In this hustle-and-bustle world we live in where everyone in the family is busy with different schedules, it can be a challenge to find activities that connect all of us and bring us closer together.
Lucky me, my kids can’t sit still and neither can my husband. They are always on the go, so signing up for 5K races gives us something to look forward to as a family. Not only that, but running 5Ks with my kids serves many other different purposes!
It promotes a healthy lifestyle.
I sign up for several 5Ks all throughout the year. So when I’m feeling lazy and ready to just tear up the whole bag of chips and pound a can of soda, I think about our upcoming 5K race — so I reach for carrots and water instead. When all I want to do is overeat or stress eat during the holidays, I think of the race we are about to run on Thanksgiving Day instead. Ha! If you don’t like to run, it’s okay because I don’t like it either. 5K races are more forgiving, and you can even walk them with your children.
It teaches goal setting.
Sure, it takes us over 45 minutes to finish one 5K race, but it’s the goal of completing the whole race as a family that keeps me and my kids going. We also like to collect the medals at the end. I’d be lying to you if I say we go out there and hit the pavement every day to train for the upcoming race. We wing it on race day, but we finish it together as a family!
It creates lasting memories.
If you ask my husband and kids what their favorite 5K memories are, they will probably tell you that this mom made them wake up early to run the 5K while we were on our Disney Cruise! Sure, they gave me grief at first, but in the end, they enjoyed it! It was a nice way to explore Castaway Cay, Disney’s private island in the Bahamas, and also a nice way to burn off all the calories from the unlimited ice cream we ate during the cruise.
It builds a family tradition.
Not only I’m instilling a love for exercise in my children that goes beyond childhood, but I want this to be a special family time that they look forward to every year. My oldest has been running the Disney kids’ races since he was about to turn 3 years old. He started running the 5K races once he turned 5. We drive down to Orlando every year for the races. Hopefully, when my boys are in college, they will come home for Thanksgiving and be excited for our family run, and maybe even continue the family tradition with their own kids one day.
I may not be a fitness guru, nor do I have all parental solutions or cool mom hacks, but running 5K races with my family has become more than just a form of exercise for us — it’s a lifestyle and something we could all look forward to as far as spending quality time with each other.
Check out RunDisney’s site for upcoming events. The races tend to sell out in a few hours once registration opens, so be sure to sign up for their email newsletter and know when registration day is. Also, check out 1st Place Sports’ race calendar for more local 5K events. You’ve got this!
