Sarah and 18 other girls from her school participated in the Girls On The Run program at their school this fall. They had practice 2 days a week. At practices they would run, play games, have a lesson, and eat a small snack together. All these practices led up to the final event...a 5k. Each girl had a running buddy who would complete the final 5k run with them. I was Sarah's running buddy. November 13th was the day. We were ready. The run was held in and around Watson Park. There were over 1300 people in the run. Sarah's school team met before the race for a few pictures. They each wore matching socks, shirts, and headbands.
They had 4 great coaches.
Before the race started I ran into one of my friends from college, Sara Budden Meng, who was also there to run with her daughter, Claire. We visited for a couple minutes then Sarah and I went to stretch a little and line up with the other 1300 people.
The race site was crazy with so many people there. Parking was a mess. Eric took a few pictures at the beginning of the race, to give you an idea of how crowded and crazy it was.
Sarah did great! She started a little slow, but with encouragement from me picked it up just a little, and held her pace until about the last half mile. Then with more encouragement from me was able to speed up some more and then sprint into the finish line. I talked to her throughout the entire race. Her friends, coaches, and teachers who came to watch cheered her on and brought a smile to her face as she ran past them.
We finished strong with a time of 29:17. Sarah was the first girl from her GOTR school group to finish. The next one from her group did not cross the line until about 5 -6 minutes later. Sarah trained, practiced, and ran well! Her strength and determination to compete and do well always shine through. Way to go tough girl!
I love you Sarah, and I love running and competing with you. I will always be your biggest fan.
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