Ben's Forget The PR 50K

Today Ben ran his first ever 50K race - it was a trail run at Mohican State Park.  The trail is known to be tough and very hilly on a regular day - but today it rained almost the entire time.  Mud was a huge problem, and Ben had a pretty hard time of it.  He finished in 8:18, and ended up walking the last 7 miles.  The race story is his to tell, and he's waiting until tomorrow to do his complete write-up.  But he did have a very tough time physically, and that can translate into a tough time mentally/emotionally as well.  He was sending me texts to keep me updated on his progress from time to time, and I was thankful to know he was still making progress.  I tried to encourage him as best I could in my texts back to him.  Both Chris and Andy, his running buddies finished in under 7 hours, and it was a long wait for Ben after that.  Andy suggested taking the kids to the bottom of the hill, near the finish line, so they could run him in at the end - I stayed close to the finish line to get a picture of him. When I saw the kids running with Ben up that hill to the finish line, it brought tears to my eyes.  This race was a huge accomplishment for him, and he did tell me that he was in a dark place a few times during those eight hours when he really didn't think he could keep going.  I'm so glad we were there to help him - if only in a small way - reach this important goal he set for himself.

Sledding Fun

Sam has been complaining that I haven't been updating the blog, so here's a picture of the kids and Ben sledding in December of 2005, and then in December of 2012.