Hey Max, Pick On Someone Your Own Age!

The Shirley Educational Foundation (SEF) puts on a 5K trail race as an annual fundraiser. The event attracts a small crowd of local runners, about sixty this year. It's not a big race by any means.

Here are the results of this year's race, held Sunday, Oct 5:

1   1/7    M0129 MAX LACHANCE          12 M            1039 MA   18:52  6:05 
2   1/20   M3054 WILL HELMS            45 M            1029      18:56  6:07 
3   2/20   M3054 TIM TERHUNE           40 M            1014      19:46  6:23 
4   3/20   M3054 ANDRES SALMERON       42 M            1041 MA   20:08  6:30 
5   4/20   M3054 BRIAN IRWIN           33 M            1011      20:49  6:43 
6   1/19   F3054 SUE LACHANCE          48 F            1038 MA   20:49  6:43 
7   5/20   M3054 PAUL VERTEFEUILLE     44 M            1044 MA   21:07  6:49 
8   1/4    M5599 PAUL FUNCH            58 M            1031 MA   21:15  6:52 
9   6/20   M3054 JASON RAKIP           34 M            1013      21:37  6:59 
10  7/20   M3054 MARK GERATH           49 M            1040 MA   23:20  7:32 

As you can see, 12-year-old Max LaChance won the race, beating 45-year-old Will Helms by 4 seconds, and beating his mom, Sue, by almost two minutes.

Like his parents, Max enjoys being out on the trails or on his bike or cross-country skiing -- anything that keeps him outside and active. Running is just one thing he does and enjoys.

Obviously he does it well. But don't expect to see Max or his family get caught up in heavy-duty training or specialization. For them, it is all about enjoying running as one of many outdoor sports.

I remember running a cross-country race with the whole LaChance family a couple of years ago. There was a kids 3K, followed by an adult 5K. Max wanted to run the 5K, but the logistics of the day made it easier for him to run the shorter race, so he did, finishing second, as I recall. After the adults had finished the 5K, Max tagged along with us as we did our cool-down -- he kept running ahead of us and circling back, exactly like a dog out on a walk with the family. You would never have known that he had run a race 45 minutes earlier. He just loved being out on the trails, and would have run for another hour if left to his own devices.

So congratulations, Max. And even though you are clearly a threat to the elder runners of Lunenberg and Shirley, I'm glad to see you out there having fun.