Proud of My Nephews!

A few months ago, when C (my bro) and M-R (my sis in-law) confirmed when they and their fam were going to be in Nova Scotia, J-A had this brainwave: our nephews P (5) and D (3) should run the Bridge Mile! In previous years, we’d watched all the little dudes and dudettes givin’er over the Bridge, and we wanted to be a part of it. Fortunately, C and M-R thought it was a good idea too!

I was a little bit nervous about how the two kids would react to the whole thing on race morning, but as we walked the bridge from Dartmouth to Halifax for the start, they seemed in really good spirits. We arrived on the other side in time to watch the Open Female race start, which meant we had loads of time to sit around and wait for the Youth Boys start. Once the women had gone, the boys got to see the girls line up.

Soon, though, our moment arrived, and we all moved into the start area. It was decided that C and I would run with P and that M-R and J-A would run with D. In the line-up, P looked a little overwhelmed, and we had to explain to him that it was okay if he didn’t win the race – apparently, he wanted to be like his uncle who he’d seen win the half at Valley the year before. But we somehow managed to explain to him that there were lots of big kids running at the same time, so it was okay if he didn’t beat them.

As the start time drew closer, the director of Run Nova Scotia’s youth running series led the kids through some fun warm up exercises and stretches to help pass the time. P and D did their exercises seriously – this was a big race, after all.

At the start of the girls’ race, we’d noticed that they were using a starter’s pistol to start the races, so M-R and C made sure to explain to P (who was a bit wary of guns) that it wasn’t a real gun and that the loud bang was not something that was going to be harmful. I never would have seen the pistol as a problem – shows how good an uncle I am!

The moment finally arrived. The gun went off and P and C took off. I got caught behind some slow kids and parents, but I soon found some space and raced after them. The crowd spread out up the hill, but P was givin’ it – he never even slowed up the hill. He paced it perfectly, and when he got to the top of the bridge and started down the long downhill towards the finish, he appeared to have plenty left. I was sure he would walk a few times, but he never even slowed. And he even put a few surges in there when C suggested he speed up. It was awesome. I was so proud of him.

When we got to the finish chute, we explained to P that he had to cross the finish line alone. So we sent him on his way to be greeted by the race announcer and I took off around the chute in order to meet P at the finish line and encourage him in. He needed little encouragement, though, as he pumped his legs and crossed the line strong. I hoisted him into the air in celebration and then we walked hand-in-hand to get his medal. With his medal on, he informed me that this was his fourth medal. He’s only five and he’s already won four medals!

We made our way over to daddy and then took up a position along the finishing chute. We looked for D and J-A and M-R, but we couldn’t see them. I ran back to the start of the chute to get a better view, but I couldn’t see them at all. I told C that they were nowhere to be seen, and he decided to go back up the bridge to look for them to see if everything was okay.

Finally, we saw them all walking down the hill. Apparently, D had gotten a bit freaked out at the start and had refused to run a single step. He’d also been feverish and feeling bad the past couple of days, so that could’ve contributed to his unhappiness with the whole thing too. Nevertheless, the whole lot of them made their way down the hill towards the finish as the last group to arrive. I told the announcer D’s name and he gave him a big welcome as D walked down the finishing chute to the finish line. Hearing his name over the loudspeakers, of course, totally freaked him out, but somehow he managed to get over the line in order to claim his medal. It was awesome!

The Bridge Mile is an amazing event, and I’m so proud of my two nephews for doing it. I was also proud when P said the next day as he watched the kids finishing the Natal Day 2 Miler that he’d like to do that next year. Yay – another runner in the family!