The Kids' Martian Marathon and The Importance of Pasting

I don't write about them much on here, but the center of my attention is two little adorable critters ages 7 and 9, known as my children. I may not have the heroic selflessness of their wonderful mother, but, from the moment they wake up at 6:30 am (even on weekends, I may have failed as a parent)  they're the center of my universe.

With the countless days and nights they've seen me running, you would think running would rub off on them.  I've tried not to push it since I'm a big believer in attraction rather than promotion. But it hasn't worked. At least not as good as Martians. Let me explain.

Yes, they are well aware that I run, but the result is that they look out our front window at runners who go by and say things like, "Look! there goes that guy who's faster than you."  When I come home and show them a medal from an event, they of course ask if I won the race, and when I say, "everybody gets a medal" the shine falls right off the object.

My oldest daughter traveled to New York City for the 2013 marathon.  How could this not turn her on to running? The majesty of the New York City Marathon finishing in central park. She would witness the center of the galaxy being at the finish line on marathon day.

 Instead, she was in line with me at the marathon expo when the event got canceled. Hurricaned all over our parade. When I put the orange NYCM shirt on, she overheard me say, "I shouldn't be wearing this race shirt, I didn't earn it."  Now if I dare put it on, she tells me not to wear it. "You didn't earn that!"

I think God put them here to always humble me.

But the secret to getting my kids to have a passion for running is Martians. Little Green, and purple, and blue Martians. The blow up variety.

At the Expo. They'll soon be miles apart.

Running Fit has a program where the kids run 25 miles at school during the weeks leading up to the Martian Marathon, and then they run the last 1.2 miles on race day. They complete their 26.2 miles in about 4,553 hours, get the same medal as every other marathoner, and it's a great achievement.  They learn about pacing, increase their endurance, and the power of peers to keep one going. After a certain number of miles during their training they are given a coupon to take to Running Fit to get a free blow up martian character. Similar to the ones used as mile markers at the event.

Never seen them so excited to run when they learned they could earn a free martian.

 this is actually the Novi Store

We went to the West Bloomfield store, and they  rummaged thought he GU, looking at the flavors as if they were candy, and wanted to buy one to try.  How could I say no?  My daughter loved the chocolate mint kind.

I pointed to the two copies of my novel "The Jade Rabbit" on the shelf which made the kids smile. "They haven't sold out," I lamented, to which my six year old replied, "they didn't like your story?"  It was the perfect excuse for a hug and a nugie.

An old picture... only 2 copies remain.

We brought the blow up Martians home, and they are now part of the family. The Martians have been made to dance Gangnam style. The kids have given them little voices. They came to bed with them. They have been tucked under blankets when the kids leave for school.

And now the payoff. On Saturday, they will be running the kids martian marathon at noon, with their proud parents waiting at the end. 

 In preparation, as they undergo a 2 day taper, I have to answer this question: "Daddy, At the martian marathon, do we still need to use Pasting?"