The Big Race

I’ve been running for close to a decade now. My app started recording my runs in September of 2012, but I’m pretty sure that I started running before that. I think I ran my first half in July 2012, and I think that was the year I started. Anyway, I’ve been running a long time now. However, I’ve never run our local relay race. I’ve always been either out of town or had other plans, like the wedding of a certain little brother or having a baby that week. But this year, it all finally came together and I was able to put a team together and run it!

Pat was the one who said that he wanted to run it (his first race ever!), so he and I were going to run with Lacey on her team, but then we realized that Nathan and Cassie were going to be around that weekend, so we put together a family team with them and Cassie’s sister Danielle. We settled on the name Team Duke in Boots, after Gabe’s pirate ship. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring the ship as our mascot…

Also, two days before the race, Pat was doing some out-of-town work and decided to do some running in his boots and that made his foot very, very angry, to the point where running was just not an option. But Cathy was able to jump in at the last minute, rather than me having to run two legs, so we still kept it in the family, since she’s pretty much family at this point.

My favorite moment from the race was right before I started running. Gabe asked me if he could run with me, so we ran the beginning of the leg together. I told him he could run to the parking lot with me. This came in handy later, at the end of the race, when he wanted a snack. Gramps told him that the food was for the runners, and he pointed out that he had run the race also…

I think we were the only team to have such a young cheering section. But all three boys made sure to cheer. Josy was very good with his cowbell and Jeremiah made sure to scream loudly every time he was in the car.

Someone forgot his own running pants and may have had to wear his wife’s…



The Cassie/Danielle handoff 





The whole team, including the cheering section, at the finish line!!



We didn’t get to stay too long at the end because Nathan and Cassie had to go to a friends wedding and Gabe had a tball game that the rest of us wanted to get to, but we all had a fun time and I’m pretty sure we need to do it again next year. And by next year, hopefully someone else will have a functioning foot so he can run with us rather than just being the designated driver…