The Dream Mile

He's had his sights set on this race since Kindergarten. That's when Thomas discovered he had a penchant for running. (We discovered his, um, penchant for competition at birth.) To qualify for the Dream Mile, you have to have a mile time of less than seven minutes. He got his qualifying time in the fall. I kid you not--it's been in the forefront of his mind for months.

He practiced running at the high school track with Jeremy. He runs all the time as a soccer player, too, so that helps. He was prepared. We reminded him to just do his best, and to remember that he was the youngest in the race.

So, on a hot, steamy May morning (horrible running weather), they gathered. 16 boys and 1 girl. Only two 3rd graders in the group. And there was a huge crowd gathered to watch. (It was mostly the 5th grade classes, but Thomas's class came to cheer him on.)

Runners, take your mark.

He started so fast. They all did. I was a nervous wreck. I didn't want him to run out of steam in the middle of the race and forget to pace himself. As they made their first turn, he was in the lead pack. (You gotta love the shaggy hair blowing in the wind.)

He stayed consistantly in 4th place, with Tyson, the other 3rd grader, close behind him in 5th. They completely held their own. When they finished the third lap, and were starting the last lap, Thomas ran by us and whispered to Jeremy, "I don't know if I can do this." So we cheered even louder.

At the very end of the race a boy tried to make a move to pass Tyson and Thomas. Thomas was having none of that, and at the very last second, regained his position.

He did it! He finished in 4th place out of 17 with a personal best time of 6:40.

Tyson and Thomas--The Dynamic 3rd Grade Duo. I was so proud of them.