As mentioned in some of the Disney blogs, I still have a love for these marathons, and even the kids marathon with the mercedes expo at Boutwell is super exciting. And I love love love that little Ruby still likes to run in this race. Hahaha...I asked Anabelle about joining the track team because her friend Jillian recently joined...you should have seen her look. :) I will admit I was a little sad when I asked Ruby this year if she wanted me to run with her again. "No, I want to do it myself" she replied.
This was an exciting day, as I had to pick up Ruby and Anabelle from the AHG sleepover this morning before we went to the race. And we were already a little behind, then found out that Mom needed Anabelle at Asbury to help with the Kidsmarket sale. And the boys had my van at Oak Mountain to go bike riding, so me and ruby jumped in the Honda Civic and sped towards downtown running very late. We were able to park in the deck right next to Boutwell and then ran into Linn Park to find all the other white shirts (2nd Graders). I knew we were late when we did not see ANY white shirts, and a large line of blue shirts (1st Graders) at the starting line. Dragging Ruby thru the massive crowds, I found a gap near the front, and told Ruby to push her way thru..."Last call for White Shirts" was announced at almost this exact moment. Ruby was a trooper tho, she made her way to the front and then was gone before I knew it. Luckily on our mad dash to the line, I had a quick discussion about where she was to meet me after the race (They lock the kids in well, and have designated gates, but Ruby knew to go to Gate 0).
So now my goal was to get some video of Ruby making the final turn of the race, and the best place to do this is across the road, and the only way to cross the road is about a 1/4 mile trek back to Boutwell and up the other side of Linn Park. Which I made the whole time thinking Ruby will finish in about 10 minutes, I better hurry. And I did, I made it to the perfect spot to see her finish. I had my camera ready, and watched as kid after kid after kid passed by...then I saw Ashley Williamson, a good friend from High School I haven't seen in about 4 years...quick hug and then she was off to pick up her 2nd Grader. Ok, back to the kids. Did I mention they were all wearing the same shirt? But I had my camera in the perfect position to catch her rounding the corner..."Dad...Dad...DAD!" I heard from directly at my elbow. She had passed right by that corner and had actually stopped right next to me. "Yeah, Ruby!" I cheered for her. But she had to finish the race, even tho I tried to get her to stop for a quick picture. Haha, she had already stopped just to get my attention. That was ok, I turned to video to catch her running this last stretch, and actually ran with her to capture this fun moment. When she turned towards the finish line, I looked down at my camera and realized I had forgot to push to start the video.
After the race, we had our own Daddy Ruby fun day enjoying the runners expo, picking up all the free stuff we could get. We got to lift some heavy weights and show our support for the upcoming World Games coming to Birmingham. And even got to meet Mr. and Mrs. Vulcan. Afterwards, we continued with mercedes marathon tradition, and visited Jim n Nicks for lunch. I just asked Ruby what she remembered from this day...first thing was the "dad dad DAD" story, but the second was that she got BBQ sauce on her new shirt and medal at that meal. And then when she finally got to wear her medal to school the next Friday, guess what they were having at lunch? BBQ sandwiches. And guess what happened? Yep, Sauce again. I love days like this, always fun to have some one on one time with each of the kids. Oh, and she ran the mile in 10:13...and yes, she did let me know that she could have been lower than 10 if she didn't have to stop to get my attention. And No, I didn't get that picture directly below, but I did pay good money for it. :)
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