Chickie's Harwich 5k Race Report

I am well past due with this race report but I somehow am finding myself pumping the brakes lately as the summer is flying by at rapid speeds!  I can't even believe that it is the 7th already!!!

Way back Chickie decided that she wanted to run a 5k.  I went back and forth because I didn't want to push her too far but since this was her idea I went with it.  We trained for it doing a run/walk method and that was the plan for the race itself.  Of course we got our matching Tough Chik shirts...I mean really you know we had to match!

I'm getting ahead of myself...This race was the Saturday after school ended so there was a lot of buzz at school about it since there were a lot of students (older) who were going to be running it as well as many teachers including many of Chickie's teachers!  We headed down to grab our number the day before so that there would be nothing stressful about race day!

Race day came and she was ready!  We headed down with more than enough time but my hubs and I noticed an almost sour disposition with Chickie which we both attributed to nerves.

Before the race we caught up with many friends and before we knew it it was time to line up.  Now if you've never run a race before, one thing that is common is most people line up and then they need to make space for the runners who try to jump in last minute.  This causes the mass of people to have to move back several times...fine for an adult but unnerving for a 6 year-old who doesn't really understand what's going on.  The hubs pulled Chickie aside until the crowd of over 1000 had settled but she was certainly out of sorts and panicked.

I won't sugar coat this and say we laughed and frolicked along the route.  It was hard...it took digging deep...it took patience....it took a lot of hugs and kisses and encouraging words.  I learned a lot about my daughter and above it all I learned that she can finish what she starts!!  Those 6 year-old legs were working for around 45 minutes which is a long time!!  She fought through it and was so super excited when she turned the corner to find her family and friends and teachers standing along the finishers shoot waiting for her!!! (Thank you all for sticking around!)

She swore she would never run again but I think we have another one in there yet!  I'm so proud of her and the work she did...she even inspired a friend to run next year!!