Little Beasts

It is absolutely empowering to watch some of our GUP kids these days.  In particular I'm thinking of my recent experience watching three young women (aged 11-13) participate in the Dewey Duathlon in Grand Forks, ND, last saturday.  The conditions were so grim for the race (rain, unseasonably cold temps, and brutal winds) that nearly 1/4 of the registered participants decided to stay in bed.  But the girls showed.  They had to get special permission to even enter the race (the organizers hadn't thought anyone so young would even imagine doing the whole thing... thats what the stand alone 5K was for).  All three finished.  There was only one other female under 19 entered, and she was 18.  Long story short, I am so thrilled to get to watch these girls grow up.  There is something truly amazing about what happens when you hit your low and keep going.  It is breathtaking to see it happening for some of our kids before they are even out of middleschool.  The experiences and the rewards of those experiences that these girls are having are something that only a tiny fraction of people ever have.  And to think that they are only just getting started.....

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