IronKids Lake Tahoe - How I dropped my daughter on the run...

Dino Sarti

Short story...  We all made it to the finish line.

I signed up both kids for the IronKids run on Saturday as a bit of a whim.  When else can you do a WTC race for $10/head?

We get to the start and my 3yr old boy was having none of it.  Apparently, he prefers horse races to foot races and was only going to do it mounted.  So, a 1 mile jog on Daddy's shoulders it was.  My daughter was completely stoked!  She was all about the medal from the moment we signed up. 

The course was simple.  We started at the IM finish under the arch, then down hill to the bottom of the village, a left turn around the bottom of expo, then a long straight away uphill beside expo, then finally a left back to finish where we started.

I sold the kids on EN execution and we hung back at the start.  I was trying to do 30' slower then what I thought we could do for the first 200 meters down hill.  At the turn, a couple little rug rats were already starting to fade after coming out too fast.  We moved through the pack.  I looked over my shoulder and my 6 year old daughter was on my heels in the draft.

The pack swung left and the long uphill straight away started.  We poured it on and it looked like the other kids were going backwards.  My son was on my shoulders with hands full of my hair and kicking me in the ribs with heels.  We were making our move! 

At the top of the 400 meter straight away I looked back to check my draft and my daughter was gonzo!  I had dropped her when I made my move.  Dean and I took a beat and then she sort of emerged from the crowd headed our way.  Her face was in pain.  She was in her dark place.  She got to us and popped.  We were walking.....

I gave her 30 steps to catch her breath and got her running again easy.  We made it to the finish line about mid-pack and toasted our first finish with Perform and medals!

I think I got a little racer on my hands....  

Steve West

Great play-by-play! Loved it!

[Deleted User]

That's just awesome! See you tomorrow:-) Best of luck to you Dino!!

robin sarner

fun.   hopefully you save a bit for your race today.  

Yasko Howell

How cute!!!

steve Beyer

best race report I've read yet Dino

Pick121

So great! Make sure you add that photo to the IMLT album!

Peter Carroll

That was a fun run. My 4 year old son had a blast... My 7 year old daughter wasn't up there yet (she had a soccer game). She was pissed that she didn't get a medal.

My son ran the whole 1/2 mile course. Wore his hardware to pre-school on Monday to show it off ;-) He wanted a finishers jacket though.

Dino Sarti

That's funny. My daughter wore her medal to school the first day back as well. They let her wear it all day.

Jennifer Eckert

OMG, I saw the title and thought you may have actually dropped her.  So glad you didn't and she finished!  One of my best times was volunteering at a kids triathlon...it was fun to see the anticipation and excitement in their eyes and the elation upon their finish.