Pushing for Greatness on the Last Track

Wow! Check out Grex’s height on the high jump! Lots more track pictures!—>

YAY GREX!!!

It’s trophy day, and lots of activities going on.

The shot put event. (Do you see the ball? Do they call that thing a ball? Google search, google search…oh! I think it’s just called a “shot” not a “ball” though sometimes they call it a “shot put” or a “shot put ball” so now I don’t feel so bad that I didn’t know.)

Run, Grex, run!

Coaches and assistants record the scores. (LOVE the tree tattoo!)

These are sprint heats. I never managed to make it down to the long jump area this time.

Every one of these kids would beat me by a long shot.

Lots of high jump pictures.

Awesome.

Awesome.

Love that one!

Parents and siblings gather around to watch and snuggle…

…and cheer!

Jump!

Awesome effort! Love the smile!

Don’t you just love these stop-action pictures? When the kids are actually jumping over the bar, it’s a split second of time. If you blink when they start the run-up to the bar, you’ll miss the whole thing!

This is the 1/2-mile run. Check out the awesome strides!

But after the curve, a pace-check is also a reality check.

Steady.

By the way, that red track (and its reflections on skin) plays havoc with the white balance on my camera. Add to that the fact that the shirts are ash gray and the camera really doesn’t know what colors things are supposed to be, and it tries to fix it. Ugh! I do my best to put it back to normal on the computer, but the red reflections are pretty hard to deal with.

LOVE the little wave to her fans!

(Fans.)

What a sweet little smile. May all of you enjoy running for fitness your whole lives!

I love moments of coach encouragement.

You can do it! Only 100 yards to go!

I love this shot! Run! Yay!

I really must get up from this keyboard and go outside for some exercise. These kids are SO inspiring me to get moving!

Check out the coach egging him on! Go!

Oh wow, I love this shot. Look at the determination on his face.

Made it! Check out the high-five-crossing-the-finish-line moment!

(His fans.)

He is so FAST!

My Grex! Run! You can do it! I am SO proud of you!

Trophy table. The kids love those trophies!

Each participant got an end-of-season trophy, a certificate, and their progress report. I love the YMCA’s track program!

I got random pictures of some of the kids, but not all of them. If you’re on the team and see a picture you like, email me and I’ll send you the file.

The certificates are really nice this year.

The trophies are cool too.

Yay!! My little buddy looked at the camera!

You are awesome!

Sweet! (She, by the way, is a very fast runner. Keep her on your record radar!)

Congratulations to all the kids!

Way to go!

Gotta check that trophy out.

Careful inspection is necessary. Little factoid about me: one of my first jobs was at a trophy shop making trophies just like these. Here’s a tip for you: GO TO COLLEGE! (So you don’t have to work in a trophy factory putting trophies together and engraving thousands of little plaques. It was nice knowing that each one I made would make a kid happy once he got it. There was that. But still, GO TO COLLEGE! Here’s an idea: keep running fast and get a track scholarship!)

I love this picture.

Grex will cherish that trophy for years. Thanks, coaches!

Grex, you are so awesome! I love you!