Running with Angels 5k

On Saturday we were privileged to participate in the Running with Angels 5k at Thanksgiving Point Gardens (the same place we did the Walk of Remembrance last Saturday).  This is by far my favorite 5k we've done together.

• Mostly because it has personal meaning to our family
• We got to run the race for our angel baby, Nastassia Grace
• It's the first 5k we've done as a family of 3, and we ran the whole thing together 
• Thanksgiving Point Gardens is beautiful, and the scenery beat any other 5k we've done
• Everyone else running the race either had a personal story like ours, or they were there to support other family members and friends who have lost a child or more

It really was a special experience and I'm so glad we decided to do it and donate to a good cause, helping other families like ours when they go through the difficulty of losing a child.  We're excited to make this an annual event for our family and make it a special time to remember and honor Nastassia.


Before the race began, we had a moment of silence and a dove releasing ceremony to honor all the little ones we were running for.  It was a pretty emotional experience for a lot of people, including me, but in a good way!

There are 44 doves in this picture!

 Right before the race began

One thing I loved about the race was the great analogy it is to life in general.  Some parts of the course were really easy, a nice down-hill jog where things went smoothly and you could run faster with less effort.  Other parts of the course were much harder - the slight inclines that make you work a little bit, and the HUGE hill at the end reminded me of the difficult times in life where you have to try your best to reach the top of your trials and the relief you feel when you come out on top feeling like you've given your best effort.

Our family at the finish line

Darwin pushed Aurora in our awesome jogging stroller

 Our memory bibs for Nastassia - I think we'll make our own T-shirts for next year though

We were both proud of our success with this race.  I honestly felt I was able to do better than any other race I've done because I was doing it for Nastassia, with Darwin and Aurora right beside me.  Can't beat that!  Love you, babes :)

Race Results:

Chip Time: 30:44

Pace: 9:55/M

Overall Place (out of 810) - Darwin: 175, Kiara: 176

Gender Place - Darwin: 89, Kiara: 87

Division Place - Darwin: 11, Kiara: 19