Running Club

Running Club: 

Some form of anxiety begins to fill my chest as I wait with the other runners at the starting line.  A bullhorn is blown and someone starts yelling “Go, Go, Go!”   I began to move as those around me take off.  I allow the other runners to go ahead of me, not minding when they pass me by.  It is exhilarating to be surrounded by excited and moving bodies, who are all anxious to speed up, all ready to shoot forward when there is no one blocking their way.  After a crowded few minutes the space opens up and I have a little elbow room.  I take it easy, going at a steady jog.  I know that my breath is already rasping and that I am among the slower runners bringing up the rear.  It is fun, it is exciting, and I jog, with intermittent walking, for 6 laps.  The equivalent of a mile and a half.  I am the tallest person out on the elementary school playground.  I stay within the coned off trail.  Many other runners are cutting through the open field or using the brightly colored, plastic cones as hurdles, leaping over them.  Sometimes they knock them over and I bend to pick them back up.  I stop to help tie shoe laces when needed, and my 1^st grader gives me a high five, and asks for water.   I am part of my son’s elementary school running club.  Every student is invited to participate.  Two days a week they meet after school.  Each time they make the loop around the outskirts of the playground, a parent volunteer hands them a popsicle stick, and at the end of the 30 minutes every student’s popsicle sticks are counted and recorded.  The weekly count is added to the previous week.  Those students who have a large amount of laps recorded will receive recognition at the end of the school year.  Some kids even get up to a hundred or more laps. 

My son and I both usually run 6 laps, though He is getting faster and will often go ahead of me to keep up with his buddies.  Neither of us are naturally lithe and springy like many of the kids that shoot past us.  But, we love the feeling of running.  As a parent, I love that he loves it. J 

I also have a deep appreciation for the idea that our efforts add up.  Three laps one day, four laps later in the week.  They are very small feats.  They may not really be very important.  However, they add up.  By the end of the year I can tell my son that he has run 22miles, or 30miles, or even 50 (depending on how much faster we might get). 

The little things that we do in our lives, for ourselves, our health, and for our children can really add up and teach a much bigger lesson than simply how to run in a circle.  The little things can add up to humungous, gigantic, insurmountable accomplishments.