Pat's Run

We were able to participate as a family (except for Matt, who was, yes, you guessed it, scouting) in Pat's Run- a race tribute to Pat Tillman. Pat Tillman played football for ASU and the Cardinals and gave up a NFL contract to join the Army Rangers after 9/11. Pat was later killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan which apparently the military tried to cover up. It was a very sordid affair and a travesty to a man that loved his country and wanted to protect it from terrorists. I was super excited to be able to run this race and pay my small tribute to Pat Tillman.

This is the shirt I put together for the race. The #40 was Pat's Cardinals number. I saw a lot of people with different tributes- embellished shirts, american and military flags, some people wore Pat's football jerseys. I ran a decent time. My time was 38.33- 9:11 pace.


Pat's Run is uber-family friendly which is great. Pat Tillman's ASU number was 42 and that is the race theme. I ran the 4.2 run and the kids were able to do the Kid's Run which was .42 mile. The race finish line was the 42 yard line inside the ASU football stadium. It was awesome coming in the north end. I told the kids to enjoy it! How many times would they ever be on the field of a football stadium? It was a rush. The first grader ended up bailing out on the race at the last minute to hang out with Nana & Papa & the baby but the other two ran the Kid's Run. The preschooler took off at the gun. We really had to run to keep up with him.

Before & after the Kid's Run we hung out at the Kid's Zone. They had tons of free stuff- ice cream, drinks, face-painting and a climbing wall. It was a blast! There were ASU football players siging autographs and doing pictures with the kids. My kids were over the moon and heavily competeing for autographs. I think the first grader won that contest.

We'll definitely be participating in Pat's Run every year, schedule permitting. It was an event to remember.