GOTR never fails to motivate me. If fifteen 8 – 10 year old girls can run a 5K, you bet I can, too! Today’s race was fun, exciting, and completely inspiring.
After coaching the girls for twelve weeks, it is very sad to say goodbye. But at least it ended on a high note with today’s Girls on the Run Spring 5K!
Our morning started off bright and early – we were up at 6:00 AM, slammed peanut butter sandwiches, and left the house around 6:45 to meet up at the race with our team and parents. Kelly also joined us as a Running Buddy.
A tip for other coaches: tell your team ahead of time what color balloons you’ll be holding. Having balloons makes it MUCH easier for your team to spot you before, during, and after the race. There were over 4,000 people at our event, so having a ‘traveling landmark’ is key.
We had blue balloons!
After stretching, the girls pinned their bib numbers (everyone is number 1) on their shirt and we headed to the start.
I don’t think anyone was nervous at all. Everyone just wanted to have FUN. A perfect race attitude for anyone – eight years old or thirty-eight years old!
And then… we were off! All of our girls had Race Buddies (parents), so the Husband, Kelly, and I ran together and saw girls along the course.
I’ll admit – I was VERY nervous that my leg would hurt me because I haven’t run really at all in six weeks, but I was perfectly fine! It might be sore later, but I think the easy pace helped a lot. I hope I’ve turned a corner with healing and can really start running again soon.
Before we knew it, we were done!
The girls were VERY excited to receive their beautiful medals!
There was a huge finish line party going on – Molly Barker (GOTR founder) was there, and some of my girls just stared at her in awe… she’s a total celebrity to them! “Is that MOLLY BARKER?!” one shrieked.
Post-race snacks included Larabars and bananas. Nice and healthy!
Something else very important happened at the finish line – the Husband told me he’d run a Half Marathon with me! Before today, out of the 34 races that I’ve completed, the Husband and I have never done one together. This was his first race and he had so much fun that he wants to do it again!
What a wonderful morning!
Girl Power!
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{ 72 comments… read them below or add one }
What a great morning in so many ways! <3 GOTR!
That’s so awesome! I miss working with kids
That’s cool that your hubby said he’d run a race with you. I’d love to do something like that with my husband.
So sweet! Congrats on being awesome coaches
That is so wonderful! I’d love to be a part of GOTR someday. Sounds like a fun morning and yay for a half mary with the husband!
Good job, Girls! What an accomplishment. You too, coach!
Wow, what a great achievment for the girls!
Sounds awesome! I’m running in Denver’s GOTR 5k in two weeks… definitely inspired by you
That’s awesome that you’re going to have a new running partner!
Congrats to you and your GOTR! Very cool about your husband – that will be such a fun Half!
That looks like such an awesome time for the girls! And I’m jealous of your new running partner, I wish my fiance liked running.
that’s awesome! congrats
there’s nothing better than having your hubby as your running partner!
Congrats to the girls! I’m glad your leg is doing well so far…my fingers are crossed! Have a great day Caitlin!
I loved this post. How uplifting!!
woohoo! congrats to all. Glad you did not expereince any pain.
What a great way to start the day! Our GOTR 5K is tomorrow – hopefully it will be a great start to all the girls and their moms!
so awesome! i did one GOTR 5K last spring in KC and loved it. unfortunately I will be out of town this year! this morning on the local morning show the kansas city humane society had a two-year old long haired dachshund that is up for adoption on tv and i thought of you! you should make a road trip to KC and come get her
very cute!
Caitlin, I just have to say that I think out of all the things you’ve accomplished and done that working with GOTR with your husband is the one of the best. Personally I think it’s so great that young girls had the chance to see a young married couple in today’s world. The media and society is influx with so many other “what you should do” examples and I really appreciate the example you set for them
WOW! Finally.. that race came. When you first started blogging about it, it seemed so far off! Glad the girls had fun. Both them..and YOU should be super proud!
Hi Caitlin,
I’ve been reading your blog since it was See Bride Run and I recently started by own because the blogging community (including you) has inspired me so much. I just wanted to tell you that when I read this post I got all teary eyed, both for the girls you coached and for your husband wanting to run a half with you. A year ago my fiance wasn’t into running and he could hardly run one mile. He slowly started getting into running, and last weekend we ran the Country Music Marathon together! It was amazing to see him progress as a runner and the whole experience brought us so much closer. I’m excited for you to go through that journey with your husband, too!
That’s so exciting that your husband said he would do a half-marathon with you! I would die of happiness if my husband ever said he would run a half-marathon with me!!
LOVE LOVE LOVE everything about this post! What a special day for you two to share together – so glad K coached with you and got to experience that. Aaron is coming to help volunteer at our race next weekend and I am excited. Maybe he will want to coach with me in the Fall! Can’t wait to see which half you guys do together – maybe one in Northern California? You can bribe K with wine tasting in Napa after!
I think that this is a wonderful thing. My school has a Girls on the Run club, and it amazes how many young girls are inspired to run.
You know, I thought of you this morning during my run and wondered if you’d be able to run the whole 5k. Good for you!! And how exciting that your husband wants to run a half marathon with you! My husband has never run a race and I’d love to do one with him. (But he did come running with my this morning which was great.) Have fun!!
you are so flippin cute… that’s all
Congrats for a fabulous season and finishing it with a bang! Love that all the girls’ bib was number 1!
awww, sounds like so much fun! I love that everyone’s #1 : )
What a fun day! As corny as it sounds I started to tear up when I saw the pic of the girl holding her medal! What a great organization — thanks for sharing it with us!
Wow, so inspiring! Those girls (and you) rock!
Ahh! I was tearing up when I read this whole post. Congrats to your girls and congrats to you and your husband, for doing your first race together!
Ohhhhh my goodness, this entire post gave me chills! I wish it could’ve worked out that I could’ve joined y’all today. But really, I am so excited that the girls had such a great time, and I am super excited that your leg feels fine! And holy cow… that’s *awesome* that the hubs wants to run a freaking half marathon with you!!!! It’d be a dream come true for me if Ryan ever said that… Congrats to you for EVERYTHING!
I’m really, really jealous! Congrats to and your group! I hope when I have a daughter there’s a chapter nearby.
Aww congratulations on helping them through this wonderful event! What a great way to end the season
I was so proud of my girls when they finished their 5k. The look on their face was priceless. I enjoyed your post and it brought me back to when I coached. Super cute that you and hubs will be doing 13.1 together! Looking forward to the posts!
Thank you so much for volunteering
So great! I bet they loved having you and your husband as their coaches
And how exciting that you’ll do a half together! I’ve been training with my boyfriend for a half (he wasn’t a runner before) and it’s been SO fun. It’s so great to reach goals together and lean on each other. Have fun!!!
I am really glad you were able to run the race!
And congratulations to the girls, and both you and your husband. I wish someday, my kid will have such cool coaches as you two.
Sounds like so much fun. One of my friends does Girls on the Run and asked if I wanted to be a running buddy for one of the girls. I definitely do.
I’m hoping that one day my husband will want to do a half-marathon with me. He’s done a few 5 and 10Ks so maybe one day.
I started to tear up too when I saw the girl holding her medal. Very inspiring! Glad you all had such a good season and great news that you and the husband will do a race together!
What a rewarding day!
Because of your blogging about your experience coaching Girls on the Run I volunteered at the 5K this morning in Baton Rouge, La. This was an awe inspiring experience. Thank you for talking about GotR I’m so happy I’ve gotten involved with this organization. Here is my blog post about my morning. http://suninapurplesky.wordpress.com/2011/05/07/girls-on-the-run/
I loved this! You are awesome.
How freaking cute is that reaction to Molly Barker!! And what an awesome role model to idolize! I’m volunteering as a race volunteer (not running buddy) again at our GOTR 5k but it doesn’t happen until June up here, this makes me excited! Hoping to be a running buddy next time around but you have to pay for a background check and it just isn’t in my budget right now.
Looks like an amazing time!! That’s awesome the hubs is going to run a race with you – you two are the cutest! Glad to hear your leg is feeling better:)
What an amazing event!
And hooray for Kristien saying he’d do a half marathon! That’s incredible
Caitlin, you have inspired me to become a GOTR Coach! I’ve been following your blog for awhile now and I don’t know why I didn’t think of it sooner. I’m a teacher and I’ll be finishing my dissertation this coming year…but after reading all of your GOTR posts, I realized this is definitely something that I would like to do in the near future. Congrats to all of your girls and thanks for the inspiration!!!:)
Oh I am so excited that you are going to get involved! Thank you!
This post was just overwhelmingly awesome!! CONGRATS!
LOVE the first pic! Adorable!!
What a great morning!
how exciting that you got to run!!
Sounds like such a fun event for the girls AND you! So glad your leg seemed better too.
WOHOO!!! So happy for you!! Best of luck with training with your hubby! My hubby and I are training for a race also! Things go so much better when you can train together!
aww that looks so fun! I want to join GOTR!
so glad you had such a lovely race! that will be a great thing for you and your hubs to do together! maybe my boyf and i will give it a go as well!
kudos to you for being so committed to these young girls and helping creating a memory that will last a lifetime for them.. congrats.
I’m so glad the race went so well! It sounds like it was so much fun and the girls’ lives will never be the same. And you helped them! Way to go!
Looks like an awesome race!! I don’t doubt those girls would be a huge inspiration. They’re inspiring over the web, I can only imagine how they arein person!
Congrats to the girls on their race! And congrats to you too! You’ve done an amazing job at coaching them through this whole experience.
Aww congrats to you, huz, and the girls!!
You are an awesome coach…I wish you could be MY coach too!
Secondly, it must be told that I always giggle when you say ‘slammed peanut butter sandwiches’ Its such a hardcore way to eat PB.
I just let out a big “awwwwwwww” after reading this… that is so great when you have a loved one by your side. I am so happy that the GOTR 5k was a success
Awhh what a wonderful morning!! WTG!
Yaaay for the race AND for no leg pain!
It’s so awesome what you guys did for those girls! Looks like fun
That looks amazing!!! What a great thing you are doing!!
The GOTR 5k in Tempe, Arizona today was sooo much fun! This was my first time being a running buddy and I really enjoyed it. It was so inspiring to watch my pint sized partner sprint her heart out when we saw the finish! I am so happy to have come across your blog, otherwise I might never have discovered such a wonderful program. Thanks Caitlin!
I am so glad you had fun being a running buddy. Thanks for volunteering!
I love all your GOTR posts! I am a first-year assistant coach, and I have gotten some great ideas from things that you’ve done, such as bringing medals to practice. Our season is over in two weeks. It’s so bittersweet!
Sounds like a fun season for all of you! It must be sad to see them go.
Congrats!
what a great race~! I wish when I was younger I had a group like this that I was introduced to!
And the hubby running a half with you!!!!! how exciting!!! (i hope to one day find a fella who likes to run wiht me!)
LOVE all the pictures! So glad the bars made it in time and happy to have had part in such a great event
Now the bigger question – is there a goal race in mind for the Hubs?! Gotta make the first experience one of the best
We had our 5K this past Saturday in Orlando as well. It was so much fun!
It looks like you all had a great time too. Thanks for sharing the program on your blog (that is how I learned about it); I am so glad I got to be apart of it!
Yay for your husband’s first race as well and exciting news about him wanting to run another race with you!
Hi Caitlin – I just wanted to say that I think it is TOTALLY awesome that you and your husband are going to run a half marathon together!! My husband is a phenomenal sportsman and a really excellent runner. Last year he decided to run a half marathon with me (even though my 2:17 pace was PAINFULLY slow for him!) It was a really awesome experience and something I am so please we were able to do TOGETHER!!
This is so amazingly inspiring! I want to become a coach now too!!!
I am jealous that your husband WANTS to run a race with you!
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