Family Track Meet

The rec center recently posted an ad for a track meet for ages 6-11, and Taelyn was eager to enter the 70m dash. So we all headed out to the track today to watch her sprinting debut. We expected to watch her in a single race and then head home, but the event turned out to be an entire family experience.

First, there was a coach that took the kids through a warm-up, stretches, and drills, and then the races began. Taelyn's race was first up. Unfortunately, there were only three people in the race, and Taelyn was 1-2 years younger than the other two girls. She had a great attitude anyway. She ran her hardest with a huge smile on her face and came in third place. Shortly after, the coach decided to put her in the 100m dash with the same girls. Again, she ran as hard as she could and discovered how tiring a sprint that long could be. Kaelia was very excited to cheer for her sister during the races. She made a sign for Taelyn prior to the track meet, and ran down the track with it, yelling "Go Taelyn" along the way.

Once the coach finished all of the races for the various age groups, genders, and distances, he then pulled the dads out on to the track and said they needed to race to set a good example for the kids. So Justin went out on the track and attempted to race a 100m sprint without pulling a hamstring. He ended up in second place with a minor tweak to his hamstring. Later, he also went on to win the 200m and aggravated his leg even more.

Next, the coach brought all of the moms on the track to race as well. I took two first place finishes (there wasn't much competition among the other moms) in the 100m and 200m. To conclude the track meet, the coach then called up all of the top three finishers from each race to stand on a podium and receive a medal. Taelyn was very excited for this part.

We are so glad we went to this track and had a great outing as a family. It also helped that the weather is finally cooling down to the 80's with a cool breeze, so we actually want to be outside now. Here are some highlights from the morning.