For the record, Evan finished ahead of me. Official results show otherwise, but we were there. We know.

When you're ten years old, running is a way to get from one's bedroom to the Christmas tree, or catch the ice cream truck. Not too many kids are into running as an activity, and Evan is about as enthusiastic about running as he is vegetables. He'll do it with a little cajoling, in small doses, once in a while, because he knows it's good for him.

For Father's Day, Evan agreed to accompany me on his first-ever trail race. It was a perfect arrangement, so far as I was concerned. I had run my own first trail race at Greylock last year, when I did the marathon. We drove way on out to Adams, Mass., with Michelle, who was doing the half-marathon (with luck, perhaps I can persuade her to write it up). I can't race yet, and I knew that I'd take it easy with Evan along. Evan was game to try. I'd told him that hardly any kids run trail races, and I told him we could walk as much as he wanted.

Well, we wanted to walk a lot. Evan was discouraged at the start, but when I gave him the chance to quit early, he didn't take it. He wanted to do the race at his pace, and I applaud him for it. He also managed to turn his attitude around and enjoy himself, and elevating spirits can be much tougher than gaining altitude.

The 5K was a miniature version of the 1/2 course, and not so steep. It went up and up all the way out, turned and then went down and down, with just a few short flat sections here and there. The 1/2 course covered the same ground, but in the opposite direction.

It was reasonably cool in the shade, in the woods, with a nice breeze, but muggy, so those who were running full tilt got plenty hot. The course was exceptionally well marked, and there were a generous helping of five aid stations along the 1/2 course (and even one for the 5K).

We were not full tilt, Evan and I. We stopped for a while to watch a frog in a tiny pond, and a while more to chat with a trail marking volunteer. We finished in about an hour and ten minutes, and I took the honors of being Dead Last. It was great fun.

I had the pleasure of meeting and chatting with all sorts of people from the WMAC, including the RD Fran "Pancho" Mach, news honcho Will Daneki, fellow scribe Laura Clark and also "Boonie," aka "Crazy Paul."

Afterward, while waiting for Michelle (not long, mind you) we visited the small but lively skatepark nearby; Evan holds skateboarding on par with desert!