Dam to Dam 2013 Recap

For me, summer doesn't start until I've crossed a finish line. in front of my daughter. I like to begin the season by setting a good example for Charlotte. She knows what's on my chest, and she gets really excited when she gets to put on a bib number, too.

Unlike Dad, she didn't have any pre-race jitters.

Last year the youth run was well organized. They lined up the kids by age, and each age group ran individual races. The one-year-olds, the runners with the shortest attention span, went first.

This year it was a bit of a mess. They started with the oldest age groups. Then they grouped the ones and twos together for a single race, which only doubled the confusion. By the time they yelled, "Go!" other age groups (and their parents) also entered the fray. Charlotte was almost knocked to the ground by an overzealous mother, and the little cheater girl who won was six.

Despite the confusion, Char was pretty excited to see the welcoming committee of team mascots at the finishing line.

She liked her finisher's ribbon, too.

Later Char bumped into Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson.

Char was particularly impressed with Shawn's Great Dane, Titus. Here he is eating somebody's Powerade.

Char got to see her dad run. She ran a race with her mom. And she spent the rest of the morning with family, athletes, and big dogs.

See? I really am setting a good example for her.