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The Dietler-Bennion family, along with about 30 other youth Buffalo Chips left Sacramento airport at 6:00am on Thursday, December 12th. We were headed for Atlanta, GA and the 2002 Nationals Cross County Junior Olympics. The Buffalo Chips or Youth Chips as they are referred, were quite a presence in Sacramento, Denver and finally, 5 hours later, Atlanta, GA. Other travelers, flight attendants and airport staff, nobody could ignore the raucous group of elite youth runners from Sacramento. Attired in running shoes (of course) and black and gold Buffalo Chip sweatshirts, the young Chips Ninetendo'ed, laughed and partied their way across the country. Landing in Atlanta, GA at about 3:00pm Atlanta time, we checked in to our hotel in Carrolton, GA. Our hotel, the Jameson Inn was just minutes from the race being held at Carrolton High School. The team gathered together that night to dine at a delicious Italian restaurant and do some pre-pre-race carbo loading. After dinner, a few of use went to the elementary school adjacent to the high school where they were selling everything imaginable emblazoned with the Junior Olympics logo. After emptying our wallets for some t-shirts and a scarf (it was really cold in Georgia!), we headed back to the hotel to attempt to the get the little buggers, I mean runners, to bed. Kids were running back and forth between the rooms for about the next hour or so but, hey, they were having a heck of a time and it was still early. The boys finally headed to bed about 9:30.

James woke up Friday morning with a little cold but it seemed like no big deal so we went to the infamous Waffle House. If you've never been to the south you haven't had the opportunity to experience the Waffle House. In Georgia there is a Waffle House about every 2 miles. What a crack up this place is. Guys sittin' around in their flannel shirt smokin' up a storm (yes, you can smoke in restaurants in Georgia). It bothered James enormously but I was simply amused by the ambiance. Every plate comes with grits - yes grits. Is that the most horrible substance considered food or what! Yuck! They don't know low-cal in Georgia. Every dish on the menu should be called "heart attack on a plate" but boy what they can do with some eggs and potatoes! I thoroughly enjoyed my meal. When in Georgia, eat like the Georgians - that's what I always say - yes sir I do. All the time. Really... Anyway, we had the most charming Southern waitress with the thickest accent. Of course, she was from Arkansas not Georgia but that accent was great! It seems that the native Georgian doesn't really have that much of a southern drawl - what a disappointment. It's true what they say about Southerners being friendly - I've never experienced such warmth from strangers in my life. Kind of makes me want to move to Georgia. Maybe not but it was a fun trip which was made even more special by the friendly people of Georgia.

There was supposed to be a course walk the day before the race but it rained all day so the walk was canceled. The kids hung around the hotel for most of the day running (again) from room to room. In the early afternoon, Robbie Smith and James actually did some homework in our room but, because Jim was playing with James' Gameboy, they took a break about every 5 minutes to check on his progress.

We ended up capping that night by attending the Opening night ceremonies at the high school and afterwards, doing some more carbo loading at a pre-race spaghetti feed. We weren't sure if we were going to participate in Opening Day Ceremonies because it was still raining lightly and we didn't want the kids to have come all this way just to catch pneumonia but the kids wanted to do it (except for James who was forced to do it) so we congregated at the high school and sat proudly in the cold, wet stands to watching our future Olympians march in to the stadium with their Region placard held high. The ceremony was a scaled down version of the real Olympics Opening Ceremonies but just as awe inspiring. Okay, maybe not awe inspiring but it was fun to watch and the marching band sounded pretty good. The grand finale was the unfurling of a huge American flag from the top of the stands across the field from where we were sitting accompanied by the band and fireworks. I think we were all glad we attended. At least until the next morning.

On Saturday morning, race day, James woke up congested with a croupy cough and no voice. He wasn't sure if he was going to be able to race. He really wasn't feeling very well but, fortunately, he never developed a fever. James drank 48 ounces of water, took a decongestant and some ibuprofen (for sore muscles) and felt well enough to head out for the race at 10:30am. Once James got out to the high school and started warming up, he began complaining about sore calf muscle. The coaches massaged his calf and had him do a couple slow laps around the high school track. It was touch and go for a while - once again James wasn't sure if he was going to be able to run. Jim, one of the youth coaches, asked James if he was going to be able to run. James said he would try. Jim told him to just take it easy and if he needs to drop out, don't worry about it - there's always next year.

The kids are taken to a warm up tent half an hour before the race. No coaches or parents are allowed - only athletes. About 15 minutes before the race, the kids are let out the start line and strip down to their shorts and tank tops for the race. I saw James about 10 minutes before the race, shaking, shivering and turning blue form the cold, wet, windy weather. I just wanted to bundle him up and get the heck out of there but I knew James would never go for that. I worried myself sick waiting for the race to start and hoping that he would at least be able to finish this race. I was convinced that this just wasn't going to be a good day for James, all things considered. Well, apparently, James has a deep well of pride, stamina, determination and competitiveness that not only got him through the race but spurred him to finished 51st out of 272. Not bad for a 9 year old that just started running 2 months ago. Not bad for a kid that had a bad cold and sore calves. Not bad for a kid that jogged the first half of the race because his calves were bothering him so badly (according to James, the excitement of the race got to him about half way through and he "really started running"). He finished 1st for the Buffalo Chips at Nationals but the Bantam Boys team should all be very proud - the next 6 Buffalo Chips runners finished within a minute of James. The Buffalo Chips Bantam Boys Team finished 8th out of 22 with their first runner (James) coming in 51st. James was only 19 seconds from placing in the top 25 and earning "All American" honor. Not bad at all...