This was the last race in Run For Your Life's Grand Prix Series. It was a series of 9 races where you earn points based on your performance at each race. Michael wanted to enter this competition even though he was up against 19 year-olds (the division he's in is 19 & under.)
The kids playing Wii at the Coke display before the race.
Malissa's dad (Opa) was able to make it to this race. We were all very excited to spend the time with him, and that he got to see Michael race.
We had never run a 15k competitively before, so coming up with a pace was difficult. We often refer to McMillan Running's Calculator. It is really accurate at taking your performance at one distance and calculating what you should expect at a different distance. Based on Michael's performance last month at the Bluegrass Half-Marathon, we came up with a pace of 7:11, for a goal finishing time of 1:06:56.
Michael went out too fast the first six miles or so, so he paid for it at the end, but still finished within nine seconds of his goal. I, once again, am VERY proud of him.
Because of the longer distance of this race, they lumped all the kids in the 17 & Under division (for this race). Michael took 5th.
For the series, Michael ended up barely missing out on 3rd place, but we're all super proud of him for taking 4th as an 11 year-old.
