Raising Runners

We’ve tried enrolling our kids in a number of physical activities: swimming, skating, gymnastics and soccer, but the only activity our 5-year-old twins really enjoy is… RUNNING (guess in our house… the the apples don’t fall far from the tree)! They want to run… because Mommy and Daddy run.

I try to make running a fun activity for the boys. They especially like having water bottles (the novelty of it never seems to wear off)… and bringing them to the track is a huge adventure and they consider it a treat. Please don’t call child-welfare on me just yet… hear me out… I’m not a masochist pushing them to train, we run at their pace and take plenty of breaks (even though we usually are only out for 20 minutes (that’s including rest times)… it would be irresponsible of me to allow them to over-train just because they have the energy… because believe me… they are two little energizer bunnies… I’m sure they could go for an hour if I let them).

I make sure the entire time the boys are enjoying themselves, the first sign of whining about one running faster than the other… we stop… instead of competition… I focus on playing games as we run. One thing the boys really enjoy doing is playing a modified version of red light/green light (and come to think of it… our running game is actually a form of interval training). When I say “green light” the boys run away from me and when I say “red light” they freeze on the spot then turn around and walk back to me.

Ever since my first race, the boys have been asking (actually begging) when it will be their turn to run in a race… so this week I registered them for two charity races. One is 1.5K and the other is a 4K. I did make the mistake of telling the boys about the races as I tucked them into bed Monday night. They were too excited and one of my sons started asking loads of questions about the races and the other’s immediate reaction was “We have to start practising so then we WINNNNNNNNN!” I really don’t know where he gets this competitiveness from? *grin* Of course I did what any good parenting book would preach… I explained to the boys that it’s not about winning… it’s about enjoying yourself… but deep down I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you that hearing my son have a competitive edge put a big smile on my face.

I can’t wait for the boys to enjoy the thrill of running amongst their peers… I can just imagine their little hearts will be racing before they even start to run and it will be a day I hope they will never forget (I know that I won’t)!