Running for Water and to Remember

Today several of our family members joined over 4000 others to Run for Water,

an annual event that raises money to provide water wells 

for villages in Ethiopia that have no fresh water.

Our Northerners came down on Friday already so that Matt could run the 25 km Trail Run yesterday... it was hot and covered 1500 meters of elevation but we were all proud of him.

 First off this morning, it was Heather's turn!

She had been training all year for this her first half marathon,

and Matt and the boys were there to cheer her on!

 7:30 am and they are off....

 and there she goes!

 While she was off running the half marathon,

the next racers were getting ready.

 The race included hills and heat so the Fire Engine spraying water on the runners along the way

was a welcome sight.

 Next to get ready to go,

were Megan and Jaxon.

Jaxon was running the 10 km race for the second year in a row...

 and was definitely excited to do it again.

 At 8:30, it was time for them to be off....

 Jaxon stayed with Megan for most of the race,

 but once he knew where he was at,

Megan gave him the ok to take off without her...

and off he went!

He looked like he wasn't even running that hard as he approached the finish line...

....next came Megan...

...looking a wee bit more tired than her son. :-)

Also at the finish line were Heather's two biggest fans...

 watching and waiting for her to come in...

 before they took off for their 5 km run.

 And there she comes...

 ...hot and tired...

 but to she did it!! 

She ran her first half marathon!

 And off they went...

 Kai was so excited to finish ahead of his Dad.

 A family picture to remember an awesome day of running...

...but also remembering.

 As the medals proudly proclaimed, the run this year was for Letisha's Well,

in memory of the young girl from our church who was killed in November last year.

 Like our family, Letisha had run the race for the past several years

and she was passionate about serving others, making people smile,

and being involved in giving back to those less fortunate than she was.

What an amazing day to run for water and to remember.