Her first podium

It was planned even before we returned home from our year-long roadtrip. JF was to run an ultra trail marathon (The UT Harricana in Charlevoix), 65 km of trail running in the beautiful mountains of the Traversée de Charlevoix (an epic 108 km trail in the remote wilderness of Quebec). He had been training for a while, but at the end of July, he got injured, so he could not keep on running and he had to let go of that goal... We knew we still wanted to be part of that great event, so we went as volunteers and the girls ran the children's 1km race. Aisha placed 3rd out of 36 girls (13/81 runners overall) and stepped on the podium for the first time! At such an impressive event, it was a big deal and she was very proud!

 :: It was a lot of driving for a one-day event, so we kept busy in the Westfalia knitting away! ::

  :: Playing peekaboo with the neighbors in our little Westfalia tent city ::

  :: The energy before a race of this magnitude is just incredible! It almost makes a non-runner want to start running. Almost. There was a 1km, 5km, 10km, 28km and 65km race, fun for all! ::

  :: We were volunteering at an aid station, providing water and sport drink to the runners and showing them the way. The girls filled glasses, shouted numbers, pointed the way and had a blast!  ::

  :: I think that what amazed me the most is that many runners, tired, sweaty and focused on their race took the time to thank us for what we were doing! I loved seeing all the women out there running too, young and old. ::

  :: We had to write down the number of each and every runner that came by to make sure nobody got lost, as it sadly happened last year... but nobody got lost this year!!::

  :: This little someone was very proud to be provided with a complimentary lunch for the volunteers ::

  :: We collected birch bark to make a wigwam in our new hanging net that makes our Westfalia feel more organized. And this mama loves organized spaces. ::

  :: Trail running is messy. ::

:: Very messy. ::

 :: But JF and I were sporting our brand new running shoes GIVEN to us by The North Face reps. Yep! You heard me. We did not even win them in a raffle, they were giving lots of demo shoes away and we both scored a pair! ::

  :: The girls could not wait for their race to start. ::

  :: Checking the course. ::

  :: Ready. Set. Go. She pushed hard! ::

  :: At the finish line. ::

  :: Tired, sweaty and proud. ::

  :: The best post-race food: fruits. :: :: On the podium. Shy but so very proud. And you should have seen her papa's face... ::