March 27, 2010
Can I really run 1000 miles for Autism without including my son, Bailey, the inspiration for it all? Of course not! Is he ready at the ripe old age of 8 to finish his first 5K? Well, let's just move on...
The Harrisonburg Run/Walk for Autism seems like the perfect opportunity for Bailey to get his race groove on. In fact, I decided to include the whole family: me, Bailey, Big Sister, Dad, Grandma, and a friend of the family. I sort of registered them without asking, but they were too smart to complain about it, because they knew they would lose!
We showed up on race day in my parents' hometown. Bailey is crazy for Grandma's house, because Grandpa has an enormous and intricate model train table that he custom built in his basement. Bailey is a trainiac, and he cannot get enough of that model train. He never wants to venture too far from their house whenever we visit. The race start was apparently too far away, because Bailey refused to leave his seat in the van and bellowed out "GRANDMA'S HOUSE! TRAIN!"
I finally got him into the building where they were giving the opening welcome speech. We took the obligatory family photo, then headed into the gym to hear touching stories shared by the parents of children with autism who had organized the race. I never actually heard the stories, as I was too busy chasing Bailey away from the gluten-filled carb loading bagel display that was set up next to the speakers.
Next it was time to head to the start. There wasn't actually a starting line, as this was a nice low-key race, so it was more like a hang out spot. Someone decided to bring their dog to the race, which sent my dogophobic son running in the opposite direction when the race finally started. Once we finally got Bailey headed in the right direction, he cried and complained, because we were headed away from the van that would carry him back to Grandma's house and the train table. I sprinted ahead to run with my 10-year old daughter, Carley, while Grandma and Dad walked with Bailey. They said he didn't stop complaining until the race looped back in the direction of the van, at which point he became instantly calm and content.
Carley and I finished in 32:33 and waited around another half hour until Bailey walked up to greet us. We were so proud of him for finishing! We cheered and clapped and hung out for about 20 minutes taking pictures and talking about how cool he was. Suddenly, we realized that no one had actually walked him across the finish line! We doubled back and shoved him through the finisher's chute so he would be official.
When the race results finally came out, Bailey came in dead last in his age group, because of the 20 minute social delay. And what group was he listed in? Girls, age 0-14! Bailey is a common girls name, so no hard feelings there. So, although my son is officially the slowest girl in Harrisonburg, I'm still proud to be his mom. No one knows just how cool he is!
Can I really run 1000 miles for Autism without including my son, Bailey, the inspiration for it all? Of course not! Is he ready at the ripe old age of 8 to finish his first 5K? Well, let's just move on...
The Harrisonburg Run/Walk for Autism seems like the perfect opportunity for Bailey to get his race groove on. In fact, I decided to include the whole family: me, Bailey, Big Sister, Dad, Grandma, and a friend of the family. I sort of registered them without asking, but they were too smart to complain about it, because they knew they would lose!
We showed up on race day in my parents' hometown. Bailey is crazy for Grandma's house, because Grandpa has an enormous and intricate model train table that he custom built in his basement. Bailey is a trainiac, and he cannot get enough of that model train. He never wants to venture too far from their house whenever we visit. The race start was apparently too far away, because Bailey refused to leave his seat in the van and bellowed out "GRANDMA'S HOUSE! TRAIN!"
I finally got him into the building where they were giving the opening welcome speech. We took the obligatory family photo, then headed into the gym to hear touching stories shared by the parents of children with autism who had organized the race. I never actually heard the stories, as I was too busy chasing Bailey away from the gluten-filled carb loading bagel display that was set up next to the speakers.
Next it was time to head to the start. There wasn't actually a starting line, as this was a nice low-key race, so it was more like a hang out spot. Someone decided to bring their dog to the race, which sent my dogophobic son running in the opposite direction when the race finally started. Once we finally got Bailey headed in the right direction, he cried and complained, because we were headed away from the van that would carry him back to Grandma's house and the train table. I sprinted ahead to run with my 10-year old daughter, Carley, while Grandma and Dad walked with Bailey. They said he didn't stop complaining until the race looped back in the direction of the van, at which point he became instantly calm and content.
Carley and I finished in 32:33 and waited around another half hour until Bailey walked up to greet us. We were so proud of him for finishing! We cheered and clapped and hung out for about 20 minutes taking pictures and talking about how cool he was. Suddenly, we realized that no one had actually walked him across the finish line! We doubled back and shoved him through the finisher's chute so he would be official.
When the race results finally came out, Bailey came in dead last in his age group, because of the 20 minute social delay. And what group was he listed in? Girls, age 0-14! Bailey is a common girls name, so no hard feelings there. So, although my son is officially the slowest girl in Harrisonburg, I'm still proud to be his mom. No one knows just how cool he is!
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