Running (amd watching) Under the Blazing Sun

Last weekend A had her first summer track meet way up Essex Junction, which is around Burlington. I know I’m a whiner, but it was a brutal day, and I’m not sure how many more of these track meets I can handle. First off, it’s about a two hour drive up there, and the meet started at 9:30. This meant leaving around 7:30. We lucked out with the weather in the early part of the day, because it was threatening rain (what else is new?), and the cloud cover kept it cool.

I don’t know if you’ve ever been to a track meet, but they’re long. I’ve been to several of A’s, and they last up to 4 hours. Those meets, however, pale in comparison to this one, which must have lasted about 7 hours, I kid you not. It must have been around 4:00PM when it was finally done, I couldn’t believe it. To make it all the more aggravating, your child’s events happen once or twice during this time, so you’re stuck watching all these events that you have only a passing interest in. Sure, it’s fun to watch, but 7 hours? Come on!

Part of the problem with this meet was that it included 7-8 year old kids, which is sort of ridiculous. Do kids that age really need to run a 100 meter dash? It’s like going a mile for these kids, and they’re way too young. At least with A’s usual meets, the kids are 12-14 years old, which is reasonable. Then again, in the ultra competitive world that we live in, it’s never too early to get your kid on track to be a champion. In that sense, with all sports, you have to get them started early if you have any chance at that Ivy League scholarship.

On a bright note, A did well in her events. She’s a speedster.

The day was long, I have to confess. To N’s credit, he sat through the whole meet and didn’t complain once... well, maybe once, but that was perfectly understandable. The weather was nice, the sun eventually came out and it was hot, but we had sun protection, and packed plenty of water and fruit/snacks. Plus, the snack shed had burgers and hot dogs, so N could eat. Another problem is that A runs in one of the final events, so we were there for the long haul.

By evening time, we were ready to roll. The original plan was to go to Burlington for supper, but that would have meant driving further north, and by that time, the only direction we wanted to go was south, toward home. We stopped instead in Montpelier and ate Thai food, which was killer. We then had gelato, then headed back home. It’s a good plan to stop midway from Burlington because it’s such a long drive. It’s more bearable in one hour increments.

The final piece of the puzzle was that we had to feed our friend’s cats and water her plants. We were exhausted, but duty called. We stopped on the way home, took care of business, and finally walked in the door at home around 8:00PM. Talk about a brutal day, I never want to do that again, at least until the next track meet.

I will say this, spending all day at the track makes hockey season look like a piece of cake. At least with hockey, the game is done within an hour and then you can go home. I’ll take it.

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Adventurous Black Kid! for the pic.