Lace up your Running Shoes

This summer my kids participated in a running program. My one daughter really takes to running. This past Sunday they had a mock track meet and she walked away with two first place finishes and a second place finish. My other daughter is also fairly speedy, though less competitive. When she would pass me during her races, she would slow down to wave at me and smile. She still managed to get a third place ribbon despite her casual approach to the whole thing. But my proudest moment was actually with my son.

He is *not* a natural-born runner. It's not his passion, it doesn't come easily for him and to be honest, he doesn't even really like it. When the program started, he would run short distances and then stop because his knees were hurting. And he was never enthusiastic when it was time to leave for track practice. But I loved that he always had a good attitude while he was there. He'd run around the track with a smile on his face and my heart would be bursting with pride for this guy who is such a good sport.

At Sunday's track meet, the kids were allowed to sign up for a max of three events and the younger kids were encouraged to sign up for the shorter distances. My little runner signed up for the 100, 200 and 400. The other two were content with the 100 and 200. They all ran their races and they all did great but afterward, my son seemed to have some regrets that he had not tried the 400. So I encouraged him to go do it and I would wait. So he did. He ran around that track by himself, just to prove to himself that he could. And that my friends, was my proudest moment of the entire day.