Running with the Wolves

Two of my favorite things came together once again this weekend; laughing with children and trail running.  I get to do these things separately all of the time, but twice a year these two joys come together in one big, pink, silly party.

Saturday morning I took part in the Girls on the Run 5k that happens once in the winter and again in spring.  GOTR is a fabulous organization that connects young girls with women runners of all ages to celebrate all things girl.  While it’s not ALL fun and games because the girls learn lessons about navigating media messages, handling bullies and resisting peer pressure along the way, GOTR is mostly fun and games.

For many-a-season I coached these little 8-11 year-old girls twice a week for months at a time. One of the highlights of my experience as coach was to show a dozen girls the joy and free-flowing-flight of trail running.    They learned to give each other space, watch their feet, use their arms for balance and scream like crazy while they flew down the steep trails and around the sloppy corners.  I showed them how to wear their mud with pride.  But as my own girls grew into young women and they became busy with other activities I, myself, retired from being a Coach of GOTR to become a Running Buddy.

That brings me to this past Saturday.  I had been invited to be a running buddy for the twice annual end of season run-celebration.  We met at a gazebo in the park, all 200 girls from around the county and their parents, siblings and running buddies.  The girls wore matching pink GOTR shirts, some had face paint, others colorful stripes in their hair.  Many donned pink satin super-hero capes.  They gathered at the start line, paired-up with their running buddies and waited for the signal to “GO!”

I had known my running buddy since she was 5.  This kid has the biggest, most constant smile you’ve ever seen.  I can truthfully state that I have never, ever, seen her mouth without a hole in it – she is always missing a new tooth.  It has become a game for us – she runs up to show me the new gap in the row of her pearly-whites. 

As we lined up at the start my buddy reassured me that she was going to pace herself as she had been taught by her coaches.  As we all know, well-laid plans of mice and men often go astray.  In this case it would be plans of wolf and buddy, as she insisted I call her Wolf for the day.  She mostly spoke using her deep, gruff Wolf voice, which sounded strange coming out of such a slight human.

I think we both found out that playing a game was much more fun than running a disciplined steady pace, at least on this sunny morning.  The Wolf would weave her tiny body at high speed through a mass of joggers, knowing that I am three times her size and would have to leap ditches to catch her, which I did every time.  We were giggling and squealing and panting.  Suddenly the Wolf would see a caterpillar, or a patch of buttercups, or an interesting blossom on a tree and our sprint would come to a screeching halt so we could inspect her discovery and enjoy the moment in nature.  All of those people we had just passed would steadily chug past us while we saved caterpillars and picked flowers.  Then without any warning, Wolf would hop up and launch back into a full, weaving sprint through the same crowd of runners we had passed many times before.

At the end of the 5k the Wolf, proudly wearing a shiny finishing medal around her neck, celebrated with her teammates with an ice cream sundae and a giant smile.  Have you ever seen a smiling wolf?  You really need to meet my running buddy.