The Waterbury Connecticut Final Mile

(via Waterbury Observer)

Rod Dixon, an Olympic medalist from New Zealand and 1983 New York City Marathon winner had tears in his eyes tonight as he took in the swarm of 1,607 kids that had poured into Library Park to finish the final mile of The Rod Dixon Kid’s Marathon. The kids were all buzzing with anticipation and lit up when the Olympian paid a visit to each group to pep them up. They peppered him with questions about his fasted mile time and how old was he when he started to run. One kid asked him if he was famous. Dixon pointed to the shirt the boy was wearing and said that he was the guy on the shirt. “I’m Rod Dixon,” Dixon said with a big grin. “Are you special?” The kid asked. “We’re all special aren’t we?” Dixon said giving the kid a high five.

Waterbury has gotten behind The Kid’s Marathon and the event tonight helped the kids and their support crews celebrate the hard work they have put into running the marathon over the course of the past few months. The program has doubled in participants since it began last year and Waterbury hopes it continues to grow and educate youth about healthy living.

It was hot and muggy, but the participants bound across the finish line pumped up and proud of their accomplishment.
Way to go kids!