back to my car was with her whole family (presumed fact), parents and 3 kids probably between 8-12. One of the girls was literally screeching in the last 2 blocks of the races about how much her stomach hurt. Darn those cramps! The dad ended up picking her up for the last block. This was probably around the 40 minute range.

Also, whoever planned that race was slightly sadistic. The last .9 miles was a straight line to the finish. Made you want to sprint way too early!

Where I used to live, we had a 6 mile trail though heavy woods, which was a cool run early in the morning. But, one early fall morning before sunrise, I was running and spooked an owl, which then proceeded to scare the everlivingcarp out of m-m-m-me!

Nasty when you arent familiar with the course....."I clould have swarn that was a lot closer!" BTDT!

We had a different sort of sadist. The three mile mark was just before a curve, so I couldn't see the finish, but picked up my pace as best I could thinking I had 100 meters to go. Turns out the 3 mile mark was about a half mile from the finish.

They also had the water set up way off to the side, in a yard, like we were supposed to stop and visit a while. It must have been 20 yards from where we were running, and they just sat there with a table full of plastic cups, watching us go by.

Here is the course we are running this Sunday. Not so sure about all those loopy-loop back-and-forth sections in the last mile...
Brookfield Zoo Run Run Map

I would probably trip over my own two feet as I craned my neck to watch some silly animal antics!

Actually, looks like a cool place to have a run set up!