Currie, my 4 year old daughter, ran the Toyota of Pittsburgh Kids Marathon. It was all part of the Pittsburgh Marathon weekend extravaganza and she had an excellent experience. This was her 4th race, but first time racing the 1 mile distance. I was able to sit down with her after the race to talk about her preparation and how she felt about the race. Here’s what she had to say:

Me: How did you feel when I asked you if you wanted to run the Kids Marathon?

Currie: Good! I was excited. Running is exciting!

Excitedly bouncing and blurry!

Me: Did you do anything special to prepare for this mile long race?

Currie: Well, I was exercising before it.

Dancing is great exercise!

Me: What do you like to do for exercise?

Currie: I like to gallop sometimes! I like to jump! And I like to run too! I like to ride my balance bike and my pedal bike too. I love my scooter and my yellow helmet.

Me: Can you tell us about your race day outfit?

Currie: Well, it said Oiselle on it, my shirt. My pants were black. My arm warmers were stripey and they are actually leg warmers that I put on my arms! I wore my green coat before the race. I wore my boots because they were fancy.

Those boots!!

Me: What did you have for breakfast on race morning?

Currie: I had Cheerios. Then a piece of sugar toast. {“sugar toast” is toast with butter, sugar and cinnamon.}

Me: How did you feel at the starting line?

Currie: Good and warmed up. (warmup provided by Jeff Eggleston and Heather Kampf. Very fast and wonderful people!)

Heather and Jeff, getting the kids pumped and warmed up!

Me: What did you think about the course?

Currie: Um, kind of curvy and stuff. It was a little hilly up on the bridge. Then I felt like I was going to burst when I was going downhill!

Me: Did you feel tired at the end or at any point during the race?

Currie: No.

Me: What did you do after crossing the finish line?

Currie: I got a medal and water. Then I got food. I made a smiley face cookie at the Eat’n Park tent. They had a bounce house that was made into stuff you could crawl through and slide down and climb up! I got some plants from the Giant Eagle tent!

Runner of Steel!

Me: Would you recommend this race to other kids?

Currie: Yes.

Me: Any advice for people who want to run next year?

Currie: Stay on the track.

I was more excited about this photo than Currie. Clara Santucci would go on to win the marathon the next day. Had the extreme pleasure to spend some time with Clara this weekend and am an even bigger fan than before. Sweet and humble with a competitive heart. What an inspirational woman!

Athletes are the only “celebrities” I can about. Lucky enough to hang out with these fine athletes over the weekend. Jeffrey Eggleston, Andrew McCutchen, Heather Kampf, Clara Santucci.

 Big thank you to Kristy for inspiring this guest post!