Camp Green Lane Blog Post, July 29th

I love this day.

The CGL Triathlon and Biathlon were held this morning and it’s something special to watch. Most of us are spectators today, and for those of us who lined the road by BB1 and who crowded the fence at the pool, we got to witness Green Lane magic at its finest.

While Inter Boys and Girls compete in the Biathlon—2 laps swimming in the pool and 6 laps running the road from the Circle to Lakeside and around the Canteen—the older side of camp stages a Triathlon—2 laps swimming, 4 laps cycling around the track on Softball 1 and 8 laps running the road.

The younger campers run a total of 1.5 miles; the older kids go 2 miles to finish their races. It’s not easy.

A total of 35 campers participated today, but that’s all the numbers you really need to know. The rest of the day was about heart and grit and overcoming thoughts of quitting before the race was over. There’s always tears and sweat and what we get to see is the power of the human spirit as little boys and girls dug so deep to finish.

We also get to see the power of getting by with a little help from your friends. The best part of today is the partners.

Like I said weeks ago, nobody walks alone at camp. Nobody runs alone either,

Counselors ran with campers. Brothers ran with sisters. Cousins ran. Packs of friends followed runners down the road to Lakeside and the finish line. There were signs and cheers. The everlasting image of the day for me was a mom—Aunt Naomi—running behind her son Bradley as he finished his race. Magic.

It was one of those mornings at camp where all the feels were present. Clear eyes, full hearts and all the good stuff that happens when we challenge ourselves to do something that seems impossible.

Today was the CGL Triathlon.

And I love this day.