Eli's Big Debut and Talia's Tradition: the Big Cottonwood Half

Remember this little cutie?

Back in 2015 Talia became a trendsetter when she ran a half marathon as an eight year-old. 

This year Eli decided to follow in her footsteps by running the Big Cottonwood Half.   He too was a single digit racer, squeezing in his big debut just a couple days before his tenth birthday.  Congratulations!

Okay, I'll be honest.  Running is a sensitive topic in our family.  Since Jason runs, I run, Talia runs, and now Eli runs, it's easy to feel like running is a defining characteristic of our family.  If you don't like to run, are you less of a Wheeler?  Of course not.  In the past, Brooklyn has felt a bit left out since running is not her thing.  Fortunately, this fall she figured out what her thing is when she joined Ultimate Frisbee and loved it.  So yay for everyone!

Back to running, Eli and Talia both trained with Launch Team, a youth running program that mentors kids as they prepare for a half marathon.  We love it!  Here's Eli at their kick-off event, held at TOSH (The Orthopedic Specialty Hospital.)  Not only did they get training on how to run safely, they came home with some nifty bluetooth headphones as well.

Right after the program started, we headed to the East coast for a month.  Training on our own in the heat and humidity was hard.  The kids were often cranky, throwing elbows when they thought I wasn't looking.  There were moments when I wondered if it was worth it, but we persisted. 

Fortunately, over the time the kids grew stronger and their attitudes improved.  Here's Eli back in Utah, running on a hot summer evening.

The coaches do their best to make training fun.  For example, they brought bricks of ice so that the kids could go ice blocking as a reward for doing hill repeats in ninety-five degree weather.

We alternated midweek hills with speed training on the track at Highland.

The reward for sprinting? Super soakers and a water war.  Told you Launch Team is fun.

Most Saturdays we gathered for a canyon run.  Here's the whole gang at the top of Emigration.  We're a big group!

This was Eli's first time cruising down Little Cottonwood canyon (that's Snowbird to the left.)  Beautiful vistas, but tough on the quads.


The U run is fun since the runners come near our house as they trek between the Capitol and the U.  I'd personally prefer a run to the Y, but that would be a little far.

What a beautiful morning!

Made it!

Here's the gang with Tara, one of our favorite coaches.

Speaking of Tara, when we were  out of town for a Saturday canyon run, she ran up City Creek Canyon with our crew the day before to help us stay on track.  Ten miles, check, plus the kids got to miss a couple hours school.  Thanks Tara!

Finishing up at the Capitol.

After twelve weeks of hard work, we were ready to race.  Here's Eli tapering at his final training run along with another favorite coach, Amy.

Believe it or not, Eli was not the youngest Launch Team participant.  Here he is with his friend Gwen, who ran/walked the entire course as a seven year old.


Talia had so much energy after finishing that she came back to cheer us on.  As this was her fourth half marathon, she was our veteran expert.

Eli at his first race expo.

Cool tat, Talia.

Just don't run too fast.

So proud of these guys and their hard work!

At last, race day.  Eli seems pretty excited, especially for 4:30 in the morning.

The entire Launch Team group.  It's amazing how much the team has grown over the past years.

It can be chilly at the top of the canyon so they broke out the emergency blankets to stay warm.

One of the best parts of running Big Cottonwood is the free race photography.  Can you spy Talia?  Her pink tutu makes it a bit easier.

The girl has hops.

Now for Eli's race.  He started off at a solid pace, running with Coach Amy for the six miles until Jason caught up with them.  (Jason started at the bottom and ran up.)  At this point, Eli said he felt great and the two boys took off together.  

You can tell they had a great time together...

...even if Jason is a bit of a one-upper.  ;)

Not every step is easy.  The end gets hard, as you can see from their faces.

This is where I'm so proud of their grit and determination.

Support from the cheering squad means so much at this point!  Papa Kay drove all the way from Nebraska for the occasion.

Ruby traveled all the way from Millcreek to cheer.

Coming through the final chute.  These pictures totally crack me up.  The two women look so delighted to be passed at the last moment by a sprinting nine year-old.  Tiny but mighty.

Victory!

When it comes to running, just getting out there is truly the biggest accomplishment.  We couldn't be prouder of these guys if it took them all day to finish the course.  We'd be proud of them if they hadn't finished at all.  With that said, it's extra nice when the race goes well and you feel strong.  Both Eli and Talia were super quick, far exceeding their anticipated finishing times.

Running with Coach Nicole, Talia set a new PR.

One hour, fifty six minutes.  Wow!  You always have been our Speedy Gonzalez. 

In fact, Talia was so fast that Grandma Susie just missed her crossing the finish line.

Good news is that Eli was just behind.

Finishing in just over two hours, Eli surprised us all by showing just how fast his little legs can go.

At the end, it was great fun celebrating with all the Launch Team runners.  Here's Talia and her Girl Gang.

And a couple photos with a proud Mom and Dad at home.

Our most heartfelt thanks to Launch Team for mentoring our children, not only this year but in years past.  I adore their supportive philosophy where everyone is encouraged to grow and progress at their own rate without the stress of competition. My children have been loved and mentored, developing not only into good runners, but into good humans as well.

Thank you and happy trails!