Trail Mama, Trail Kiddo

Trail Runner Magazine throws a topic at its readers every month via their Blog Symposium. 

June's topic is........

Tell us about someone awesome you've met through trail running.

I've met a lot of awesome people through trail running.  The women I attempted my first 50K with, the guy who talked me into signing up for my second 50K, Diane van Deren, the amazing married couple who wake up on a Tuesday and decide that they will run that 50 miler on Saturday just because they want to.  I wasn't sure who to write about.  I could not decide.

So I went for a run.  And I found my answer chasing me.

Future Ultra Champ :)

I'm a single mom and that means I get to balance work, mama-hood, school, running, fun, sleep, laundry, etc, etc, etc.  A lot of the moments I wish I could have with my kiddo are missed out on because I have to get one more thing done.  Sometimes my running makes me feel a little guilty- all the time spent training could be spent with my kiddo instead.  But then days like today happen- the two loves of my life unite and magic happens.

Last year, I ran the Knoxville half-marathon.  My kiddo had run the kid's run the night before and was with my sister waiting to cheer me on at mile marker 8, which also happened to be the start of the Greenway stretch.  As I ran past them, he started running and caught up with me asking if he could run with me.  My sister agreed to meet us at mile 10 at the end of the Greenway, so off we went.  I wasn't out to break any records, so I wasn't worried about having to walk.  He surprised me- he ran nearly the entire 2 miles with me- we PASSED people!  He gave a boost to everyone we passed and those who passed us.  At one of the water stops, a guy with a megaphone was cheering on the runners when he spotted the Kiddo and started yelling "GO LITTLE MAN GO!!"  He was exhausted by the time we hit mile 10, but still going.  He was 5 3/4 years old.  (The 3/4 is very important.......)

Coming off the Greenway

Everyone was cheering for him, especially me :)

That brings me to today- we went to our local nature preserve just to kill some time and we decided to take the trail that led by the river.  Our trail rule is that you can wander, but you must stay within sight.  All of a sudden he says, ON YOUR MARK_GET SET_GO and takes off.  My sister and I didn't have much of a choice- we took off after him.  And ended up running the entire time; passing, tagging, chasing, laughing.  We'd come to a screeching halt to check out something cool looking and then take off again, calling out the occasional reminder that there were other people out there and not to slam into anyone.  (He didn't.) 

Sheer Joy

I don't know if I can actually say that I met my son on the trail- obviously, I met him way before then.  I can say that when we hit the trail and run together, I am able to push away all the rest of the worldly garbage and worries and focus wholly on my kiddo.  I can give him the uncomplicated time of just rolling with it- stop-go fast-go slow-dodge the pedestrian-holler a quick "excuse us!" over my shoulder- and just keep going.  It's summertime- school's out and the trails are calling.  With any luck, most of our free days will end exactly like this one........happy, a little sunburned, and tuckered out.

Tuckered out