Family Festival run — a feat for little feet
After running only 200 yards of the one mile run for youths, one pint-sized runner was too pooped to continue.
Mom was thrilled.
"You started the race! Way to go!" shouted Dyan Thorton, formerly of Hillsboro now living in Wichita.
Saturday's Festival Run was a family affair. Moms and dads ran with their children, as grandparents looked on from the sidelines.
The top local men's finisher in the 5k run, (a distance of just over three miles), was Evan Yoder running in the 40-49 age group. Yoder finished second overall.
The top woman's finisher was Yoder's wife, Rebecca.
"It was real windy out of the south," she said. "It was hot, too. If there wasn't any wind it would really be torture."
The Yoders are as fit as two middle-aged people have a right to be. And, their four boys are all standout athletes. Who knows which of the young runners in the one mile race might grow up to be the next standout from Marion County?
It could be one of Joe and Brenda Sechrist's children. Tanner, 10, Emily, 8, and Abby, 6, each won medals on Saturday. Their youngest daughter, Milly, 5, was too young to join them.
Tanner placed third in the one-mile 10-and-under race, behind Austin Calam and Jacob Humber, who placed first and second respectively.
Emily placed first and Abby placed third in the 10-and-under girls' race. Erin Wiebe was second.
There was a hugfest at the finish line, where their grandparents, Millie and Norman Wichert, were waiting. They came up from Oklahoma for the holiday weekend.
Several of the children were running in the dark blue T-shirts of the Hillsboro Running Club, to which the three Sechrist children belong. They're also active on the Hillsboro swim team.
"We're trying to keep them active," Brenda said. "We try to limit their sweets, and the amount of time they spend watching TV."
Hot and thirsty finishers guzzled bottled water and sports drinks. They ate strawberries, oranges and bananas from the post-race picnic tables.
And, like Abby, they also ate cinnamon rolls, even if they didn't need any more sugar.
Most runners load up on complex carbohydrates the night before a race, but Abby loaded up on her own birthday cake.
The formula for future athletic success might be whole milk, which Rebecca Yoder drank growing up on the dairy farm.
She also got in the habit of getting up at three o'clock in the morning to milk the cows. She still gets up at three to train before going to work as a fitness instructor.
A veteran of five marathons, Rebecca has an ongoing concern that few other 40-somethings can relate to: getting too much exercise.
"You know when you get my age, the injuries are a concern," she said. "I get to where I kind of over train, so I kind of was injured this week. I tend to want to do more and more and more."
She has energy to burn.
'I didn't run in college," she said. "I've still got miles still in the tank. I still have four years of eligibility.
RESULTS One-mile fun run
10-and-under, boys — 1. Austin Calam. 2. Jacob Humber. 3. Tanner Sechrist. Also: Drew Thornton, Wade Holmes, Jared Dyck, Brandon Klassen, Jonathan Hinerman.
11-14 — 1. Rustyn Kerbs. 2. Lane Holmes. 3. Jesse Allen. Also: Shay Thiessen, Jake Wiebe, Gabe Holmes, Jerrod Rogers, Tyrell Thiessen.
30-39 — 1. Joe Sechrist.
10-and-under, girls — 1. Emily Sechrist. 2. Erin Wiebe. 3. Abby Sechrist. Also: Maggie Fischer, Abigail Calam.
11-14 — 1. Micaela Hinerman 2. Ashley Bartel.
5-K, Men's
10-and-under — 1. Trevor Unruh.
11-14 — 1. Tanner Roark. 2. Reece Long. 3. Douglas Calam.
15-19 — 1. J. Christian. 2. Dale Ratzlaff.
20-29 — 1. Osten Fran. 2. Herb Wiebe.
30-39 — 1. Troy Scarlett (overall winner). 2. Kelly Lennons.
40-49 — 1. Evan Yoder. 2. Bob Woelk. 3. Dale Foster.
50-59 — 1. David Zlab. 2. Steve Greenhaw. 3. Mikeal Brandt.
60 and over — 1. Ronald Gill. 2. Gary Cassel.
5-K, women's
11-14 — 1. Taylor Nikkel.
15-19 — 1. Jacque Fisher. 2. Great Kliewer.
20-29 — 1. Robin Kejr.
30-39 — 1. Sara Friesen. 2. Gail Dyck. 3. Shelly Schale.
40-49 — 1. Rebecca Yoder (women's overall winner). 2. Julie Kerbs. 3.Debbie Ratzloff.
50-59 — 1. Carol Duerksen.
