Photoblogs
Making Strides Against Breast Cancer 5K: Running with the kid.
By Jeffrey SmithOctober 25, 20164 min read
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Another Rabbit
The leader was an eighth grader from SDMS, and I had flashbacks to the half marathon I ran in Pemberton Park in Salisbury a few weeks ago. There a rabbit had pulled into the lead and stayed there the entire race. I could see the lead runner on Saturday, but I knew, even if I wasn’t pushing the stroller, even if I had started running along side him, that I couldn’t have beat him. Winning, though, was not the goal. Doing my best, pushing myself, that is always the goal. So that’s what I did. I ran as hard as I could. I pushed, and then I pushed some more. I passed a few runners, one a young boy about eight-years-old who went out fast. By the time we hit the first mile I could see the turn around. A few blocks later the rabbit was coming towards me. “You got this,” I told him as he passed me heading back to the finish. I was running alone now, me and the stroller, pushing myself. The stroller moves a lot easier than people think, especially with a small two-year-old in it. I pushed down on the handle to lift the front tire and scooted deftly around the turn-around cone. “Nice move,” someone said. I smiled. Soon I started passing the other runners coming towards me, and then the walkers, and I cheered for them and they cheered for me. There was a lot of support on this course, and it felt good to hear people cheering. I was getting tired, though, and was glad this was only three miles. I made the loop around Jolly Roger at the Pier and then saw the finish line waiting in the inlet parking lot. I was so close there was no way I could slow down now. I made the final turn on wet pavement and for a moment thought my right foot would slip out from under me. But it didn’t. I held on and pushed as hard as I could. Inside the stroller j was smiling from ear to ear. “Congratulations,” someone said. “Do you want some water?” I did, but my son wanted it more. He’d worked hard for it. In the end I placed second overall. The rabbit finished strong well ahead of me. I was just glad to have had the opportunity to get out for the day, to show support for the survivors of breast cancer and do some small part to help raise both money for a cure and awareness of the cause. I’ve got a pink shirt to wear for the rest of the month. And a goal for next week’s Seaside 10 miler: another medal.About Jeffrey Smith
Jeffrey Smith started writing at fourteen on a Smith-Corona electric typewriter he borrowed from his father. His most recent book, Mesabi Pioneers, tells the story of the immigrants who turned a remote area of northern Minnesota into America's greatest source of iron ore. Jeffrey lives in Berlin with his wife, daughter, and three cats. He can often be seen running along the streets, boardwalks, and trails of the Lower Eastern Shore. That's probably him there, in the orange.
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