Races with my son

BarbBlue
BarbBlue Posts: 251
in Fitness and Exercise
I would like to start a walking/running program with my son that is 8. He absolutely loves to run and I used to. That is how I lost all my weight the first time I was truly successful in reaching my target weight.
I was thinking of planning a race in the next few months, but wanted to know if there are age restrictions? How does this work with running with your kids? Is this something people commonly do?

Thanks!

Replies

  • bmiller211
    bmiller211 Posts: 222 Member
    my wife and I run in 5k's and a little longer and whenever there are kids in the run they are all whining about how long it is and the parents are all saying the same thing"you are the one who wanted to do this...quit complaining and just do it" I would advise against putting an 8 year old under that kind of stress. just my opinion!:smile:
  • lizibame
    lizibame Posts: 59 Member
    my daughter is 6 1/2 and we've done one color run together with plans for another one next month, though she doesn't run the whole thing (there is alot of walking involved) we do enjoy having her out there catching the bug, plus the atmosphere of a color run is a little different from a regular city street 5k. here is a link however discussing running with children http://suite101.com/article/running-a-5k-with-children-a168049 I know i've seen alot of younger children out running in organized races but there's alot of stop and go along the way with nearly all of them.
  • rduhlir
    rduhlir Posts: 3,550 Member
    I have seen lots of kids running 5Ks. If you think about, it really isn't any more running that they would do if they played outside for an hour. I would encourage it, and just remind him that he can walk if he starts to get tired.
  • runzalot81
    runzalot81 Posts: 782 Member
    My son ran his first 1 mile race when he was 3 years old and loved every minute of it. I let him decide when we ran and when we walked. He's done several other 1 milers since then. When we "train," he decides when we run and when we walk. We don't cover more than a mile. I just want it to be fun for him. He loves it! He's 7 now and he's gotten so fast. He is kickin' my butt!

    A few years ago, I saw a young girl (maybe 11ish) on a 4 mile course hobbling along because she was wearing crappy shoes and no socks. The backs of her heals were blistering and bleeding.

    I do invest in good shoes for my son.
  • PollyWolly98
    PollyWolly98 Posts: 112
    My daughter is 6, so a bit younger. She ran a kids 1 mile race in 10 min. That is the only time that I am aware she has ever run a mile without stopping. You cannot expect a child to run on any schedule at all. The most fun we have running together is when we have my husband drop us off about half a mile from home and we run home together. When I tried to get her to practice running, she wanted nothing to do with that. I have to put in a lot of time and consistency to run well, while all she cares about is fun (as it should be). I have seen many younger children run 5K races with their parents, so it definitely can be done. I have also heard parents yell at their kids during the race, which I think is ridiculous. My best advice is to just try it out and see how it goes. As another poster mentioned, it might be better to try a color run or some other untimed event for your first race together. Good luck!
  • BarbBlue
    BarbBlue Posts: 251
    Thanks everyone for the advice. I appreciate it! I have never heard of a color run before, I am going to look in to that.

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