What a day

Just a quick update-

Lots of fun had today in Hartford, with team members running great times on a gorgeous fall day. I will send a recap of the event tomorrow from the road. But for now, here is how we did -

Team Petit Family Foundation Running Team: 3:20:45, dropping 16 minutes from last year's finish! Here is Caroline bringing it home and Meg showing her support for Hayley.

Team Hang Loose, in honor of the Petit Family Foundation: 4:33:08 - Nice work, with Bill coming all the way from Texas! Check out the Dartmouth Green bracelet for Hayley :)

Mike blew through the half in 1:26, a big PR...which kind of came back to bite him in the end, as his legs kind of packed it in on him. Mike toughed it out and still clocked a very quick time of

3:31. Nice work, bud! Had to do the before and after :)

Tara ran the 5k in 28:40 - nice work!

Sara ran the 5K and her cousin, Flo ran the 1/2 marathon and both did very well!

More photos to come later. Thanks to all that ran and all of those who sent their love and support. It was a great day!

Good luck to the Miss Porter's crew that is running in Newport tomorrow - be the change!

-PFFRT

Waiting for the relay bus

Our trusty 4 and anchor legs, Tim and Caroline!

We are wearing Dartmouth Green

In honor of Hayley Petit, who would be celebrating her birthday today.

At the start!

And we're ready to go!

We are off!

We are all here and most are off and running! I toed the line with Mike before he shot out of a cannon, definitely after a fast marathon time. I just handed off to Meg, who will. Then pass off to Dave, who passes to Tim, who hands off the anchor stick to his daughter and speedster, Caroline. Should be great!!!

Harry doing big things in Holyoke

Harry has always been a motivated man, but he has taken his own ambitions to a whole different level - and brought a lot of folks with him.

Harry spent most of his life in Holyoke, MA, and knows how rough life can be in the city. Role models are hard to come by, and watching the local news can get even the most optimistic folks down. But, Harry is a different human being altogether, as in the ones that don't seem to come from planet earth. Harry is one of those people that will take any piece of positivity and own it, polish it, and share it with the world. It's been an honor to watch this young man grow into the man he is now. And it's no surprise he wants to put Holyoke on his back and show his hometown that you can, "Start small, dream big."

A few months back, Harry started a running group of his own. He wanted to inspire his fellow residents to get up and show Holyoke how get inspired, to make a difference. So, he reached out to a few friends and started running. Just like the saying, they started small with an eye on bigger goals. Harry made sure the running routes were marked, driving from street to street to put up directional signs. Slowly but surely the group got bigger and runs got longer, with Harry always leading the way but heading back to check on the entire group.

Fast forward to today, and the group is not only running, but thriving. The runs have gone from one day a week to two, with more and more people showing up as the weeks go by. Harry, always a competitor, makes sure to keep the juices flowing by encouraging team members to join local races to see what they are made of. This weekend, the group is going a bit further and running a 3.5 mile race around the Holyoke Reservoir. If I know Harry, he will get out quick to push himself, but always make sure he loops back around to get the whole crew through the course.

With a handful of local business signing on to help the group out with signs and shirts, I see Harry and the Holyoke crew inspiring their fellow citizens for years to come. I can't be more proud of Harry and all that he has done - he certainly embodies the PFF motto, "Be the change."

Proud of you, Harry!