Freshman's first XC race

This is the face of a freshman runner about 200 yards from completing his first High School cross country race. Until today, he's just been running with the pack in practice with no clue of what being in a race is really like.

Today he learned about the butterflies that come before the race.

He learned that maybe he can run faster than he thought. He realized that although his body and his mind wanted to stop several times during the race, he can overcome those feelings, one step at a time.

This is my son, who up until now has been a rather reluctant runner.

He learned that he now has more in common with all of the other runners than he did before the race.

Hopefully he'll continue to run and learn, and most of all, enjoy it!

Catching up

Last post was from New York. Many miles ago.

Since then I have cheered for and run with my daughter as she progressed thru high school cross country and track. What a great experience to watch her learn to enjoy running and make many new friends along the way.

I also gained a new daily running partner, Max.

He's now a 2 year old Weimaraner, weighing in at about 85 pounds. A tireless runner, who loves to meet new dogs along the way and chase rabbits.

As my daughter heads for college, my son is entering High School and announced last week he also wants to run cross country and track. What a pleasant surprise! Today he joined Max and me for a 2 1/2 mile morning run.

I hope he will join us each day for the next week until he joins the team for daily practices.

Max and I are ready!