Royal Victoria Thrifty Foods Kids Run

October 12th, 2008  – Braiden participated in the Royal Victoria Thrifty Foods Kids Run.  This was a 1.2 Km race through downtown Victoria’s inner harbour.  It was a great day with the sun shining  and over 905 kids participating!  I think this was the largest group of racers Braiden has been a part of so far on his journey, but he was ready and not intimidated by all the athletes.  Brady woke happy and with a plan…to go Super Fast!  As we arrived at the starting area, Braiden located the start line and jockeyed for his position.  He chatted with the Motorcycle police officer as he always does prior to go time.  He also told the officer he did not like his bike- we all had to laugh.  Braiden apparently likes the white checked one best!  Next came the athlete warm up with Simon Whitfield doing ‘Simon Says’.  Braiden just wanted to get going at this point – who needs a warm up when you are a speed demon like Braiden right?!  Braidenhad a large support crew for this race with Grampa Barry and Grama Beth,from Kelowna, there to cheer him on as well as his Uncle Mike, Grama Terry and Grampa John waiting at the finish line with prizes and hugs.

It was finally time to count down – 5,4,3,2,1 GO!  Braiden went for it and with the help of his ’scream power’  he made it through the first few feet without getting trampled by the sea of kids, parents, & strollers.  It was great to see him go for it with no fear and a huge smile as his body moved down the street as fast as his legs could take him on this day.  Dean and I think this was his personal best time of under 30 minutes.  Braiden did not need to take as many breaks, he stayed focused on finding that checkered motorcycle and found the finish line on his own.  He was happy and free out on the streets of Victoria and many spectators and other athletes showed their support by encouraging him to the finish.  This was Braiden’s 6th race this year, yet I have to admit, I still caught myself holding the tears back when he crossed the finish line….it is an emotional journey for all of us who support Braiden’s mission to inspire.  Thank you to Nathan for videotaping his little brother and taking pictures of the main event and all Braiden’s family for cheering and supporting him to the end.  Our family also sported new Sweatshirts for this race to promote awareness to Braiden’s fund raising campaign.