After School Running Club

Wayne, Cole, and Heather have joined the after school running club, organized by their PE teacher. It meets once a week after school. He teaches them proper running technique and the importance of stretching properly. Then they run laps around the school property and soccer field, increasing their distance each time. It gives me a workout too, since any student in first grade or younger has to have a parent accompany them.

Every once in a while, the "coach" teacher throws in a weekend activity. This weekend he invited the kids to meet up with him at Lake Region for a 2 mile run. The course included a lap around the track, then a twirl around the cross country course, ending with another lap around the track.

I took this picture and that was the last I saw of Wayne and Cole, as they took off, leaving Heather and me in a cloud of dust.

 The cross country trail was beautiful, with what's left of the foliage and a 60 degree morning.

 Below, I tried to get a picture of Wayne and Cole as their trail looped back passed the one Heather and I were on, but you can barely see them on the left.

 Heather did a great job, jogging along, but sometimes she wanted to walk a bit. Hey, she's only 6.

 I tried to capture the view as we emerged from the wooded trails, but this picture does not do it justice. This is where W,C and H will go to high school in a few years.

I was so proud of them all. Cole really surprised me. When the running club meets during the week, he doesn't take it too seriously. It's just more time to goof off with his best friends Zephyr and William, spending very little time running. But since they weren't there today, he loped along at a steady clip, coming in second only to Wayne (this was not a race) and even accidentally running an extra half mile along the way. It seemed so easy for him, and you would never know he expended any effort when he was done. He was not tired at all. I think he inherited the family running genes. He's a natural.

All the kids who finished the two mile run were awarded a gift certificate for a creamy.