The Lippman Family Blog: Thomson School Fun Run

The Thomson School Fun Run is an event that is near and dear to my heart. My memories of running it when I was at Thomson are some of my fondest memories of my elementary career, so I was thrilled for Lexi to be a part of it. Additionally exciting was that the PTO president ask me if the Striders would be willing to host a little training session for the kids in the weeks leading up to the event. I was thrilled to do that, and lucky to have a few MVSers who were willing to help me out. We held two sessions in the two weeks before the event, and on the first night I was shocked when 18 kids showed up! The next week, on a dreary Tuesday evening, we had over 30 kids come, and they all had a blast! We did a lap to warm up, some dynamic warm ups across the field, practiced racing and cheering for our teammates, and even had some fun with a good, old fashioned banana relay. It was so much fun, and we had a lot of wonderful feedback from both the kids and the parents. Here are some pictures that my mom took for us:

Thomson School Fun Run Training

The next week should have been the week of the Fun Run, but disappointingly threats of thunder forced the event to be postponed. Ultimately, it never rained, and when Lexi noticed that she had a little "just like her mom rant" about it. "You know," she said, "we could have had the Fun Run tonight. If they want us to Fuel up to Play 60, then they have to SHOW US Fuel Up to Play 60, and that means no ice cream socials, no cookies, no popsicles, and when we want to run they have to LET US RUN!!!" What can I say? She's my kid! But, the decision was the right one to make, because when we actually got to have the Fun Run the following week, the weather was fantastic. (Note - Fuel Up to Play 60 is a program that was introduced in the school this year. The basic concept is to teach the kids about eating healthy food that can give their bodies enough energy to play or exercise for 60 minutes each day. At the beginning of the year they had a kick of party where they served the kids cake and hot chocolate to celebrate. No, I'm not kidding.)

The event was changed this year to be at the track, and incorporate some other activities as well. So there was Zumba, a balance beam (or balance rope?), karate, etc. to keep the kids entertained. Each grade and each gender had their own race, and all the kids worked really hard. Lexi ran her heart out and did great. She was very pleased with herself, although she plans to win next year. :) Of course, I was thrilled with how well she did, and had so much fun being a part of it with her.

Lexi Runs The Fun Run

Overall, it was a wonderful event and I am so proud of Lexi for how hard she worked. It was wonderful for me too, as lots of kids from the training program came up to me at the Fun Run to tell me how much the training helped them in the race! One girl from our training program told me she won her race because she learned how to pace herself from our program. Another girl who won her race came over to me smiling and thanking me for the training. She said, "This is a very big accomplishment for me, because I'm not really a runner." I said, "Well, you are now!"

I'm already looking forward to next year. :)