Back on October 28th, Noah and Caleb’s elementary school had a race. This was the reason for Noah's legs being sore during Halloween and wanting to stop trick-or-treating before everyone else. It was the school wide fund-raiser, which I thought was pretty neat, instead of selling stuff out of catalogues. We really didn’t know what to expect going into this and I really am surprised, it was an impressive event. Tons of parents volunteering, watching and racing with their kids. There were also teachers out their running too. The point was to get sponsors before the race to donate money per lap you make in the allowed time- 20 minutes for kindergarten and 25 for 1st. Since John and I are not big on asking family and friends for money during these fundraisers we sponsored the boys. We were also a little hesitant about the per lap donations since we had no clue how big the track was and such. I’m glad we stayed with the flat donation- we would have gone WAY over budget!
Now, I have to mention that the night before we were talking with the boys about doing their best. Again we did NOT know what to expect, so I told the boys they shouldn’t be walking that they should be able to run the entire time. I just knew my boys were always running and part energizer bunny, so why not. We of course told them that the boy with the most laps in each grade would get a medal. Noah was worried if he wasn’t the top boy we would be upset. We assured both of them that as long as they did their best we would be proud. John also reminded them that having fun is also important. So far in sports, I’ve been somewhat of the crazy parent and John has been the calm one. (Must read Competitive Nature post to better understand.)
The younger kids and I decided we would go and watch the race. They sent home all the time information so we planned our morning accordingly. They did really well. Ian and Eli gave fives to any kid that would come by. They cheered on their big brothers and danced to their songs that they played. Makaela did well, even though she wanted to walk around and wasn't allowed to and the races were during her morning nap time. Ian can't wait till he gets to go to school and race!
Caleb was up first. They lined all the kids up at different corners of the "track" then had them start walking until they counted down to go. This let the kids fan out better and also know where they were to stop to get the numbers marked off their t-shirts for each lap they made. It seemed to work very well. They had music going and kept reminding the kids to stop and get water and to walk if they needed to. I started to feel a little bad about what I had told the boys the night before.
Caleb took off when they said it was time to run. He ran with such determination! Ian tried to put out his hand for a high five as Caleb ran by us but he just kept speeding past heading for the inside lane. He smiled most of the time as he kept right on running- even after they called time. All we kept yelling was “Good job!”, “Go Caleb!”
Caleb finished the race with 28 laps in the 20 minutes! He always seems to surprise me when it comes to sports. That sweet, quiet kid isn’t so sweet on the field!
Then there was Noah. He started out slow on his first lap. I noticed that his shoe was untied, so when he came back by I stopped him to tie his shoe. I told him that Caleb had done 28 laps and his eyes got HUGE! Then he pulled away from me very quickly, I barely finished tying his shoe and took off! He had a number to beat!! I stood their laughing knowing that I had started something. After that Noah was weaving in and out of traffic (there seemed to be a lot more kids/adults out during this race). He would run by with this fingers up telling me what lap he was on. I caught one of his friends coming up behind him to look at his shirt to see how many laps he had done- Noah with one of his famous serious looks pulled his shirt away from his friend and tells him he needs to beat 28. I have NO clue where he gets it from!!! He was so excited when he passed 28. He made it around a few more times and had about 30 seconds left when I noticed him walking towards us, I called out to him “Come on Noah you have 30 seconds left you can finish it running”. I admit I got caught in the moment at that point, because if anyone had looked at Noah’s face you would have seen a very tired and red faced little boy. I’m sure they would have thought I was a terrible mom for telling him to start running. I did feel better when the boys came home and I asked him about that moment. He told me “I was trying to get around people, Mom, they were going so slow!”
When they came home I also found out that they gave medals to the top girl and boy in each class. They both came home with medals! They were so excited!! I couldn’t help but laugh a little. They are some of the shortest kids in their classes and grades and yet they out ran the other boys. Our saying is “What the boys lack in size they make up in numbers”; I think we need to change it to “What the boys lack in size they make up in numbers and determination!”
I guess at the school’s award ceremony later that afternoon Caleb was called up for his medal and Noah cheered. Then when Noah was called up there he said “Beat that!” My mouth dropped when he told me that. I asked if anyone heard him. He said the second graders did and said "we will", he also said a few teachers heard and they covered their mouths and laughed a little. I had to have a talk about good sportsmanship with him. John and I thought it was funny, but being the parents we had to stress the proper way to act when we win.
Noah and Caleb did really well and we are very proud of them. They are also proud of their medals and have to show them off when people come over. Next year is going to be really interesting. Noah already understands that he had 5 more minutes than Caleb did and next year they will have the same amount of time. I think next year John and I will need to do another flat rate donation. I also wonder if they will have to add numbers to the shirts for their laps- this year it only went up to 40! Competition! Crazy Competition! I'm starting to wonder if it's genetic!