Let's hear it for the Iron Kids!

At most Iron man events there is a family or kid fun run the day before the big race.  The World Championships were no exception.  They had a one mile fun run for the little guys and a 5k for the older kiddos.  Lucas wanted to the do fun run and Chloe and Hunter wanted to do the 5k run.  This event was HUGE!  The whole town was involved and local elementary and pre-schools from all over Montreal came to participate.  I bet there were over 1000 kids in the one mile event with Lucas.  It was crazy and so, so exciting.  David ran with Lucas and this was the cutest little photo of the two of them after crossing the finish line.  He was so proud and each participant received on official Iron Kids medal.

Our 5k champions! I was supposed to run this race with these two kiddos but the timing was off.  I told them to go line up at the start, stay together and I would be right over after snapping a picture of Lucas and David at the finish.  Little did we all know, they started the 5k race before all the one milers finished!! Chloe and Hunter took off on their own and we were left on the side lines cheering them on.  The each ran well and enjoyed the accomplishment of running 3.1 miles and earning their official Iron Man medal.  There was only one little hiccup. We lost Hunter!!  This was the scariest moment of my life!  He was ahead of Chloe at the half way point but she crossed the finish line way before him.  I ran the last half of the race with Chloe for encouragement and never saw Hunter.  We were all petrified.  There were 1000s of people out for this event and little Hunter was missing!!  Finally, he crossed the line.  He made the mistake of running the lap around the lake twice!!  Poor guy ran almost 4.5 miles.  He was a trooper and once I say his sweet face cross the finish line I could feel my heart start beating again in my chest.

 The cutest kiddos in the world pausing for a picture with the Iron Man himself.

 Turn your head or your screen around but this was too cute not to post.

 Lucas deciding he needed to do a few stretches before his big one mile race! LOVE IT!

 Chloe and Hunter decided they should do the same!

 Behind bars and waiting for the kids to take their places along the starting line.

 This is what it looked like for Lucas's race.  They had signs for each age group and their were at least 200 kids per age group until you got to the 5 and under group, then it thinned out.

 David and Lucas at the VERY back of the pack.  I bet it took them 5 minutes to cross the starting line once the whistle blew!

These last two pictures show how many people and kids were participating in the one mile run.  It was so nice to see how the community of Mount Tremblant supported hosting the half Iron Man World Championships.

Grocery shopping in Mont Tremblanc

Mom and I went shopping in Mont Tremblant so we could have a couple of meals in the hotel and have some snacks for the kids.  I was extremely busy prepping all my gear for the race but I know there was more down time for the kids and everyone else.  It was nice to have a fabulous place to stay that allowed us to cook and for the family to hang out while I was occupied.  Our room was more like a condo.  It had 3 bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms, a full kitchen and laundry room. We had a successful trip and got a kick out of reading all the labels in French! Oh, and don't you just love mom in the beer room! Bahahaha!

More fun in Mont Tremblant

 Chloe striking a pose at the finish line.  The boys do the best they can but after a long day of travel and multiple pictures they were just worn out for the camera.

 Gaga doing her best to get Lucas in the shot.  Good try, mom!

 Another pose in front of the finish line.

 This beautiful creek/waterfall ran underneath the gondola.  They had pictures of it completely frozen over in the winter months.

 Me and my love on our way up the gondola from check in.

 A nervous and excited smile, the somewhat calm before the storm. 

 Gaga and Papa hanging out in the room.  It was a fabulous place for two families to stay.  Very comfortable for everyone.  Mont Tremblant offers many summer outdoor activities but is known for skiing.  These condos were individually owned and rented out for skiing in the winter.

 Another shot of the finish line and the red carpet we would get to run across at the end.  As you can tell from the multiple pictures of the finish this was a dream come true for me.  I have worked so hard to be here and to cross that finish line!  I usually don't talk much about the finish and I would never photo or run across it prior to the race (bad luck, ya know) but now that I am blogging about it month later it all seems Okay, right? 

 View of the inside of our condo.  This was the dining room table where we had a few of our meals.  The store run mom and I took helped save some money.  Everything in Canada is super expensive.  For example, the sales tax in the village was close to 26%!!!  Oh my!!

 The stage where the professional athletes were introduced and present for an open discussion and question and answer session.  Also the concert site later that night.

 This TV was active for the duration of the event.  It profiled certain athletes in the race and all the professionals.  There were clips on the Big Race in Kona and it was really interesting to watch.  On Sunday after the race it played bits and pieces of participants throughout the race and crossing the finish line.  I can't say it enough, this was an amazing experience and Iron man did a wonderful job hosting and making us all feel like this race was the opportunity of a lifetime!

 So....one of the sponsors was Subaru.  Bitter sweet for David who sadly parted with his STI earlier in the year.  Enough on that.  If you know David and his love of cars, this would be a good time to bow your head and take a moment of silence.

Proud of my mom, whom is scared of heights, for riding the gondola over and over again.