Church Fun Run 5K

On Saturday morning, it was a chilly 44 degrees outside, but it wasn’t too cold for our annual church fun run :) Ben has won the race for the last two years, so there was pressure to do well again.

Here are some of the runners, studying the map of the race – it was a slightly different route this year…

My plan was to walk with the boys (there was a shorter fun walk for the rest of the crowd that didn’t plan on racing in the 5K). It didn’t last very long for us though – Eli wanted to run, but then fell after less than a block and was miserable anyway in the cold, so we turned around and waited for Ben to finish so we could cheer him on. Below is a shot of the boys before the race, hanging out with their friend Grant.

I love little kids bundled up – Charlie had the typical arms sticking straight out in his puffy coat, not really able to move.

It’s nice that Eli still fits in his hat and coat from last year!

Some of Eli’s favorite girls at church, Leah and Ivy – they always play with him and make him laugh.

Aaron, Jenn, Keira, and Joseph (and baby Joshua in the stroller):

Heather and Tabitha:

Getting ready at the start of the race (Ben made his 5K race playlist the night before on his mp3 player):

Lindsay and Katelyn:

And they’re off!

There were a few women who ran. Someday I’ll run, maybe.

Our Bishop with two of his five kids:

Charlie, stuck and slumped in the stroller :)

So the end of the race wasn’t clear cut because the runners (well, Ben and the other guys at front) got a little confused and took a wrong turn. Ben felt bad that they didn’t go the exact route, so he ran past the finish line, to the end of the block (to make up for the wrong turn) and turned back around. There were two guys that technically finished before him, but they also took that wrong turn. And then a fourth guy came in soon after who ran the race correctly. So all four guys got paper crowns after it was over :) I’m going to say Ben can still claim he was the winner, since he was in the lead the entire time. Gotta love a little controversy at the ward fun run! It will make next year’s race even more exciting…

Ben crossing the finish line:

After the race, we all went inside for a pancake breakfast. Here’s Eli wearing Ben’s crown :)

And Eli with Leah and Maggie: