Run For Their Lives

Luke and I had the wonderful opportunity to run/ walk a 5K yesterday. This was my (Laura's) very first race ever. This particular race is not about winning. It costs $24 to enter the race. That's the exact amount that it costs to purchase a Thai girl's freedom for one day from sex trafficking. Basically what Freedom 4/24 does is pay for a girl's freedom for the day and then they take that day to show them that there's another way. They show them the love of Christ. I can't think of a better reason to run. Here's how our day went:

Brett and Jack having a little pre-race fun. Jack loved playing with the balloon, so someone ended up tying one to the stroller he was riding in.

Luke about to cross the finish line. I was SO proud of him! He hasn't run in a really long time (like since high school) and he ran the entire race! He finished 67th with a time of 27:37:00!! He did 8:55 miles. Needless to say, he's feeling it today :)
Now, I have NEVER been a runner. In fact, I dislike running...a lot. It hurts. But I did end up running some parts of the race. After the halfway turn around we were going slightly downhill, so I just let go of the stroller and ran behind it. It's amazing how much more momentum you have when you use your arms! :)

Jen came and helped me push Jack up the final (very steep) hill.

Almost to the finish line! Snagging a quick picture with Luke (who helped quite a few women push their strollers up this final hill).

That's me on the left. I decided to sprint the last straight away, passing a few people. Suckas!!! I finished in 511th place with a time of 45:20:00. Now, that sounds a little worse than it actually is because there were about 900 people running/ walking the 5K. I did 14:37 miles; which is better than I do when I walk around our neighborhood (I usually do about 20 minute miles...but hey, it's a hilly neighborhood!).
Luke with Jack by the finish line.