On the day of the race Xiera was VERY nervous. We told her to do the best that she could and that we knew she could do this because she had her heart and mind set on it. ANYTHING is possible when you believe in yourself. She found a few friends before the race which made her nervous butterflies calm down a bit.

Soon it was time to take their positions on the line.


Once they were on their mark it was time to get set, and GO!

We chanted "Go Xiera Go!" over and over again!


Finally she made it to the finish line, and they placed that medal over her head. She did not place but she had made it and she was proud and we were proud for her!


She did encounter quite an ordeal while running. They ran around the track into a wooded trail. While running on the wooded trail a hornet's nest fell right in front of her path. She couldn't go around it in time so she ran through it. Poor thing got stung 4 times on her back.

She didn't stop running even though she was in pain. She told me, "Mom, it hurt so bad but I didn't want to stop. I wanted to finish. I had to finish." And finish is exactly what she did. She said afterwards, "I feel like I can do anything!" She had made it...she had followed through. Anything is truly possible when you put your mind, body, heart, and soul into it.
*She is doing fine by the way. Her back swelled up a little bit but after applying ice to the stings, the swelling went down.*