Noticing the radio station banner outside of a local shop, I made an impulse decision to run in the 21st Annual Oak Hall Run for St. Jude.
As Sunday rolled around, I began to feel the excitement build up inside of me. Would I finish well?
Getting ready for Sunday School, I shared my nervous feelings with my two sons, Cody (7) and Tyler (6). They gladly agreed to come and cheer me on at the finish line. As the morning wore on, however, something began to happen. The boys began to catch my excitement. I could see it lighting up their eyes and spreading throughout their young bodies.
It came as no surprise, when later that morning they expressed their desire to run the race WITH me.
Then came the dilemma. How could I run my best time, prove to myself what I was capable of, AND allow them to run the race WITH me?
Ahhhh. . . a possible solution came to light. I would ask my HUSBAND to run with the boys.
It seemed like the perfect solution. The idea MUST have lost much of its attraction through translation, however, for my husband was far from enthusiastic at the prospect of running 3 miles with the tots. In fact, he adamantly denied any participation beyond that of finish line photographer.
It would be up to me.
Throughout the years, I had run with the boys on various vacations and knew that the likelihood of them finishing one mile, let alone three was highly unlikely. However, the excitement in their eyes could not be denied. Mom would run with them. Somehow, we would make it.
And make it we did.
In all honesty, if I live to be 100 years old. . .I can't imagine ever doing anything again that I will cherish more than I do the memory of this event.
To begin. . we stood halfway back in the pack. There were more than 3,500 runners and walkers participating and the crowd was swelling. My eldest son, Cody, was not pleased with our location in the pack. Of course, he thought we should be up front as he was set on speeding his way to first place victory. I explained to him that should he decide do that, he was on his own. . .but I thought it was a much better plan to conserve our energy in order to increase our chances of lasting out the three miles.
About 1/4 of the way into the first mile, my youngest, Tyler, began to complain that his feet were hurting, that he was hot, and he wanted to know if we had gone a mile yet. Certainly, I had expected such complaints, but I had not prepared myself to be confronted with them so early on in the run. To help, on the other side of me was Cody, who was expressing his extreme thirst and was also curious to know how far we had been running.
Today, I can look back at that moment and smile at the desperate, sinking feeling I experienced. Then, however, seriously doubting my sanity, I was thinking to myself, "this is going to be a VERY long run."
I patiently explained to the boys that we were not even half way to the first mile mark and that I was not sure if there would be water along the way. I reminded them that THEY were the ones who wanted to come on the run and that when they verbally shared their misery, they were making the run miserable for every one around them. And then, I began to tell them a story.
The story involved a little boy, just 7 years old, who took a trip with his mother and grandmother. And how on this trip, their car swerved off the road and ran into a ditch, in the middle of nowhere, on a country road, with snow all around. I told them how the little boy could not wake his grandmother, and how his mother was stuck in the car, with blood coming out of her arm and leg (boys love gore). The boy, not having any training or practice in running, was able to get out of the car and run an entire three miles to the nearest farmhouse, where he got help. Because of his will power, determination and strength, he had saved his mother and grandmother.
I then asked each of the boys if they thought the boy in the story got tired during his long run. They both were sure that he had. I also asked them if they thought he ran all the way or walked some of the way. Once again, they were both certain that somehow he had managed to run the entire way.
I then asked them what THEY would have done in that same situation and they replied earnestly that they would have found a way to run to the nearest farmhouse without stopping.
The story was successful in diverting their minds and we continued to run. As we approached the first mile marker, we were quite relieved to see that there WAS water! The boys happily drenched their thirst and were rewarded with a second wind. I encouraged them to try to conserve their energy as we still had two more miles to go. They did well, although both held onto my hands as we went UP the hills. There was just one complaint this mile, which came from Tyler who was getting very hot in his St. Jude T-shirt, which hung down to his knees. We managed to slip the shirt off over his head as we ran, leaving him wearing a bright orange tank top and me carrying his shirt.
We came to the end of the second mile at the top of a hill. Water tables were set up and volunteers stood begging to dump water on the runners. I encouraged them to dump all they wanted onto Tyler, who was in front of me. . .and they did. . about 10 cups of water came splashing down upon his head. . .his smile was tremendous!
I turned around to see Cody behind me, looking a little left out. .and I said "THAT DUDE TOO!" at which point they were all too glad to help out. So I now had two drenched boys and we were on our last mile home!
Tyler began to speed up as Cody was wearing out. Cody was beginning to have lots of pain in his body and began to make coughing noises indicating that he was reaching his limit. I was fearful of him loosing his stomach. .but he insisted on running.
We were, however, loosing sight of Tyler's little blond head as he zoomed ahead of us, and past runners three times his age and size.
Experiencing that moment, I know that the smile on my face could surely have rid the world of all darkness. . .the pride in my heart near the point of being painful. .the sting of joyful tears pressing behind my eyes.
And we ran on.
It was at this point that I realized I was holding onto Tyler's shirt and that pinned to the shirt in my hand was his race number. He could not cross the finish line without his number.
It was a rough decision but one I had to make. I explained to Cody what I was going to do and instructed him to get over onto the sidewalk. I knew that without me to help him along, he would soon be walking that last 1/4 mile, but there were plenty of runners behind us and in front of us, so I was sure he would find his way.
And then I took off, sprinting up the last hill, searching for a sign of Tyler. I sprinted hard and fast until at last I saw his bobbing head and orange shirt. He was AMAZING. His speed had continued to build and he was still passing people right and left. . .that little body weaving in and out. .his eyes intent upon the finish line. I caught up to him and encouraged him on. . .and as we passed others. . they too offered their words of encouragement, "Way to go Ty", "Good run Ty", "You've got it Ty". And we finished together. .he a few proud steps ahead of his mother.
I directed him to the water table and then over to my husband who was waiting at the sidelines. My husband had spotted Cody cresting the hill. . .walking with a cup of water in hand. Upon seeing him, he too yelled words of encouragement, and soon Cody was running.
Proudly, I fell into step behind him and encouraged him in. . .to a good finish.
It was an experience of a lifetime. We sat around drinking our Gatorade, eating apples, oranges and bananas. .and Tyler got his hotdog, one of the MAIN reasons he wanted to run in the first place! (big smile) We listened to music and the boys proudly showed off how fast they could run.