2013 Autism Awareness 5K

Originally Holden wasn't going to do the Autism Awareness 5K as he had planned on doing the Elementary States wrestling tournament that morning. He decided about a week before the race that he wanted to race and not wrestle, so I signed him up. 

WHAT AN INCREDIBLE RACE!! He did a FANTASTIC job!!! He PRed his 5K time by 1 minute and did an amazing job assisting Mr. Mike Callan in pushing Ashton! Wow! He ran with a time of 25:54!! Woohoo!

Holden, Ashton and Mr Mike at the start!

Coming up on mile 1 marker

and unfortunately, I missed their finish! UGH! They ran so fast I couldn't get over to the finish line before they got there! LOL! :) 

BUT..... Holden placed 2nd in his age group!! (males 14 & under) ... way to go!!!

With his winner's medal! Way to go Holden!!!

2013 Shamrock 8K & Operation Smile Final Mile

Holden ran a fantastic race in both the Shamrock 8K and the Final Mile. As part of his Operation Smile Final Mile he ended up running a grand total of 102 miles ran and raised $1,025! Way to go little man!

Unfortunately, 4 days before the race, Holden ended up with the FLU of all things. He hasn't been sick enough to miss school since 2nd grade, and of all times, RIGHT BEFORE A RACE! Ugh! He ended up missing 3 days of school. Fortunately he was well "enough" to run come race morning. Although, he didn't want to race and kept complaining of stomach issues, etc. I think he was just nervous. Fortunately, a dear friend of ours, Dennis Welch, had said he'd run with and pace Holden, so we kind of talked Holden into it :) THANK YOU DENNIS!! I firmly believe if you hadn't ran with him, he would have bowed out of the race, and I know he didn't want to do that. 

Holden ran the 8Kwith a time of 45:39 ..... PRing last year's 8K time by nearly 6.5minutes, which is INCREDIBLE on any given day, but given how he was feeling before the race, was AMAZING! SO proud of him! He did an incredible job!

Holden and Dennis before the 8K at the starting line.
He doesn't look THAT nervous, does he?! :)

Holden and Dennis near the finish line - look! Matching form!

So then, it was time to get ready for the Final Mile .... yes, this boy ran a solid 6 miles total on this day, not counting all the walking around we did to get from the car to the start line to the finish line, etc etc! Holden ran this year's final mile in 8:24, which while it wasn't his fastest 1 mile time, was faster than his 2 previous years doing the FINAL mile. AMAZING KIDDO! Again, he wasn't feeling well, but had gotten a HUGE self-esteem boost from having just PRed his 8K time! He was in great spirits for the final mile, and here's a few more pics :)

ready for the final mile! handsome boy!

L to R: Ethan, Caleb and Holden .... 

nearing the finish line - way to go little man!!! 

With his Shamrock 8K and Final Mile finishers medals! HAPPY BOY!

So proud of him! Both for his efforts in fundraising (and surpassing his personal fundraising goal) and running miles (he ran 2 miles over his personal goal of 100 miles.... and would have likely hit 110+ miles had he not been sick the week of the race) and for sticking it out through non-ideal circumstances and doing an awesome job!! :)