Whoops! I forgot to come and post about the GonnawannaRUNagin 5K and 1/2mi Fun Run!
Well, I had planned a surprise for Ashton (thanks again Marc, Andrea and Ernie for keeping it a surprise, even after he asked if you were coming to the race on Facebook! LOL!). The surprise was of course, Marc coming and racing with Ashton. I KNEW Ashton would be excited and I know Marc definitely was. It would be the first time Ashton would be running a race and Marc was going to be his running buddy to make sure he didn’t veer off course and that he finished.
The smile on Ashton’s face when he saw Marc that morning was so cool! He was ECSTATIC to see Marc and gave him a huge hug and lots of high 5s! Holden was a little less than enthused with the sun in his face, whoops! lol
So of course, it came time for the 1/2mi Fun Run to start (Marc, his parents, Holden and David would all be running the 5K afterwards). Ashton seemed excited and well he’d been practicing running, so I knew he’d do just fine. The guys got in line at the start and of course, I had to get a start line picture 🙂
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| Ashton was a little less than thrilled with the sun in his face LOL |
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| Off they go!! 🙂 |
I had no idea how long it would actually take Ashton to do the 1/2 mile, but from what we can guess, it took approximately 9 1/2 minutes, which isn’t too bad and was his fastest 1/2mi time yet! He ran last years in 6 1/2 minutes but HE didn’t run most of it, someone had picked him up and piggy-backed him most of the way! So the 9 1/2 minutes is impressive considering it was of his own force and his own two feet! 🙂 SO proud of that boy!
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| At the finish line! Way to go Ashton!!! |
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| Congratulatory Hugs! 🙂 |
So then, it was time for the 5K to start. Marc, Andrea (who was pushing Gervas) and Ernie all started in the front. Holden, David, Ms Kristine, Dr Gracie and their kiddos all started out in the back of the pack.
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| Look at those happy faces! |
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| Everyone looks ready to run! Good Luck guys/gals!! |
So the 5K gets started and Ashton and I get ready to wait for everybody to finish.
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| he looks really happy, don’t he?! 😉 lol |
I had no idea who would finish in first place overall, but it certainly didn’t surprise me to see Marc come into the finish line first…. Ashton got to give Marc his medal and that was so cool! 🙂 Great time of 17:06!
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| That’s Ashton’s arm right there holding the medal out LOL! |
I can definitely say I didn’t expect the next person in our group to come in to be HOLDEN!! HOLY SMOKES he must have been flying!! He came in with a time of 22:04 – nearly 5 minutes FASTER than his last 5K time! WOW!
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| Way to go little man!! So very proud of you! You did an incredible job! |
Next would be Ernie (Marc’s Dad) who came in with a time of 23:30! Also a great time! 🙂
Then Andrea came in a couple of minutes later with a time of 25:48, but that’s with her pushing somebody which we thought was pretty incredible! 🙂 It was pretty windy that morning too!
Last, but certainly not least was my hubby, David! He came in with a time of 38:58 …. not his fastest time, but he wasn’t feeling quite well and his ankle was bothering him as well. Still faster than last year’s time which is pretty impressive! Great Job Honey! I love You!
It was a wonderful day! Ashton enjoyed his special surprise and all the other people who came out to run. We saw many friends (Lisa, her husband Steve and their little guy Brody, we saw the Madren Family, Monika & Sierra Dean, and lots of others we knew). Most of all, the money and funds went to help F.A.C.T. who does the camp Ashton attends every summer, Camp Gonnawannagoagin! 🙂
Lots of fun memories and pictures…. 🙂
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| Great Job on the overall 1st place win, Marc! |
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Congrats Andrea & Ernie on your 1st place wins in your age brackets!
What a winning family! 🙂 |
It was a wonderful day spent with lots of friends and my little family. The guys all did exceptionally well, and Ashton had a great time spending time with one of his favorite people. Thank you again Marc for coming out and running with him (not that I had twist your arm or anything! lol) and thank you Lebers for coming out and supporting him! Actually, a BIG HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who attended the run – it was for one of the best causes and one that’s near and dear to our hearts 🙂
From a non-verbal, severely autistic two-year-old little boy to a happy-go-lucky, social, verbal and friend to everyone fifteen-year-old teenager. Add in the little brother who struggles with ADHD and we've got some craziness going on! The journey has been well-worth the ups and downs and the heartbreaks are all worth it when I see my sons overcome the "impossible" and defy all odds. I couldn't be more proud. Buckle up and enjoy the ride!
