Wow!! There were a LOT of kids at the race. It was fantastic to see that many kids (hidden amongst all the parents running) who were out and challenging themselves with the mile run. It was quite a mass of children. SportsBackers and Ukrop’s should be proud of their work to get children involved in fitness. I might post another picture of the masses, but it was quite a large group.

On-line registration was pretty straight forward. Once again, it was a pain to register multiple kids at once, but this year seemed better. I absolutely hated the package pickup. It is turning into a Carnies' dream. You go through an incredible one way maze to get your stuff (EXTREMELY well organized, smooth and quick) only to be dumped into a bazaar of marketing. You then have to wade through a painfully long, slow, and tight set of booths selling anything they think you need. It is getting worse every year.

At the race, the weather was a perfect low 60’s with a slight dampness in the air. The threatened thunder storms held off until after the race. Even then it was just rain. At the start it seemed to be MUCH bigger than last year. Silly Buss did a great intro. The Elvis dude was wonderful again. In addition, the little girl doing the acapella version of the Star Spangled Banner should try out for American Idol. There were a ton of parents fixated on their own children. Lots of families starting great memories.

The start didn’t happen on time. This made it tougher for the families that needed (or wanted) to start their own race later on.

The race itself was a blast. The boys are getting pretty good at running a mile. They understand pacing and strong finishing. They seem to be old enough to pretty much jog the whole thing without imploding. The course was well marshalled, had large enthusiastic spectators, had a great finish, and there were a ton of Bright Room photographers. I’m a sucker for their services. I almost always buy their pictures. In know that they are expensive, but they are generally good quality and I would have never taken the shots they did.

Overall this got eight thumbs up from the four of us.