A TRUE Cross Country Mile

Today Ashlee's cross country meet was at Sierra Ridge Middle School in Pollock Pines. To those of you who are unaware, this school is set in a very woodsy area, making for a much more difficult cross country track. The kids were truly running through the forest. Ashlee said there were some steep up and down hills, and at one point she almost slid down a cliff! Anyhow, she did great. This time around they grouped her with the 9 and 10 year old girls, of which there were 75, and she came in 9th place! Of the 9 year old girls only, she was 5th. Her mile time was 9:03 ( a bit longer than usual due to the terrain of the course.) I stood watching as the girls came up out of the forest to cross the street towards the finish line, and I counted, "1, 2, 3, 4..." and up came Ashlee in 10th place, right behind the 9th place runner. I started clapping and cheering, "Go, Ashlee!" when what I really wanted to say was, "Pass that girl up!" She must've read my mind, because right at the end she did! Good job, Ashlee.