The annual Run 4 Jennifer event was this Saturday. This is a free community run to memorialize a member of the Bentonville running group who was tragically struck by a car while using a crosswalk. It is an 8 mile trek and everyone is encouraged to wear bright colors and be social.
Our young friends Lyndia and Tommy B are training for their first half marathon. 8 miles is a big milestone for new distance runners so I met Lyndia to pace her for support. Soren heard Tommy would be there, so he came with me, too. The farthest Soren had run before was 5 miles, but he is in great shape, runs shorter distances multiple days a week so I knew he’d keep up just fine. And I figured we would be running slow enough he would have no problems hitting 8. I was correct. We ran 8 miles, talking and laughing and telling stories along the way. We paused at the memorial site and I hugged Jen’s parents at the half way point. We had a supply of energy to burn after! What a great run. We pushed Lyndia a full minute to a minute and a half faster than her typical mile pace and she killed it! Sometimes we don’t know what we have in us, and it takes someone else to give us a nudge. Lyndia surprised herself but we weren’t surprised at all. I knew she could do it!
I’ve never been able to bring a kid with me for a run this long. Game changer! Soren could have run circles around us and might have been happier up running 10 minute miles with Tommy, but he kept with us and told stories and had fun conversation. It was really fun to share something like this with him. He was surprised how many people I knew. The running scene in Bentonville is a wonderful and close knit community. I’m excited to have a new buddy for some long runs!
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