Run, Riley. Run!

That’s what the posters the kids made for Riley’s first cross country meet said.

They were written in green crayon and ended with loads of exclamation points.

Attending a cross country meet was a little different than attending other sporting events.

There were no bleachers.

The kids played in dust instead.  (You would have thought we were back on the farm in the Virginia red clay.)

Otto was perhaps the least excited to be out in the shadeless, hot afternoon.  Yeah, I think he probably cried for the entire duration of the meet.  First through the junior varsity run.  Then through the boys’ run.  And finally, to treat all the athletes equally, he kept it going through the girls’ run.

When some guy said “go” everyone pretty much went.

Riley did a great job – she ran at a faster pace in her first race than she had been running in practice.

This is actually her first high school team sport ever.

So that’s really pretty monumental.

Run, Riley.  Run!

We’ll keep watching you.

(Except maybe for now we’ll take turns letting someone stay home with Otto – eh?)