Weekend Warrior
July 4th, 2008. Cole Sport 5K run - otherwise known as the "Baby Jogger World Championship Race."
I lined up on the front row with my baby, Blake, and sized up my competitors including last year's winner. He was pushing a 'triple.' His jogger plus the three kids were easily over 100 pounds. I was running with a new ultra-light jogger, stripped of all extra toys, bottles and diapers. The race start time was perfect, after breakfast but before nap-time. My 9-month-old boy was all smiles and ready to go. Bang! The starting gun went off and we sprinted downhill. Forty-five pounds of stroller plus baby can really move when gravity is giving you a hand! Nineteen minutes and plenty of gasping-for-air-on-the-uphills later, we crossed the finish line in victory. Did it matter that nobody else was aware of the 'world championship' title? No! Or did I let on that I used to train 20+ hours a week for triathlons prior to Blake's arrival? Of course not.
Before moving to Park City last summer, my wife Ali and I were living in Boston. We had moved there from California for her job. Shortly after moving, we found out Ali was pregnant. When the baby was finally old enough for the baby jogger (a grueling six months…), I tried to enter a 5K with a friend that also had a baby, but the Boston race prohibited baby-joggers. I guess it was a case of an East Coast all-business attitude?! We didn't care for the fast-paced California Silicon Valley lifestyle and we didn't seem to fit into the East Coast city mold. Finally, coming to Park City, we find ourselves repeating the Goldilocks refrain - life in Park City fits us just right! Unlike the past few years of moving around, we know where we'll be next summer and we are counting the days till the 2009 Baby Jogger World Championship.
Sebe Ziesler is making the most of his new Parkite lifestyle.
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Reader Comments:
Could this become an Olympic sport?
How will you and baby Blake train over the winter?
So will Baby Blake enter next summer's competition in a seated position or will he choose to run along side dad?
Based on the facts of the race, it seems that this race needs to have a handicap requirement. After all pushing tree kids deserves some extra time.