The opening of the festival is a parade through the middle of town and we had the best seat in the house. Our committee along with several volunteers marched in the parade and we were 5th in line out of more than 150. Yeah, those in back...sorry that is a long night. But the best part was being able to do it with my family and great friends. The volunteers for the race were issued very bright orange T-shirts. Very bright.
The kids were nervous at first, but after they got into it and after my little girl heard hear name being called out from the crowd...she ate it all up. She waved to all her friends (she claimed she wasn't tired...but I think otherwise) and my son threw candy and stepped in to carry the banner when needed. The neat part was we were right behind the Grand Marshal (they get to light the giant matchstick on the square during the parade). It was a lot of fun and the weather was great!
That's us in the back ground...my son at least
After that, the rest of the week was preparation. From Tuesday through Thursday night we pretty much had everything we needed in order to make Friday nights race a success. Now we just had to get ready.
Race Day! Three of us met and ran the 10K course that morning. Looking back knowing what I know now and how long I was going to be on my feet, running 6.2 miles at 6:30 am, 14 hours before the race, was probably a bad idea. So after we cleaned up we started to set up.
Before the time keeper arrived
We then drove the route and set up all the directional markers and the mile markers. Then came the race. It looked like rain from about 8:10 (race started at 8) through 11 pm. But that wasn't God's plan and it totally held off until the end. And by God's plan, his hands were all over this on making it happen and making it a success for our church and the community.
If you do one thing, please take 1:15 to watch this video. This is what happened on Friday night that made the entire thing worth it.
What a night. The rain slowly starting coming at about 10:30, but by 10:50 every single runner that remained on the course, finished the race. And this is what it was like for them to finish...
The carnival continued in the back ground and all in all we can say after months of planning and preparation, we were done and it was fun. What an experience and what fun. Now I'm going to get some rest. Then get ready for next year.
The carnival continued in the back ground and all in all we can say after months of planning and preparation, we were done and it was fun. What an experience and what fun. Now I'm going to get some rest. Then get ready for next year.
Keep working hard and God Bless.
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