“Our last 6 K in the USA!”
That was the rhythm our feet and mouths repeated all day yesterday as we departed the Emerald City, Seattle, on a 5:30am Ferry ride over to Bainbridge Island. Our last 2 days of U.S. school events, a tour capper courtesy of Adam, 2 nights at the Crown Plaza Hotel and 11th row on the 3rd base line to catch the Mariners smoke the Devil Rays, 1-0 at Safeco Field! What a way to stop in our last big city here in America, a 30th floor view, peanuts and crackerjacks and 2 incredible presentations on a most be-fitting day, Earth Day 2009
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Our 1st school was John Stamford International, where our friend Kathleen (whom we’d met in Patagonia with Sheri Luna) had excitedly set up an Earth Day assembly with 400 enthusiastic mini-peeps and peep-ets! We even got to run in to the theme song from “Rocky” pumping from the school’s PA system! Thanks for the earth Day songs and the as always, dusting from the kids whuppin’ our slow twitch muscles around the school’s field.
Our 2nd school, Orca Elementary, where were met by 300 kid-lets chanting, Run For One Planet, Run For One Planet, along the field fence! We felt like rock stars as the kid’s chants got louder and louder as we departed the “tour bus” and began another in a long line of “getting dusted by kids, all intent on beating Matt & Steph around the field”!
Kathleen’s husband, Ben welcomed us into a gymnasium full of crazy enthusiastic participants. They even took the Action Challenge, drew posters depicting why and read it out loud, to a thunderous round of applause by their army of pint-sized eco-warriors.
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So as we watched the skyline of Seattle Washington become illuminated with a morning sunrise, we reflected back on what it felt like when we first entered this amazing country, all the miles under feet, local hero’s met, kids we were privileged to present to and how different it felt to now be running our last 26.2 in anticipation of our great friend and tour videographer, Rob Kelly’s imminent arrival, to capture our last day in the U.S.A. and our 1st steps in the homeland, BC!
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Thanks America, you welcomed us in like old friends, helped us become better and blanketed us in your warmth and hospitality. We feel glad to have had the opportunity to help inspire a nation of “youngin’s” become a new generation of stewards for the Planet.
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