Running with Children
taramaureen
Posts: 569 Member
So my son will be 5 at the end of May and he's been bugging the crap out of me to do a race. I realize he doesn't get just how long it is but has anyone done a 5k with a small child? I plan on taking my jogger with me so he'll "race" for as long as he can and then he can hop into the stroller when he's tired. Good idea or no? There's no age limit on the race we will be doing and children are encouraged to participate.
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Replies
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My daughter did her first 5K when she was 5. No need for a jogger, just lots of walking along with some running.
There is one local 5K that has become an annual tradition for us.
Two years ago she ran ~ 53 minutes. Last year she ran 35 minutes.
The race is coming up this weekend, so I'm looking forward to seeing what she can do (now that she's 9 in third grade).0 -
Thanks for the advice! I wasn't sure if he'd be capable of doing it.0
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My 4 year old does 1Ks and runs almost the whole thing. The only reason I haven't let her do anything longer is her asthma and the fact that she doesn't know how to differentiate between regular exercise heavy breathing and an oncoming asthma attack. As soon as she gets that down, hopefully when she's 5, I'll let her do 5K's. Like ARC said, running and walking should be fine, no need for stroller, as long as your child is somewhat used to being active for that long.0
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My daughter started wanting to run 5Ks in the past few months. She just turned 10. They involve a lot of walk breaks and encouragement for now, since running is new to her. She swims, and does gymnastics practice 3 hours at a time, twice a week, with almost an hour of physical conditioning (calisthenics like burpees and mountain climbers and situps and pushups, planks, etc...) at the beginning of the gymnastics, but running the 5K distance was something new to adjust to. I had her do some running/walking with me in the weeks leading up to it to give her an idea of what she was getting herself in to. In January, it took us about 46 minutes, and they literally dismantled the finish line within 60 seconds of our crossing it, but she enjoyed it. We did the color run also, which no one times, and the point is to kind of linger anyway....
Its probably good to see if there are any more kid-friendly ones, you know the ones that advertise things like "walkers and strollers welcome!". I think it will be more fun if you reduce the possibility of a grouchy person worried about kids on the route messing with their time.0 -
My daughter started running 5k's at age 5. We did the walk/run routine at a 5k that included both, and slowly worked up to running all the way. She started out taking about 40 minutes. We practiced by running little spurts during evening walks. I'd say if it's kid friendly, and your son can walk 5k comfortably, then definitely have him run/walk the whole way.0
