May 1st 2009, Friday
Caroline (a Kenyan athlete who shares the same agent as me) and I visited two elementary schools in Spokane today. We first went to Pasadena Park Elementary and then on to Madison Elementary. As guest speakers we were to offer our life stories about how we got into running. We talked briefly about our diets and how much we run and opened of for a discussion where we did a little Q & A. During this period I was asked any and everything by the kids. Kids are so open and honest, even shameless, so they will ask you anything. For me it was totally fine as I love to speak and share my experiences with anyone.
At Pasadena Elementary we held a crowd of about 350 or so, maybe a bit more actually! I was a bit overwhelmed as I have never been a guest speaker for an elementary school before. One of the parents told me that it would be easy. I beg to differ, I think its much harder to talk to a younger crowd than my usual crowd being that of High School cross country runners. So needless to say I was really excited and nervous about speaking to the kids today. I found myself thinking, "well what if I bore them, or what if they just don't care what I have to say." The faculty and the parents attending were amazing and the kids were also very great, well behaved students. So, that made things so much easier for me. Some of the parents let us know that many of the kids said they were really excited to meet us as well and they too did not sleep the night before. Though flattering, I too was quite sleepless the night before in excitement of talking with the kids, which I let them know as well! The guest speaking was brought on by a special event here in Spokane in which I believe many of the local schools partake in. Bloomsday is a pretty big deal in Spokane with over 40,000 participants usually taking part in the 12k annual race starting in downtown Spokane. So, leading up to the race many of the schools will host special events for school where kids will start training for the event and documenting their laps/mileage over a course of weeks or months. At Pasadena Park Elem the top kids were awarded medals for running over 30 or so miles over a period of 5 weeks. Hundreds of kids from the school took part in the event, which was quite impressive for me as I remember when I was in elementary and the lack of running activities back then so its good to see how far school activities have gone. During the awards we then took a series of pictures for family, faculty, and a local TV channel. A special award was then given to a special little girl who had suffered heart issues since she was born. This brave little girl has undergone two heart surgeries with the conclusive surgery ending with a mechanical heart valve. Despite her setbacks and heart, this youngster was still able to finish quite a few miles for the event. This made me wonder, how do the kids with healthy bodies feel after looking at someone who has a mechanical heart valve outdoing them concerning fitness. Meeting this girl was very inspiring for me and I was so impressed by her strength and her vibrant smile. After talking with a few of the parents and kids we headed outside for a little run, which happened to turn into a race. Before the race I told the kids I was not gonna take it easy on them and they took it serious and darted out ferociously. One of the top milers in the program and I came across the finish line together as the news channel patiently filmed. The kid with the most miles in the fitness program was a few seconds back and later told me, "I shouldn't have worn pants, they slowed me down." We then headed into the lunch room to sign some autographs and eat lunch with the kids. There was a special V.I.P. table for the kids with the most miles so we ate at their table. One kid was so excited to sit with us that one of his classmates said he was bragging, which kinda shook him and caused him to cry a little. I told him you know what, you don't have to listen to them, they are obviously jealous that you have accomplished something great. During the signing of autographs I must have signed over 500 autographs. At first I wrote Joseph, I then quickly changed my name to Joe to save time. We were asked to sign all sorts of things including shoes, shirts, papers, cheeks, and arms. We almost didn't make it out of the school to get to the next due to the overcrowded cafeteria of kids wanting autographs. I hope none of them were left out, I can't imagine any of them were as I think I made sure I signed any and everything that was put in front of me until I had to leave. The faculty at Pasadena were so nice to us I felt so welcomed and even feel like coming back just to see how these kids are doing next time I visit Spokane. As we headed out the door one of the staff gave me a shirt from the school, which of course I will wear! We then proceeded over to Madison Elementary.
On the way over to Madison we were told about a special little guy we had to meet. He was born with a very small frame and does not talk much. I was curious to meet this guy whom I was told everybody in the school just loved so much. When we got to the school we were welcomed by a few staff members and then guided to the gym where we would meet the kids, about 75 who ran consistently in training for their schools program. Though a smaller group of kids, they were filled with questions. I shared with them my stories of competing internationally and running in various European mountains and towns. Some of the kids wanted to know about the foods I tried and the languages I could speak. This session was a bit more relaxing for me as I had rid the butterflies after talking to the first school. During the presentation I met one kid who could speak a little Spanish so it was nice to speak a little Spanish with him and he even happened to be one of the top kids in the program so we gave him a shirt which I autographed and appropriately wrote, "BUENA SUERTE" on his shirt. During the autographing we signed alot less, but we were able to talk a little more being it was a smaller crowd.
The first school had so many kids it was hard to make sure I got to hear what each kid had to say. As we said our goodbyes we were walked over to meet the special little guy we were told so much about. As their classroom was getting ready to depart for recess we were able to visit with the special needs children for a bit. The little fella I got to meet almost immediately makes you fall in love with him. The cutest little boy you have ever seen. A few years back I was told he didn't talk nor would he acknowledge people around him. As soon as we came in he was full of color and energetic in a controlled manner. He was so caring and sincere with no words, but just arm motions and expressions. Even with a lack of words he was able to communicate his excitement and happiness that we were visiting him. On the way out I remembered I had a shirt I had brought for my trip and although it was too big for the young boy who stood maybe 1-2 feet tall, I told him I wanted him to have the shirt. He then surprised me with a hug of appreciation and I gotta say, I have never had a hug from anyone in my life that made me feel the way I did when he hugged me, I nearly melted and almost came to tears, and to this day I don't know how that happened. I talked with him a little bit and he showed me a few gestures from his favorite sports, which included him showing me how he threw a pitch, swing a baseball bat, and how he ran!
I was sad to leave as I wanted to hangout with that group more. Nevertheless, the experience was amazing and I hope to talk to more kids in the future. I will also post the video that will be broadcast on the local news here in Spokane, I believe its channel 6, but I may be wrong. I'm just on cloud 9 right now at the idea that I was given the opportunity of a lifetime to speak to a group of outstanding and devoted kids.
Here is a link to the Bloomsday write up on our visits to the Elementary Schools: http://www.bloomsdayrun.org/News/News120.htm
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