I loved this picture of him towards the end of the race, as this is what we imagined he would be like for the whole race! We pushed him and Katie in a stroller for a 5K Halloween fun run (which we walked, as I am NOT a runner) about a month ago, and Mark let him out of the stroller to run the end of the race with him. Ben LOVED it, and ran really fast and enthusiastically for a long time. He kept talking about doing another race, so we thought the Houston Area Road Runner Association 'Just for Kids Fun Run' would be perfect for him. They have a variety of events for children of different ages, and we signed Ben up for the 400 meter run, and it even had a "heat" (is that what it is called?) specifically for kids ages 3-5.
It's held the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and we've been looking for non-food (particularly non-sweets) ways to celebrate seasons and holidays (as well as just fun things to do as a family that emphasize exercise) --- so we thought how perfect would this be?! They had several bounce houses and a fire engine there as well.
So we loaded the kids up in the van on Saturday morning and headed out for the run. Ben enjoyed the bounce houses and fire engine as we waited for his race to start. Unfortunately, though, the race got off to a bad start for Ben, since they fired a gun for the "go" signal, and then there was a loud megaphone with speakers along the course cheering the kids on. Ben is sensitive to loud noises, so he spent the first part of the race crying and covering his ears and refusing to go. Fortunately, the course was a turn-around halfway through time, so when he and Mark(who was running with him, while Katie and I cheered on the sidelines) were at the end of the pack, they turned around early to head back towards the finish line. We did get him to run for a bit towards the end of the course (although, I'm not sure he exactly ran across the finish line), and the event photographers got this great picture of him.
So I paid $10 for this digital download --- a beautiful picture of my son, which does NOT represent the actuality of the event for him. But this is how I pictured it would be. And we'll try again next year. Mark loves to run, and we hope Ben (and Katie, eventually too) will also love running, and that it can be a daddy/children activity they can enjoy together in the years to come. And Ben really DOES love to run - he just didn't enjoy this particular run. So, ultimately, I had to have a picture of Ben's first race - even if it's not exactly accurate. :)
