I’m a Dad that runs. I run at work in the US Army. I run for fun in marathons and ultra-marathons. I run after my four wonderful kids. I even run late from time to time. I love everything about running. I like that I can eat almost anything I want and I can drink full bodied beers without worrying about calories. I love the freedom that comes from being able to move my body for 26 miles or more. I also love that it inspires my children to live healthy lives and be runners too.
My 5 year old is already getting the bug. She’s seen me run the St Jude Marathon while pushing her older brother in his wheelchair (http://youtu.be/49i7-urzfqU). She’s even participated in her own kids marathon where she logged 25.2 miles in the months leading up to the 2009 St Jude Marathon and ran the last mile for a “marathon”.
Now she’s getting old enough to actually run at a decent pace and for enough distance that she can accompany me on some runs. We participated in a 1 mile fun run at Idle Hour Park last Dadurday and she clocked off a 9 minute mile. The other day, I was doing an 18 mile long run and I ran past my family playing at Lake Heath Park. She asked how many more miles I had left and when I told I was just about done, she climbed down from the playground and proceeded to run the last 1.25 miles with me. Needless to say, I was a pretty happy Dad. I was happy, that is, until she started running faster than I could at that point in my long run. She proceeded to inform me that I was getting “old and I better not fall behind”.
Having kids is great and being a great Dad makes it a labor of love. I’ll keep on running and encouraging my kids to run with me. I’ll keep it fun and hopefully they’ll keep me into my later years.
