Green Mountain Mile

We celebrated our "Fourth of July" in Waterbury on Saturday, June 26. Yes, we get our celebration taken care of early around here. The celebration consists of a parade, fireworks, and, in recent years, a mile run. My husband came up with the idea to have a mile race right before the parade. It works out well since Main Street is already closed to traffic and all the parade spectators are great fans.

My daughter, Ava, is a veteran racer, having run the mile at ages four, five, and six. I told Julia that she could run when she was four and so this was her race debut. I was curious if she'd be up for the run as she does not always have the same motivation as her older sister. Boy, did she impress me. She moved along well. I kept pointing out people and attractions up ahead to motivate her until she said, "Stop talking, Mommy."

A bunch of young kids ran the race, with 200 participants in all. It's a great family event and the money funds cross country skiing at our local elementary school. I think the race has become as much of a highlight of the day as the parade. A fire truck doesn't look so exciting after you've seen two or three.