Running Club has been an overwhelming success.  This weekend was the culmination of three weeks of training as 80 students and their parents participated in the St. Paul Latino Peace Officers Association 1 mile/5K Family Fun Run.  I was asked to be one of the coaches, encouraging the young runners to keep moving for the entire duration of the mile.  We arrived at Joseph's Grill in West St. Paul around 8am Saturday morning to get our numbers, t-shirts, and for some stretching.

During warm ups, I checked in with several of my students, two of whom promised they would keep up with me during the entire mile.  The gym teacher wanted me to be checking in on all of the runners to make sure everyone was doing alright during the race, but I promised my two runners I would stick by them for most of it.  As we got ready to start, I looked around for someone to appreciate the appropriatness of a "I shouldn't have carbo-loaded on fettucini alfredo" reference, but found no takers. 

The horn sounded and we were off.  The track was set up as a loop, with the first half being mostly flat with an uphill jaunt at the midway point, and the way back starting downhill and finishing flat.  Several of the kids started off sprinting but most practiced our preaching of the "pace yourself!  Pace yourself!" and kept things slow and steady.  After a minute I increased my pace to check in on the students who started off running faster.  One fourth grader was running with his mother and had already slowed to a walk, complaining of shoulder pain.  His Mom picked up her pace and said with a wink, "Come on!  You don't want your Mom to beat you do you!  Pick it up!"  I was inspired.

I went a little farther ahead, then I heard fast moving footsteps approach me from my left.  I looked over and saw one of my two runners, a kindergartner, weezing as she slowed to a walk: "I... (gasp, gasp) finally caught you! (gasp, gasp)"  She started to walk but I interrupted, "Keep pumping your arms and moving your legs!  You just caught up to me, I bet you can go even faster!"  I slowed my pace to a trot and jogged with her until her Mom caught up.  "Good work honey!"  She said to her.  "I'm running as fast as Mr. Eustis!"  the girl said right before we hit the hill, which slowed her down considerably.

After the hill there was a cone signaling a turn around which we circled and then went back down the hill.  The kindergartner picked up a head of steam from the hill and ran well ahead of her Mother and me, a pace she managed to sustain for the remainder of the mile.  I checked in with a couple more students (including the fourth grader of Mr. Useless fame) and before I knew it, the Fun Run was over.  I clocked in at a final time of 11 minutes and 53 seconds, and finished behind both the kindergartner and fourth grader who set out to run with me.  At the end of the race all of the kids were given a green ribbon for participating and at the insistance of the kindergartner, I asked for a ribbon as well.  Aaron, you may have run a marathon last fall, but when's the last time you completed a Fun Run in under 12 minutes?