Lessons Learned Running with My Nephew

Today I attended the family's Laps for Lexi 5k run/walk. The event raises money to benefit the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders to create the Lexi Speight Professorship in Pediatric Oncology, an endowed professorship created in memory of 8 year old Lexi Speight. At the end of this blog is a link to pictures from the event and more detail on what it is about. This post focuses on the 5k run/walk itself and the lessons I learned.
I learned and reacquainted myself with some facts of life today. I thought the plan for the day was to walk the 5k with daughter Emma, sister Christine and her daughter Erin and my brother Thomas, his wife Jill and their five children, Amy, Cara, Bippy, Kim, and Robbie.
Lesson #1 - the best laid plans are subject to change. Bippy, Kim and Robbie (Robbie especially) wanted to run the 5k. Uncle Thomas said, "Oh, Robbie will run the first 20 yards and then quit". So Amy (their older sister 16 going on 17) and I said we would run with them and keep an eye on them. Bippy (age 11) was off like a shot and we never saw her again until the end. She finished the race in just over 33 minutes -- in sandals!
Lesson #2 - Brothers lie. Robbie (age 6) and Kim (age 10) ended up running about 80% of the 5k. After the first mile, Aunt Paula (who had been up since 4 am for the drive to MD from PA had eaten half a muffin that morning and did I mention was prepared to walk not run?) encouraged him to take a walk break. He was reluctant to do so at first. However, he quickly got on board with that and began calling is own "walk parts" after that.
Lesson #3  - You have not experienced a trail run until you do it with a 6 and 10 a year old. It had rained considerably on Friday .. all day. The route was the Sandy Springs cross country trail. 2/3 of it was on dirt trail complete with roots, rocks and wooden bridges over creeks. Every mud pile (and there were many) was greeted with top of the lung shouts of "MUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUDDDD" followed by a huge plop right smack in the middle.
Lesson #4 - 6 year old boys have only one running speed. Full tilt. This I knew but had momentarily forgotten.
Lesson #5 The best way to get through a large crowd of people on a narrow muddy trail is to point to said adorably cute blond haired 6 year old and yell "I'm with him!". The sea of people parts no questions asked.

After Amy, Robbie, Kimber and I finished our 'race' we went back to meet others of our group who actually were walking and bring them home. As we entered the final part of the trail:

Aunt Paula: Hey kids we're coming up on that really good muddy part. (Then, noticing that Kim had taken her shoes off) And YOU have no shoes, awesome.

Kim: Yeah, only kids do this. Grownups don't like mud.

Aunt Paula: Well if that isn't a challenge I don't know what is!

In the end someone said I wasn't really a grown up. I'm cool with that.

Here is a link to photos of today's event.