Drew's School Fun Run

Drew's school did a Fun Run* as a fundraiser this year, and Drew was so excited to participate. We emphasized him running because it is fun, good exercise, and a great experience to set a goal and accomplish it. If you know Drew, he loves to run! In this Fun Run, the kids could run up to 36 laps (2.25 miles) in 30 minutes, and Drew finished well before the time was up. He was so excited - the kid never slowed down, kept a steady pace, and when all the other kids were walking, he was running his heart out. All in all, it was a very fun time, and I was so proud of him!

Drew and me after the race was over

Drew before the race began

On the back of his t-shirt, there were 36 numbers and you had to stop and get a mark every time you finished a lap.

Drew running his heart out

Drinking some water and running at the same time

Go Drew!

After his 36th lap!

Drew and his friend/neighbor, Belle

*Side note about the fundraiser: I did not agree with the spirit behind this fundraiser. I do not like the idea of begging people for money per lap, getting prizes depending on how much you raised as it's a materialistic motivator, getting those prizes even before you run the laps so it promoted you doing nothing but asking for $ to earn the prize, and finally those prizes being handed out in front of other kids in your class so everyone would know how much you did or did not raise. Not to mention that a first grader thinks he has to run 40 laps to get the ultimate prize, an Ipod, and does not understand that he actually has to raise $40/lap, which computes to over $1000 for the Ipod.

I've been at odds whether to let the school know how I feel because it was a lot of fun for the kids, but I think it can be done in a better way. We had some tears and major disappointment at our house because I did not let Drew ask people for money (pledge so much money per lap he ran) so he could get some cheap toy - instead I told him how proud of him we would be if he set a goal for how many laps he could run and he then achieved them. You should have seen his face when he completed all of his laps. It was not because of some ridiculous toy but because he truly accomplished something for himself.