A monthlong special report
from Spokesmanreview.com
A monthlong special report
from Spokesmanreview.com
|
Jillian Vickerman – breathing hard and squeezing an 8-ounce paper cup of water – suddenly realized Saturday she was having a proud moment.
Under a clear blue spring sky, standing on the green turf inside Albi Stadium, the kindergartner was beaming after being told she was the first 5-year-old to cross the finish line at America’s Kids Run.
"Umm-huh," she responded when asked if she was proud of her accomplishment against 163 other kids her age.
"That other girl almost beat me, but I practiced a lot," Jillian said after passing through the finish line – an archway of red, white and blue balloons – and getting a T-shirt for her effort.
Watching from the stands at Albi were her two sisters, Analese, who raced earlier with the 10-year-olds, and Mirisa, who competed in the 8-year-old bracket.
"I was like ‘wow!’ when I saw her finish first," Mirisa said of her little sister’s accomplishment.
Analese said she had a little trouble seeing Jillian dash to the finish line, but she was still excited. "We go to the best school, Hamblen Elementary, and that’s where we all practice," she said.
The girls’ parents, Mike and Erika Vickerman, snapped pictures of their daughters who were among 2,720 children who ran Saturday in the 23rd annual America’s Kids Run, an event initially called Junior Bloomsday.
A nonprofit organization sponsors the event with an annual budget of about $30,000, said race organizer Mike Erwert.
The event, which is not timed, is carried out on a course beginning and ending on the turf in Albi Stadium. Jillian and other 5- and 6-year-olds competed on a half-mile course. Kids who are 7 and 8 ran a mile course, and the 9- to 12-year-olds competed over two miles.
The course is marked by yellow plastic tape strung between barricades, monitored every few feet by an army of 500 volunteers, including students from University, Central Valley, Mead and Riverside high schools, earning community service hours. There also were volunteers from Eastern Washington University and Fairchild Air Force Base.
"It’s very well organized and they keep great control of the kids and return each one of them to their parents," Mike Vickerman said of the event for children between 5 and 12.
He’s been bringing his daughters to the race for three years and said it’s worth the $20 entry fee. Jillian just smiled when her parents confessed that she actually ran the race last year as a 4-year-old.
Marathon runner Pat Quinn, 75, said he has volunteered since the event started and never gets tired of seeing the excitement on the kids’ faces as they line up at the starting line in small groups.
"We used to have a 4-year-old age group, but we found out that at the starting line half the kids would go down the course and the other half would run back to mom or dad," Quinn said. "That’s why we moved the youngest group up to 5-year-olds."
Then he had to get back to urgent business as another group of young runners lined up at the start.
"Make sure your shoes are tied," Quinn said as a wave of heads looked earthward.
He and co-starter Frank Petek, who has volunteered 15 years, also had the young runners do quick stand-on-your-tiptoes stretching exercises.
The race organizer said interest in the kids’ race waned from a high of 11,700 participants in 1989 to 5,000 to 8,000 in the 1990s. This year’s turnout was ahead of last year’s count of 2,500.
Erwert said 23 years ago "we didn’t have as many distractions."
"Now, we’re competing with Game Boys, computers, Xboxes – and obesity."
Spokane, Wash., Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and the Inland Northwest • ©Copyright 2009, The Spokesman-Review
