Diaper Dash

A few weeks ago, Nevi competed in the 2nd race of her young career, the always scintillating “Diaper Dash” at the Frank Shorter "Race 4 Kids Health" in Broomfield, CO. Her first effort was the DD2010, almost 1-year ago, when she shuffled to a noteworthy finish, being beaten out by only kiddos with more than 3 months' experience on their legs. This year, she was hungry for another blue (participant) ribbon.

The race occurred in two heats. The first was the entire length of the football field, a veritable marathon for tykes under 2, who mostly opted for the short-course version, a 50-foot sprint, to be run shortly thereafter. So, in culmination of 25 months of intense psychological and physical conditioning, she toed the starting line.

The Applebee’s Bee, a charming but daunting character (hey, I’m a little scared of anybody with a 3-foot stinger) was the grand marshall. Wordlessly, he coaxed the field to the starting line, and then sent them off, whizzing down the gridiron himself, toward the finish line as a hungry pack pursued. Nevi’s start was a bit tentative....actually reversed would be a more appropriate term. It was less due to pre-race jitters (I think), and more a case of no-clear-idea-of-what-she-was-supposed-to-do. Kate’s hair appointment had been scheduled a month in advance (before either of us had even thought about entering this race) so I was flying solo as coach, photographer, and “seeing-eye dad” all rolled into one. But enough with the excuses. After we got going in the right direction, Nevi’s furious footfalls had her pulling away from the stragglers, and making a real push to advance to the rear of the lead pack! As the race’s first finishers crossed the line, The motivational music faded, and our ferocious little athlete suddenly slowed in her tracks.

“The music stopped,” she said.

“Keep going, keep running,” I prodded, “you’re almost there!”

Darting back & forth to avoid the previous finishers, she made it to the end, and there was much rejoicing!

Heat 2 was just as fun. Again, there were some problems at the start, but she finished respectably against a strong field of 2 & unders. Our neighbor, Powell, was Particularly Powerful, and according to my observation, bested all-comers. An awesome event as always, all the kiddos were supplied with ample finisher “schwag,” including a stuffed bear, books & stickers, and restaurant coupons. Well worth the no-charge entry fee!