It seems each year the weekend of Valley Harvest Marathon (Canadian Thanksgiving weekend) the weather is different. In 2014 it was super wet, last year it was the windiest and this year probably the warmest in a few years. With the bright sun-shining down on over 1000 kids, it was a great day!

We actually started the day off with swimming lessons at 8:30 and were amazed that it went so well. We were expecting Hilary have a meltdown since she dislikes water and didn’t want to do swimming lessons. Lilly swam in the deep end for the first time unassisted and Hilary was in the water the whole time with an instructor! Big win!

After an early lunch we headed off to Wolfville to pick up our race kits and meet up with friends. Race kit pick up with kids can be a bit hectic but they had some activities for the kids to do which was great. We ran into lots of people we knew which is always fun.

We waited outside from 1:30 until the 2 pm start time which for our three-almost four year old, was too long of a wait (parenting lesson learned).  At 2 pm the under 5 girls went, which meant it was Hilary’s turn to run one lap around the Acadia track. Last year she did it all by herself so we expected her to do it again by herself. That was not the case.

After see most of the kids pass around the track, Hilary was nowhere to be seen. I made my way over to the other side of the field to see her walking with a sad face. I tried to cheer her up and her response was “I just want to run with you”. With no hesitation, I grabbed her hand that was reaching out to me and took off in my Birkenstock. She cruised around the track to the finish her lap. She’s actually a fast runner so it was funny trying to keep up with her in birks. Afterwards she was so happy to “have won the race”!

Next up was under 5 boys and then it was supposed to be 5 & 6 year olds girls. I’m not sure if they changed it last minute but as Lilly was waiting with the other 5 & 6 year old girls they announced it was only 5 year olds going. Six year olds had to go back and wait with their parents so Lilly stepped to the side of the track. Lilly was fine but it was a little chaotic for some parents and kids. It was 5 year old girls who then did two laps followed by the 5 year old boys who did two laps, then it was Lilly’s turn with the 6 year olds. We waited in shade near the start to watch all the runners finish.

Finally it was Lilly’s turn and she was so excited. We talked a lot about pacing herself as sometimes she goes too fast and then get’s a stitch in her side. She did a great job running and had a happy face as she passed us on her first lap. The best part was watching her get her medal and run over to me with excitement all over her face. So worth it.

We played on the field with friends and took in the Run, Jump, Throw, Wheel equipment that a friend was facilitating. We got to practice throwing a pretend javelin on a rope which was really cool.

Though it was a bit chaotic for some parents it was a great day to have kids out running and cheering each other on. There was lots of traffic delays due to highway and road construction that you can’t really do anything about. We had typical wait times getting out of Acadia University where the run was held but that to be expected when you go to an event like that.

I love having such a great event so close to home to watch not only our girls run but their friends run too. Sometimes we parents feel like we run around with our heads cut off when taking your kids to fun events like this but in the end it’s all worth it. The girls had a blast and that’s what really matters.

Big thanks to Valley Harvest Marathon committee for the Kids Run – 1000’s kids registered – that’s awesome!

Do your kids run in kids events?

Anyone’s kids run in the Valley Harvest Marathon?

Do you plan for traffic delays when going to a race?

Valley Harvest Marathon 10k Recap to come…it was great!