Sam's First Race

Sam has been talking about running in a kid's race for a while now, and I finally found one that sounded like it would fit the bill. The Close to the Coast 5k & 10k in Winslow Memorial Park had a free 1k kid's run on Saturday morning. We would be in Wolfe's Neck camping anyway, so it sounded perfect. Turns out the whole morning was a big festival with a bounce house, music, BBQ, etc, so it turned out even better than we could have hoped.

Sam headed straight to the bounce house when we arrived, the perfect diversion as the kids race was delayed and started a bit late.

We had her all dressed up her special running outfit - her "fast" new sneakers, new running shorts, and of course, what else but a TMR singlet? Is she adorable, or what? :-)

And after a pre-race snack (yes, those are energy chews... What? She loves them!), and a pre-race photo...

...she was off!

Video of Sam rockin' the race

She did great! Really, she did. For a small four-year old who certainly isn't the fastest runner, she didn't get frustrated when she wasn't in the front of the pack, she just started running and kept on trucking. And although she took off with the other kids like a rocket at the beginning and slowed on the little hill in the middle of the course, she never stopped running and was very focused the whole way. It was so cute. And boy was she proud of herself when she was done! She didn't take off that medal all day :-) Way to go Sam! We are so proud of you!

Post-race, we listened to some music, Sam got a snowcone and we enjoyed the pretty views from the park.

It was the perfect introduction to racing and a great morning!