2013 CHKD RunWalk for Kids 8K - 6/15/13

This race was an AMAZING experience in more ways than one for Holden ..... he was invited by Renee High, to warm up with her and her group of super-fast running friends, Courtney Pollman-Turner, Thomas Hicks and David Mick the morning of the race. She came and collected him about 45mins pre-race and led him through their warm-up (a 2mile run and some stretching) and got him to the start line. Y'all are keeping in mind that Holden IS only 11-years-old and he was running with some pretty strong and fast local runners.... Renee is one of our local elite female runners having been the female winner for the 2012 and 2013 Disney Marathons. Renee, Thomas, Courtney and David all ran absolutely fantastic races. But the best part for Holden wasn't just warming up with all these "greats", but David and Renee both came back in the final mile and ran with him to the finish, cutting off at the last minute so he had his moment of glory! That's a memory that he'll never forget, I can assure you! Thank you to EVERYONE who made his day by making him feel so special!

At the start line near the front - he look so tiny! lol

he realized afterwards he was right near David Mick ..
(also you can see Renee and Thomas too)

there he goes!! He's off to a great start!

and yet again... NO feet on the ground!! lol

Holden ran a new PR in the 8K distance, besting his previous time by nearly 2minutes (after besting THAT 8K time by 6.5mins!). Even MORE amazing? This boy came in 3rd place in his age group, males 12 & under! Woohoo! His time was 43:52! Way to go little man - you ARE amazing!!

at the finish line .... in bad need of a bathroom break! lol

I'm going to link to a couple of the professional photographers pictures...... Thanks to TriDuo for capturing moments in this race that I wasn't even aware existed until post-race!

Holden and David

Renee, Holden and David

Renee and Holden

Holden at the finish

to top off the super amazing morning, Holden made the decision to run with his brother in his brother's VERY FIRST 1-mile race! So proud of this boy... yes, you're calculating right, he ran 8 miles that day!!! WOW!

Holden with his brother, Ashton, and Marc (Ashton's best friend)

Ashton and his group at the start of the race .... See Holden? He's still ready to go for more!

Proudest moment ever ... my big guy finishing his first 1-mile in 16:55!
Couldn't have asked for better people to support him through that journey!

Holden with his 3rd place award - $10 gift certificate to Running, Etc!

Holden and Renee after he finished .... :) 

2013 Eggleston OK5K & 1mile - 6/8/13

The next race Holden did was the Eggleston OK5K and 1mile race. This would be another New Energy event (the 1mile) and then of course, he was running the 5K for the heck of it. We learned the night before the race that it was actually a cross-country run (meaning trails, not road) and it had been raining. So, that means...... MUD! Yuck!

Holden did a great job though no PRs.... it was definitely a different running median than he was used to and the mud didn't make it much easier. Still ran very respectable times... and won 1st place in his age-group for the 1-mile. Woohoo! He had a lot of fun and is lots more comfortable running with this group of kids than he was the first time he ran!

Holden at the start of the 1-mile - look at all that New Energy blue!

Coming towards the finish for the 1-mile

almost there, buddy!

..... and.... DONE!

Winner of the 11-12yo male age group! WTG!

at the start of the 5K .... yes, I get that look A LOT from him! :P

coming into the finish ..... go faster Holden!!!

and he's DONE!! Way to go little man!

2013 Chick-Fil-A 5K - 5/25/13

So this race was going to be a super special race, as my sister and her family were coming. I hadn't seen my sister in eleven years and had actually never seen my little nephew, who is 2.5years old. Holden was going to run the 5K, along with his Dad and his cousin, Kelcie. I think this was probably his best 5K race ever..... not just because he PRed, but because he TRULY enjoyed it!! :)

the Chick-Fil-A cow was warming up with Holden ;)

Made him stand right up front at the start! He looks so little! lol

He was running for Boston that morning!!

and they're OFF!

there he goes!! 

ALL DONE!! With a 2min PR in the 5K distance - 23:58! WTG little man!

2013 Thoroughgood Elementary Seagull Sprint 1 mile - 4/21/13

so in early April, Holden became a Tidewater Striders Running club member and started running with the New Energy-Suffolk group. Most of the New Energy kids run in 1-mile races and there was a race coming up a couple of weeks after Holden joined. So I went ahead and signed him up for it as we wanted a good, recent 1-mile race time.

Holden pre-race .... FIRST New Energy race!

warming up with the group

He's FLYING into the finish line!

Coach Steve Sheppard helped him achieve a new PR in the 1-mile - 7:06!

So his first race as a Tidewater Striders New Energy member was a huge success - and he's been loving it ever since!

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!! :) 

Gearing up for the Shamrock 8K!

Holden got a fantastic opportunity to run with Dennis Welch (a Hampton Roads Runner runner and a Team Hoyt runner) this past weekend. Dennis had said he'd run with Holden whenever we wanted, but coordinating schedules, etc has proven to be difficult since Holden is still actively involved in both wrestling and soccer as well as running. He got that opportunity this weekend at the Final Kick Sport 3rd annual Treasure Run, and what a blast it was! A fundraising event for Michael Davis' journey to the Boston Marathon.

Anyway, Dennis had made plans to run with Holden that morning. He asked me how far to take him, and I said about 4-5 miles. We want to get a good idea of what he can do the Shamrock 8K, so 5 miles it was. They came back and Holden had ran it in 43:25 - nearly 10 minutes faster than last year's time! AMAZING! Not to mention how stoked Holden was to run with Dennis.

It's a happy day when a kid gets to run with one of their role models and while Holden was exhausted right afterwards, he was fine physically. Having someone who KNOWS what they're doing when it comes to running, gave him that little bit of inspiration he needed to push himself a little bit further, probably further than he thought he could do.

Thanks again Dennis for running with him! Holden's looking forward to the next time and said he wants to run with the group, as long as someone doesn't mind slowing down for him! LOL! :)

I can't wait to see what this year's Shamrock race holds for Holden. His Dad is also running it this year, and Ashton (his brother) will celebrate his 1year anniversary with Team Hoyt at the Shamrock 8K as well as the Shamrock 1/2 marathon the following day. Not only is Holden running the 8K, he's running his final Operation Smile Final Mile race. He's currently raised $660 towards his $960 goal! Way to go little man! He's also at 87 miles ran towards his 100 mile goal! He's done a fantastic job with setting goals and attaining them this year! :) SO PROUD!

Our next posting will probably be an exhausted but excited recount of Holden's 8K and Final mile race in just under 2 weeks!

Stay tuned!