Sunday, September 8, 2013

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... ::

6 comments:

Anie, kale said...

Bonjour Catherine,

félicitations aux filles!
les photos sont superbes. ça donne vraiment le gout de courir en effet!

si tu pouvais m'envoyer un courriel personnel, j'aurai une petite faveur a te demander. (c'est Anie, anciennement du Lac Brome)

Catherine said...

Salut Anie! Le seul courriel que je trouve est celui sur le site de Kale et cie, donc celui de Stephane. J'y ai écrit un petit message. S'il n'est plus bon, écris-moi le bon ici s.v.p.

Bethany Stephens said...

Catherine,

Lovely! I love keeping up with your adventures ici aux EU and having the chance to brush up my French a bit. I've just completed my very first (super teensy tiny) triathlon and I loved all the things you captured about this race. Bravo!

Beth

Penny said...

What a wonderful post about a wonderful experience - thanks for sharing this special moment - really made me smile. :)

Joanna said...

OMG I can totally picture the daddy's face!!!
what a great moment ! so simple and so amazing at the same time.
running. in the woods. haven't we been doing this a species since forever!
how awesome that this sport becomes hipper and hipper, it puts people in shape and connects them to nature. GREAT!
un grand bec à vous tous et j'ai bien hâte de vous montrer notre parc dufresne, matteo sera si heureux de faire la rando avec vous!
confirme moi qd vs venez dès que tu le sais, ils annoncent super beau tte la semaine prochaine :O)
je me réjouis tant de vous revoir!
becs
jo

Catherine said...

Thanks for sharing this fun moment with us friends! I love reading you!