Town Day Road Race: Recap & Top 10 List

RUNNING... 

The Trachsel crew; just before the start of the race.

On Saturday, our town reinstated the Winchester Town Day Road Race, an event that started back in 1997 but for some reason stopped happening in 2006.  Originally our local running club, the Winchester Highlanders, were planning to bring it back in 2014.  But after the bombings took place at the Boston marathon this past April, the plan changed.  The club was motivated to make it happen earlier in order to raise funds for both the Boston One Fund and the fund for Winchester resident Officer Richard Donohue, who was wounded during the shootout that took place with the suspects on April 19th.  The Highlanders, which I have run with on occasion, scrambled like nobody's business, got a boat-load of volunteers to help out and, within two months, magically pulled it all together.  Hats off to them as it is no small feat to hold a race....time crunch or not.  When I learned that this race would take place, I suggested that Rosie, my 8 year old, run the 2.5 mile loop with me.  She'd been eager to race with me this year and I felt like this would be a great distance for us to start with.  Up until this point, she'd run a little bit, but the most she'd cobbled together in terms of an actual "run" was probably about 10 minutes non-stop.  It would definitely be a challenge, but we could take our time and I was confident that she could finish.  As soon as my 6 year old caught wind of this plan, she let us know that she was doing it, too.  She's significantly smaller than Rosie, doesn't quite have the stamina or strength, and had never before tried to "go for a run", but nothing (and I mean, NOTHING) was going to keep her from joining us.  So on the morning of the race, after some quality stretching, the whole Trachsel family headed down to run the race.

Rosie & Grace doing the runner's lunge.

I had recruited my husband to run with my younger one in case some carrying was necessary (which it was...on the shoulders, no less).  It was hot as he** and all of us were dripping with sweat before the race even got underway.  The girls seemed to be melting as we stood and listened to the announcements, so I was not sure how it was going to all shake out.  But we lined up regardless, and off we went.  As you can see below, Rosie had a skip in her step as we headed out.  But as soon as we approached the first hill, I could sense a shift in her mental state and the ear to ear grin that she started with was nowhere to be seen.  She made it successfully through the first mile but then she began doubting whether she could get through the whole thing.  I told her to relax and walk whenever she needed to, to take water at all the stops, and that we'd get through it together.  She seemed okay with this and kept on.  She would pick it up when she saw people clapping and cheering for her (and for the photographer, of course) and then would slow down to a walk through the dead spots.  We chatted the whole time, enjoying all the excitement together and working through the tougher parts when the heat was getting to us and there was no water in the picture.  She made me laugh a lot and I tried to keep her motivated.  As we approached the finish line, she asked if I would stop and walk while she ran through as she wanted to come in before me.  I suggested we hold hands and go through together.  "No", she replied, "I'd really like to win, mom."  Fair enough.  She won on so many levels with this experience.  And so did I.  As a mom and a runner, it was one of the most amazing moments I've shared with my daughter to date.  I hope it's the first of many races that we do together.  And I'm pretty sure she does, too.

Rosie and I in the first mile. Yep, she was skipping.

Top 10 Comments from my 8 year old during the Town Day Road Race

1. Okay, this is a little different from my expectations. 
~ she said this at about half a mile as we trudged up a hill in the blistering heat.  I let her know that the heat was making it much harder than it usually is, which seemed to help a little.

2. Wow, there are a lot more hills in this than I wanted.
~ "Yea", I said, "we never really 'want' hills.  But they are hard to avoid, especially in our town."  Silence from her end and a slight eye roll.

3. How many more minutes now?
~ This was after the first mile, which we ran in about 11 minutes.  I didn't have the heart to tell her we had another 20 minutes to go, so I said, "just a little while."  Thankfully, she bought it.

4. I wish there was water for us and sprinklers to run in at each one of these houses that we're passing.
~ "Yea, that would be AWESOME."  That's all I could offer on this one.

5. Hey mom, look at this leaf, it's heart shaped.
~ At this point she stopped and picked up the leaf and completely lost sight of the fact that she was in the middle of a race.  I tried to gently remind her that we needed to keep going.

6. UGH!! More hills, mom?
~ "Yea, Rosie.  Sorry about that."

7. I really wish I had brought music for this.
~ I nodded and told her I understood how that might help.  Fortunately, I was carrying my iPhone so we played music out loud for the rest of the race.

8. I can't wait until this is over and I can tell my friends that I ran like 10,000 steps.
~ And you do that, hot shot.  You've earned the bragging rights. (I thought this to myself)

9. I want to win so when we get to the finish line, you walk and I'll run. Okay?
~ Umm....okay. Sure. Go for it.

10.  Is THAT the finish line?
~ "Take it home, girl!"

A few hours later, we were driving to a birthday party and I said, "So, what do you think, Rosie.  After your experience today...did you like it or not so much?"  I had no idea what to expect in terms of her response.  Her answer;  "Oh yeah.  I loved it."  I smiled.  And so it begins....

...AND MUSIC

Listen to this:
Beautiful World (Original Mix) - Paul Oakenfold & Disfunktion Ft. Spitfire