My Most Memorable Mile

Just the other day, I invited my 5-year-old daughter, Callie, to come on a 1-mile run with me the following morning for a good cause. The cause is #RunForRivs, a virtual challenge to help raise awareness and funds for Tommy Rivers Puzey and his fight against cancer.

“I can’t run 1 mile! I don’t want to do it!” Callie cried before she laid down for bed.

“It will be alright, we’ll go at your pace and we can take as many breaks as you need. I know you can do this and I’ll be right there with you.” I reassured her.

“Okay… I’ll give it a try… but not 1 whole mile,” she said.

“Alright, sounds good,” I said.

The next morning, Callie and I spent some time on the couch talking about the show we were watching and discussing our plans for the day.

“Oh yeah, should we go for our run before it gets too hot out?” I asked.

“Um, yeah, I guess we can go now. Are we really going to run 1 whole mile?” she verified.

“We’ll see,” I answered.

We drove to a loop where I frequently ran, parked the car, and started walking while my GPS watch synced up.

“Alright, Callie, are you ready to do this? Real quick, let’s send a video to Tommy so that he knows we’re thinking of him and want him to feel better. Can you say “Run for Rivs. We hope you feel better Tommy!” I requested.

“Run For Rivs. We hope you feel better Tommy.” she obliged.

3…2…1… and we were on our way.

13:52 later and we were done.

1 whole mile.

I told her how awesome she was. I told her how proud I was. I told her how she made a difference. Her smile confirmed that she believed me.

We came back home and things settled down for a bit as they often do on any good Sunday. I walked into the living room where Callie was lounging on the couch. I stared at her for some time, appreciating her innocence, calmness, and contentment. I turned and made my way out of the room, but she could sense I was there.

“Dad?”

“Yes, Callie.”

“I’m proud of myself for doing that.”

“Me too. I love you.”