Little Trail Runner

We have gone hiking at Prentice Cooper State Forest a few times this year – Jack always requests to go to Mushroom Rock – and on these hikes we always cross paths with trails runners.

Jack is enamored by the idea of trail running and every time we go hiking he runs ahead of us, running at least a mile each time.
 

Daniel is excited about this development because trail running is one of his favorite activities. 

On our last hike I carried Isaac in the backpack carrier so that Jack and Daniel could run ahead.

Jack created a game where he would run out of sight of me and Isaac, then wait until he could see us again, and then run away from us as fast as he could. 

The only negative about the running is that the trail to Mushroom Rock is mostly downhill, so on the return trip Jack is already worn out and then we have to go up some big hills.

Thankfully he has been a trooper and finished the hikes/runs with a little prodding from us.

Jack will tell us that he is low on energy – specifically that his energy tank goes from his ankles to his head and that his energy is at his ankles. Such a funny kid! 

We use Transformers to our advantage and talk about needing to "power up and energize!" After a snack and water, he is typically ready to power up.

We are thrilled that Jack is embracing our hobbies and that Isaac seems to like being outside.

One last funny(ish) story... 
On a recent hike, we passed a teenager who was trail running without a shirt on. Jack was immediately questioned this practice. We told him that the runner was probably hot and took off his shirt, and that someday Jack might also choose to run without a shirt on.

At the time Jack was wearing a hat, so he took it off and handed it to me. I guess he wasn't ready to take his shirt off to run, but the removal of a hat seemed like a logical step.

Until our next adventure in the woods!