Getting the family to run too (Read 594 times)

Hey, Joe (btw, good Hendrix tune, LOL), I started a related thread a while back. I'm hoping to get my son (6) running a mile or two with me from time to time. We have a Dog-n-Suds restaurant almost exactly a mile from our house, so I'm thinking I might entice him for lunch there maybe once every week or two. I'm glad my son doesn't know about Wii, yet--lunch is much cheaper! My only regret is that no one near us does any 1 mile fun runs for kids. I think my son could do very well in a little 1 mile race. He has energy and endurance to spare. My hubby is a cycling nut, so between the two of us we hope our son comes to embrace endurance sports. k

Our local running club has a kid's summer running program. My three youngest have done it for the past couple of years and love it. They break up into age groups and run some sort of workout then, based on age, they play running games. The kids are all having fun while they get some mileage in. They encourage the kids to participate in a one mile run on the Fourth of July and a fun run at the end of the summer. You might check with your local club and see if they do anything like that. My kids love it and are always happy when we go to other races and see people they know or have people cheering for them that remember them from the running club. Actually the kids started this before dh and I started running. This year dh and I will be helping to coach the program. Last summer we ran a lot of events together as a family. We had a Team Barton website and this year we're designing Team Barton singlets. There were even a couple of events last summer where Team Barton swept away the competition and each one of us brought home a trophy. Okay, they were really small events and not a whole lot of competition but the kids loved it. Even Lily (legitimately) won a trophy for her first one mile race. Twelve minute mile in the 6 and under category when she was three and there were a lot of kids running. We have a shelf where we display all the medals and trophies and the kids love showing them off. The kids like it as long as it's fun. We don't push it. If they don't want to run with us, that's fine. We do it without them. My 8yo did her first 5K with one of her friends. They had a blast doing it together and having a friend involved kept it fun. I'd say just keep it fun. Pick out some fun races. We did one at the Air Guard base where you ran an out and back down the runway.My 8yo and I are doing one next week for a local Exotic Feline Rescue Center where the course winds around through the enclosures of tigers and lions. We also look for races where the age groups are 12 and under instead of 14 and under. That way my 8 yo and 11 yo aren't competing against high school athletes. Gives them a shot at placing in their age group. We're looking at doing one while we are on vacation that ends up at a party on the beach. Keeping it fun for the kids keeps it more fun for the grownups too. Teresa