meet sophia

meet sophia

Sophia was my running buddy for the Girls on The Run 5k yesterday.

This 5k is a huge event and the crowd was a buzz with excitement. The girls were all given tiaras to run in, which were decorated at the tiara decorating tent of course:

“Everybody knows you run better in a tiara!”

Stone Academy was the school I buddied with:

There were droves of people who showed up for this race. The energy in the crowd for an early Saturday hot, humid morning was fabulous. Here’s us all warming up and getting ready to go:

And the race began.

Sophia and I ran, walked, cheered and even danced a little. We stopped at Lake Michigan to splash around in the water about halfway through. I am used to the heat, but by Chicago standards this was a very hot day so I let the tiny adorable Sophia dunk her head to keep cool. She was a riot. Getting a 9 year old to finish 3.2 miles in the blazing sun when she’s sweating bullets and it’s her first race was a bit of a push, but we did it! Some things she said during the race; Sweet and hilarious:

*”Ugh, I had NO idea 3 miles was so far!”

*”Oh my gosh, I feel like I’m walking from Chicago to San Francisco!”

*(After she got sandy and muddy from our stop to cool down at the lake) “You know what they say; if you get dirty- you must be having fun!”

*”My Mom is going to be really proud of me when I get back.”

*I am SO going to do Girls on The Run next year!”

The last quote of course came after we crossed the finish line, high-fived and got our medals:

Poor hot and tired Sophia’s tiara was flipped and flopped by this point but she was so happy and proud of her medal. (I was too!) This was a treat to participate in, and kicked off a most fabulous Chicago summer weekend. I am always amazed how appreciative kids are when you pay attention and spend time with them. It makes me want to run around the world declaring to all young women that they really can be all they want to be.

Congratulations Sophia! Thanks letting me run with you and making my day. Three cheers to Girls on The Run for all you do for young women!