Race for Life

Ella has been looking forward to running in this 5k for the Pregnancy Center pretty much from the moment she crossed the finish line at last year's race.  She still fancies herself a runner, even though she hasn't gotten to do it as much this year.  She had her running partner (Daddy) taken out by a knee injury at the end of Spring Break, but still committed to the race and didn't let that stop her.  She's been running with some wonderful young women from our church.  One Saturday, Miss Katie swung by to pick her up for a training run and at today's race, Miss Monica was kind enough to be her running buddy.

 Here we are, the three amigos in the Walking Club-- "Busted Knee", "Broken Arm", and "Out of Shape"! :)

 And here is Ella and her new favorite person in the world.  Miss Monica was her Sunday School teacher a few years ago and the two have maintained a sweet friendship.   Monica was thrilled to run with Ella today and, even though she's a pretty serious runner herself, told us that Ella set a brisk pace and worked her hard today!

 With less than a mile to go, our paths cross and the runners pass the walkers.  It was so fun to see Ella smiling and looking really strong with a couple miles under her belt!  We had some cheers and high fives for them.

She was awesome in this race last year, but did EVEN BETTER this year.  She finished the 3 miles in 32 minutes and came in 14th place overall!  We think she was the first kid to cross the finish line too.  

This is such a fun thing to be a part of.  Our Pregnancy Center met and exceeded their fundraising goal through this race!  We love this cause and taking a morning to not only support it, but to also hang out with tons of church and school friends and to see Ella shine as a runner, is a worthwhile way to spend a Saturday for sure!