Sure, I think there was an actual 13 mile race that was part of the event put on by the Rotary, but it started before we got there and we didn't really miss not being part of it. We were there to participate in the 8k race/walk (mostly walk) raising awareness for colon cancer. (Colon cancer is also known as the "icky" cancer.)

Most importantly, it was a great training opportunity for Amy and some of the Miles for Melons team as they gear up for the 3 Day in August.

Since this bordered on being an official Moosefish Adventure it was only fitting that it suffered many of the same problems I usually encounter in the woods. We started out by getting lost. Well, maybe not lost, but definitely in the wrong place. We'd been told it would be "well signed" so we figured that unless we saw a sign we'd keep going. We didn't expect there would only be one sign or that it would be lying flat on the ground courtesy of a gust of wind. It's a good thing Mercer Island isn't that big or we'd still be driving south.

Once we were back in the right general vicinity we found the others and parked nearby. As we were nearing the registration desk to pick up our bibs (Clara delighted in the idea of Mommy and Daddy wearing bibs) we heard the crack of the starter's pistol and realized we were losing ground in the race that wasn't a race which is the best kind of race because it's the kind of race we might actually win. So screw the bibs and let's just cut into the crowd here. HAHA! We started late and we weren't even in last place! Burn!

After a lap or two (and being lapped by the runners who for some reason thought it'd be entertaining to wave their bony arms at us) around downtown we headed off onto some side streets. Of course, that was after Mr. Loser tried to run down not only the race official telling him to stop his car, but also several dozen walkers. Turns out he was displeased at the thought of waiting for a safe moment to cross and instead figured he'd just do the slow roll trick and hope nobody made a stand. The race official took down his license plate and I heard at least one person comment that it'd be awfully ironic if the driver wound up with colon cancer.

Ah, but back to the race. We went up a few hills and down a few others. None were too big and besides, we had the girls in the stroller. Clara was content to sit in the back while Lilly rode up front. Lilly passed the time by alternately kicking off her blanket and pulling off her shoe and sock. Needless to say, the latter would have been acceptable if she hadn't insisted on throwing her shoe out of the stroller.

We should have counted, but since we didn't I'll estimate that Lilly threw out her shoe at least one million times and that might be a bit conservative. Most of the time Amy would pick it up and run up to put it back on Lilly's foot. Lilly would immediately begin working on the shoe and start the cycle again. A couple of times we'd both miss the shoe and someone behind our group would run up and hand the shoe to Amy. We also experimented with Amy throwing the shoe at my head, but that didn't seem particularly effective either in terms of hitting my head or getting it back on Lilly's foot.

We eventually gave up on the idea that Lilly would have a warm foot and instead let her just play with the shoe.

Clara got out and walked a bit, but was really more in the mood for a relaxing ride. Lex, Jack, and Noah all snoozed for at least part of the walk, but both Clara and Lilly were wide awake throughout.

The big excitement was that we lost one of Lilly's socks. Luckily it was on a section that we paralleled on the way back and Amy was able to retrieve it from under the feet of the walking throng following behind us.

We crossed the finish line about an hour and a half after we started. Our total distance, including wandering about collecting free food and pamphlets about colon cancer was about 5.67 miles (according to Mr. GPS (yes, I'm lame)) and we gained about 270 feet of elevation.

Afterward we undid any goodness we might have done by having McDonalds for lunch. It may have done irreparable damage to our colons, but at least it kept the girls happy for the ride home.