To be fair, last year Annika enjoyed this race, but there must come a time in every young runner's life when they have a Terrible Race. Annika's fifth race was that race, even though she was all grins at the beginning.
Then the boring people who weren't running the race just stood around and waited...
...some more fashionably than others.
Aidan and I took a cue from Zeke and upped our game.
When Annika and Cadie appeared, I had to chuckle. The scene was an exact replica of last year's race, except that Annika had lost her grin along the way and looked miserable. Plus, Cadie beat her by full seconds instead of milliseconds. Even though I knew it was bound to come sometime, I felt sad not seeing Annika grin her way across a finish line.
Millie, Debbie, and the boys crossed the line neck-in-neck, too, or would have had they been racing.
Susannah felt guilty for running past this older gentleman right before the finish line, even though he was cheering her on and telling her to go faster. :)
Even the Worst Race Ever had a silver (or gold, rather) lining. Annika now has another trophy to balance out the one from last year. Plus, she shaved some seconds off of last year's time, so that's not too shabby, either.
Caleb went to get his trophy, and then the fun started.
By the time the third Purdy got their trophy, a stranger nearby us said, "Purdy family reunion!" and there were still three Purdys to go! They killed that race, huh?
Group photo of the Purdy Family & Friends Running Club. As you can see, Annika had recovered her grin by this point.
Even with her grin returned, she was still wiped out enough for a daytime nap.
And there goes a golden Tom Thumb, racing from her dreams!
ReplyDeleteAnd she caught him, too!
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure why this was the Worst Race Ever, but one of my favorite running stories was of Phil's cross-country race in high school where he came in something like #725 out of 728 runners. He beat a couple of cripples. Whenever I feel like I'm out of my league, I think of Phil running slower than more than 700 other people and still being brave enough to cross the finish line instead of slinking off to the side and feigning a charlie horse. Braver still, he actually tells the story. If Annika ever feels discouraged in a race, she can think of Phil and realize that she can't possibly ever do as badly as he did. ;-)
ReplyDeletePhysically, she felt absolutely rotten, but the weather was quite humid, so she wasn't alone in that!
ReplyDeleteI am sharing the story of Phil. Classic Phil! Man, I miss seeing you guys. Wish the West was nearer to the East!