Love Peru Fun Run and 5K

This past weekend our entire family participated in a fun run and 5K race put together by a group of individuals that work with our church's orphanage in Peru. Their goal was to raise some much needed funds for the general operation of the orphanage.

I think this is the first racing event that we've done as a family, and it was awesome fun!

#sisters

My girls came ready to run the 1 mile fun run. Beth, my oldest, was excited to be running it without mommy having to be at her side. I "ran" it with Hannah, my youngest.

Hannah started the fun run in a sprint, but she quickly realized she was not going to be able to maintain that pace. Her strong spirit carried her farther than I expected, but then suddenly, she stopped. At that moment, I had to give her a little pep talk. First, I told her you NEVER stop during a run. (Just like life, right. Don't stop!) Just keep walking. So after I got her walking, I explained to her that she didn't have to run the whole race. She could walk some of it. That's more than okay! And when she started to run again, I encouraged her to slow down and pace herself.

Near the end, she wanted to stop again, but I told her that she was close to the finish line and there would be so many people there waiting for her. They would all clap and cheer for her. And that tid bit of information inspired her to start jogging again, this time really pacing herself, all the way to the finish line.

I wish I could have gotten a picture of her little face as she ran through to the finish. She was smiling from ear to ear as everyone cheered her on. It was priceless!

Beth did a great job! She took off as soon as "go" was shouted and was among the leaders of the pack for a good portion of the fun run. She did a great job pushing herself, and she finished strong! Afterwards, she asked if she could go with a friend and her parents as the friend, their oldest daughter, pedaled on a bike to watch the 5K runners. I said yes. As it turns out, I misunderstood what she was asking to do. That family was registered for the 5K, so Beth went with them! She covered over four miles that day!!

Finishing the 5K after the 1 mile Fun Run!

Needless to say, a great time was had by all in this family! My oldest may have caught a love for running? And I got to teach my youngest about one of the most important post-race rituals no runner should skip: the eating of the banana!

My husband ran the 5K with our children's pastor, and hubby placed first in his age group!

Our children's pastor placed 2nd in his age group! #awards

It was a perfect day to run a race that we will be sure to repeat! You've just got to run (or run/walk) a race. And if you just don't think you can handle doing that, then volunteer to help at one and partake of the race day excitement that way. Volunteering can be great fun too! Hannah thought so...

Handing out water to tired runners! #bighelper

Today's forget-me-not: The Love Peru Fun Run and 5K

I got these pictures the race took after the blog post was published: