And they're off!
In this photo, Jared is the tallest one with dark hair to the far left, Haley is on the right in purple with Allison in blue beside her and Derek is further back on the right, looking down and wearing black (behind the girl in the white t-shirt and blue shorts). I can't see the rest of them in this picture, I was just snapping as fast as I could and hoping to catch some of them).
My third son, Derek was the first of the family to cross the line, and won second in his age division.
His son Jared wasn't too far behind,
and his daughter Haley was next in the family line-up of finishers.
My fourth son Aaron (in sunglasses), who hadn't trained at all for this, was the fourth family finisher,
followed by my brother-in-law Jay, who was running as an incentive to get Derek to quit smoking! It was a bet they made last year--Jay said if he ran and beat Derek that Derek would have to quit smoking. Jay is 56, Derek is about 20 years younger. Some of us heard--in the presence of witnesses--Derek say that if Jay just finished the race he'd quit! Will he really do it? We're all hopeful. Jay lost 20 pounds and worked out to be able to run, and I am so proud of him--and inspired. What a guy.
Next was granddaughter Jordan's husband Ethan, followed by
Allison, volleyball player extraordinaire, also did not train to run, but decided to give it a go and did a great job.
Allison's mom Jennifer crosses the finish line--she also had not trained but decided on the spur of the moment earlier in the week to try it.
The running crew (minus Haley; she'd already run off with friends).Next year? Oh yeah--I'll be walking the route. Not running, mind you, but I can certainly walk. I have a feeling there will be several more of the family joining up next year besides me.
Add it to our 4th of July traditions, perhaps? Not a bad idea.
I can't imagine how proud you must be of all of them! Wow! I would love to see my kids do this but I would never get too far since I have to stop and pee about every 10minutes. lol
ReplyDeleteAaron is still reeling in his excitement of having finished. I'm very proud of him indeed. He started to train last fall and he worked really hard but then came the horrible weather this winter and then followed the endless overtime. But he did it anyway.
ReplyDeleteI think it is really cool that everyone participated. I am really proud of my dad. He did a great job of staying with it all year. A little motivation for me to get off the couch.
ReplyDeleteI'm proud of Aaron too, Jaime. There were many who never made it to the finish line--about half, I'd guess. Aaron did it with a smile.
ReplyDeleteAnd Christopher, I'm with you. Your dad is an inspiration to us all. We need to get moving like he did.
Cathy, maybe they have portapotties along the route? lol
I was in Ripley last year visiting my brother-in-law and his family during the week of the 4th. Ripley definitely has a big bang celebration going on for the 4th.
ReplyDeleteOnce I made it through town I wasn't sure if I was ever going to make it back to their house because of all the traffic.
Lot's of fun though!
You learn how to navigate around it, Jessica. Go out early to get free parking; bring your folding chair; choose what to attend or not to attend. And don't even think about trying to get through town unless you want to go all the way around by 21 and the interstate during the parade.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun time! Jay and I really enjoy ourselves when we come out. It is amazing to me for a small town to be able to put on such a great show. America at it's best!
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Sounds like a great tradition to start! Eat, socialize and then go walk or run it off.
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