My Mom's First Race

I can't begin to express the amount of emotion felt when I met my mom after crossing the finish line at her first race. My eyes welled up with tears and my heart felt like it was going to burst. The way her eyes lit up and the smile on her face were more than you could ever put in to words.

She grabbed my arm and said, "I want to do another one. Right now!"

On Saturday morning we ran in the Fun with the Fuzz 5k hosted by the Bellingham Police Department. All proceeds went to benefit the Behind the Badge Foundation, who support families of fallen officers. You can see my post from 9 weeks ago here.

10 weeks ago I convinced my mom to run a 5k race with me. I told her she'd succeed and it would be a great memory for us to have together. 9 weeks ago she started training with the Couch to 5k program, and succeed she did.

It was pouring down rain up until the moment they wanted us to line up at the start. Then the clouds parted, the rain stopped and the sun graced us with it's presence. What a beautiful day and place for a run.

Their goal was to have 500 runners & walkers participate, they exceeded that number by over 150 participants. Over $13,000 was raised for an incredible cause.

Our run started out great. We were so excited as we bounced down the road to be doing something so out of the ordinary for us. I couldn't say that 10 years ago I'd want to be a runner one day, or that I'd ever run a race with my mom. I couldn't be happier today. Our relationship continues to change and grow the older we get. A mother-daughter relationship is a beautiful thing.

About a mile in we got separated as the roads started to narrow. I got stuck behind a mass of people who all seemed to decide to take a walk break at the same time. I was sure she'd seen me behind her and I tried my best to catch up and just couldn't get through the crowd fast enough. I finally lost sight of her.

I was sure she'd finish before me, and she did! She thought I had made it ahead of her and she chased down a girl that she thought was me. Turned out, it wasn't. But that's ok! She made amazing time! She ran the whole thing start to finish and even made a few new friends along the way.

She finished with a time just over 31:00 and I couldn't be more excited for her. As much as I would have loved to run the whole thing with her, I just simply hate the fact I didn't get to be there when she crossed the finish line. She was there for me as I came through and we hugged and just enjoyed the moment.

Mom & I after the race.

Way to go Mom! I absolutely love you, and thank you so much for a really great memory. I can't wait for your races you have planned over the next couple of months. I'm looking forward to us becoming a running family!

Best part is that I've got my Dad convinced to run the Livestrong 5k in Seattle on Father's Day. Go Dad!