Galloway Gallop 1K

So, my friend asked me to run with her 4 year old for the Galloway Gallop 1K, while she runs with her 6 year old, and their Dad takes pictures. But she warned me that he'd probably run a little bit, and then I'd have to carry him for most of the way. So, I agreed, but I made sure I explicitly told her that "I don't know how to carry a child," and also that sometimes little kids don't like me. Someone else ran with him last year, and from the story of that race, I think he had to be carried most of the way, and he kept saying that he was "bumpy."

And it was sooooo cold, and raining a little bit, and windy. Nobody was expecting a breakthrough performance. He ran straight through probably 700 meters. He was pushing through pain, I could tell. He was digging deep. He was visibly tired, and zigzagging on the road a bit, but when someone passed him, he'd find another gear, and match pace. At one point, he said, "mumble mumble TIIIIIIIIIIIIRRRRRRRRRRRED!"

There was a difficult point, about 3/4 of the way through, where I think he was about to cry, and I suggested he walk a bit, so we did. And I asked him if he wanted me to carry him, so I piggybacked him for a hundred meters or so, but when I asked him if he wanted me to put him down so he could finish, he said Yeah! And he took off running again and even kicked it in the last hundred meters or so.

And his parents were very proud of him and his brother. They both did great, and nobody was bumpy. And I had fun too. We've discovered yet another talent of mine, "pacing young children in road races."

Rock on.
Keith.