Teen Track Star Races To Finish Line And Unexpectedly Runs Right Into Military Mom’s Open Arms

Apr 02, 2020

Capt. Erika Woodson, who often misses out on time with her family due to being stationed thousands of miles away from her home in Sacramento, surprised her 13-year-old daughter, Jada Mcgee, at the track star’s championship meet in 2019. But Erika didn’t just show up to cheer her daughter on from the sidelines. As Jada crossed the finish line in first place, Erika was there on the track, waiting to congratulate her on the championship win with a long-awaited hug.

At the time, Erika hadn’t seen her daughter for  half a year given her three-year military assignment in Anchorage, Alaska. But when Erika returned home that summer, she wanted to make it up to her daughter since she normally has to miss her daughter’s meets. In fact, the 2019 season was particularly difficult for Jada, according to Daily Mail, since her mother hadn’t been able to make a single one of her races. But when the young track star finally did see her mother at the end of the finish line of her championship 4x100 meter relay race, she couldn’t contain her joy. In a video shot by a family friend, the soldier hides and awaits her daughter in a nearby tent, only to jog out onto the track as her daughter approaches.

“Coming down the home straight, I was excited because I was in first place, and I saw my mom close to the finish, so it made me start running faster,” Jada, who ran for Edward Harris Junior Middle School, said in her interview with Inside Edition. “She was putting her hands up and clapping, and I was like, ‘Oh shoot, that’s my mom.’”

According to Daily Mail, Erika explicitly made sure to wear her uniform at the meet so that Jada could recognize her from a distance — and that seemed to pay off. Thanks to Jada’s performance, she helped win the race for her team. But more importantly, it was a moment to celebrate their mother daughter relationship.

“That moment that she ran into my arms was indescribable,” Erika told Daily Mail. “So many emotions through my entire body. When she buried her face into my shoulder, it was one of the best hugs that I've had in my life.”

In her interview with Inside Edition, Jada added that the track star has plans to train with her military mom this summer so that she continue to win races for her school. In fact, Jada reportedly moved with her mom back to Alaska two weeks after the video was taken, according to USA Today.

“[My children are] my babies, so I finally, you know, feel like normal again,” Erika said in her interview with USA Today. “I had never been away from home this long. But I missed my babies, and they’re back home now, and so it’s a good thing.”

Now that Erika is back home with her mom, she can be at the finish line of all of her daughters races to cheer her on and give her that extra confidence boost. That means that all the other runners in Alaska better watch out in the seasons to come because this young lady from California has shown that she can run.

What do you think of Capt. Erika's surprise? Let us know and pass this heartwarming video on to your friends and family members.