The race consisted of two-person teams completing a one mile course that had 6 obstacles along the way. The race is supposed to be modeled after The Amazing Race, the tv show. The races are put on by Flying Colors Sports, an athlete marketing agency that works with pro athletes, and take place in all the cities with NFL teams. Sometimes a NFL player will be at the race but no Titans players came to this one.
I had almost signed Carter and Brian up for one of these races last year but finally did it this time when there was a 50% off deal on Amazon Local.
Because so many people signed up, there were races at 2 pm and 4 pm with multiple heats for each race. We decided to go to the 4 pm race so the boys would be able to take naps beforehand.
The race was held at Elmington Park on West End Avenue near Vandy. When Carter and Brian checked in, Carter was given the duty of coming up with a team name. He's about as creative as me when it comes to this stuff. So I suggested that he first pick out his favorite color. He said "golden". Then I told him to pick out his favorite animal. He couldn't think of his favorite so I suggested a shark since that was what was on his shirt. We put those together and Carter and Brian were officially the "Golden Sharks".
Brian and Carter started with the second heat. Here they are listening to instructions at the starting line.
Look at the smile on Carter's face!!!
For the first challenge, each team had two laundry baskets. They had to traverse a path together without stepping on the ground. So basically they'd have to both get in a laundry basket, move the other one in front of them, and then both go into that one. And repeat, repeat, repeat.
Challenge One complete!
Carter was smiling the whole time.
He ran so hard between challenges. Brian said Carter would be breathing hard and he'd offer that they could take a break and Carter refused. Poor thing has a lot of my competitiveness. I think he truly thought he could win and really wanted to. But he never rushed through the stations and had fun. He never got upset or frustrated about anything, even when it was difficult for him. Carter was the youngest competitor out there. Most kids were in elementary school and competing with a parent (some teams were two kids or two adults though). I am SO PROUD of him!
For the second challenge, one teammate had to make the other a mummy by wrapping up his/her legs, arms, and head. The judge was very lenient here (as they were most of the time - the race was really more about fun than competition).
I had a hard time getting from challenge to challenge to take pictures. I made the mistake of wearing flipflops and having to carry or walk with Rylan. I really should have worn running shoes and taken the BOB stroller. And Carter runs fast for someone only 3 1/2 feet tall!!!
For Challenge Three, the older teammate had to carry the younger on his/her back and run a sponge back and forth from a bucket of water to a dog bowl to fill it up. This was a little easier for Brian and Carter than the other teams since Carter is so small. A few of the teams were two boys about the same age.
Challenge Four was a tough one. The younger teammate was supposed to cast a fishing lure into a hoop about 20 yards away.
I'm not whining, just stating the facts, but a lot of the parents helped their kids cast their their fishing poles or got close to the hoop and called it good, but Brian let Carter do the challenge on his own according to the rules. Twice Carter was touching the hoop but not in it. Carter was loving it though and never got frustrated. He was actually REALLY GOOD at casting. Eventually it was just him and one other girl (Carter and Brian probably lost at least 5 minutes at this challenge). The judge for the challenge decided it was time to move on and signed their cards so they could continue on.
Carter was so proud to get his card signed at each challenge. Look at this cute exchange :)
For the fifth challenge, the older teammate had to putt two tennis balls into a hoop. Brian zoomed through this challenge and they were off to final challenge!
For the sixth challenge, one teammate was blindfolded while the other one gave him/her directions to walk around the bases. And then they had to switch and do it again. The teammate that could see had to stay behind a rope on the sidelines or in the outfield grass which made it difficult for the blindfolded teammate to hear directions sometimes.
Carter was amazing at giving Brian directions. He was very calm and always got right and left correct. It was amazing. Honestly, he was a little better than Brian at giving directions :) Though he wasn't as good at following which made it harder for Brian. I don't think Carter really liked being blindfolded and forgot directions a little.
Carter and Brian definitely made up for some lost time on this challenge. They were much better than most teams.
And then they were off to the finish line!
The Golden Sharks did awesome. They finished with a time of 39:09 and placed 43rd out of 67 teams. The best time was 18:01 and the slowest was 59:43. For being the youngest one out there, Carter did awesome.
When they finished, I think Carter thought he and Brian had won since no one else was around them. He was a little disappointed when we told him other teams had already finished and that he didn't get a prize. He moped for about a minute as he let that settle in.
But he got over it quickly and was proud to get a participation ribbon.
I'm so proud of Carter. He tried so hard with a great attitude.
Rylan did great too. He told me he wants to do the race next year :) He asked to go to the playground at the park several times but was patient and cheered on Carter and Brian during the race. We did hit up the playground after the race though for a little while.
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