Race Day 2008

Yesterday was the 12th annual Race for the Cure in our city. I've been participating for 8 years now, and this was the third year the girls have participated with me (4 if you count in-utero).

We stared our day off really early at 6am. Aunt Laura came by to help get everyone ready and go to the race with us. This year we parked at the RBC Center and rode the shuttle buses rather than parking on the campus. It went rather smoothly, and we were at Meredith by 6:50. We went and got some bananas and bagels, and then headed to meet up with the rest of the Trailblazers folks.

They moved the starting point out onto Hillsborough St. this year and moved up the start time by 15 minutes. The street was super crowded, so it was a while before we could get up to a good walking pace. The girls were antsy for a bit, but got into the groove once Mommy provided them with goldfish crackers.

Mommy's friend Sharon helped us on the next leg, pushing up a lot of the big hills. Madeleine was smitten with Marcie though, and kept yelling her name. We couldn't get too far ahead of the group because the girls were looking around for Mommy's friends all the time.

We finished just before 9, so it was about an hour. Not too bad. If there had been more room and we hadn't been waiting for my friends, we probably could have finished in under 45 minutes.

The line for the next race (the co-ed 5K) was enormous.

We went immediately to the Kid Zone where they had a jumping castle and a Tumblebus. The girls patiently waited their turn for the castle, and Madeleine was excited to discover the Tumblebus. Then we played with purple rice for quite a bit. We left around 10 am.

The shuttle bus back to the RBC Center was a little tougher than the ride there. Not only were people not willing to help, but most wouldn't even get out of my way. The jogging stroller just fits up the aisle, and I had one gentleman who refused to move his leg out of the way so that we could get through. He wouldn't even make eye contact. Luckily Laura got the girls settled in the seats, and she came up to help me lift the stroller over everyone's heads.

The girls had a great time, and I look forward to next year when they can run in their own little runners race.