Go Pec Pacers!

A few years ago, a couple of 4th grade teachers at Pecatonica Elementary School started a running club for the 3rd and 4th graders.  Their intention was to get kids up and moving, to teach kids to set a goal and work toward achieving it, and share their own love for running.  The club is called the "Pec Pacers" and has a spring and a fall session.  The spring session always culminates with the Crooked River 5K on Memorial Day weekend, the fall season ends with a 5K fun run around town at the end of October.

The Pacers met Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from when school let out until 4:15pm.  The Key Club members from the high school came up and scanned each runner's lanyard bar code as they completed a lap around the middle school track.  Each runner got a charm after every 5 miles run and they got special charms if they attended fun runs, held on Friday nights or Saturday mornings. 

A few weekends ago was the culminating race, a 5K around town.  Another mom took this picture.  It pretty much sums up how it went:  Mom trying to gently cajole Holly into running "a few more feet".  I even at one point was singing "100 bottles of beer on the wall" just to keep her mind off of -insert whine here- how sore her legs were, how tired she was, how she was SURELY going to die any minute.

Drew loved being a pacer when he was in grade school.  He loved pushing himself and racking up the miles.  Holly, on the other hand, really enjoys the social aspect; whether or not she'll be a cross country runner, like her cousins and grandfather, we won't know for a few more years!