We’ve all seen posts by those crazy friends doing an obstacle race — mud runs where they jump into icy pools of water, climb over high walls and army crawl under barbwire. Pure torture. Now you can sign up for these — and bring the children!
And why not? Kids are not shy about wanting to jump in the mud, and the chance to do that with their parents’ encouragement can be a dream come true. The family can also bond by training together, encouraging one another and accomplishing a race together as a family.
Just check to see if your local mud run allows their ages to participate. For example, kids ages 14 and up can run with their parents in the Spartan Race, Warrior Dash, Mud Factor, Dirty Girl, the Savage Race and the Rugged Maniac.
Some race organizers also offer shorter and less challenging routes just for the kids to race. The Tough Mudder has a Mini-Mudder for ages 7 to 12. The Spartan Race offers a Jr. Varsity Spartan Kid’s Race for ages 4 to 8 and a Varsity Kid’s Race for ages 9 to 13. The Savage Race has the Savage Junior Race for ages 12 and under. And the MudFactor obstacle run has the MFKidz race, for ages 4 to 13.
If you are planning to run separate races, be sure to bring someone who can watch the kids while you are running. Most races provide spectator passes for those grandparents who might want to come, but are smart enough not to get muddy like the rest of us.
So find a race for your family and sign up. Show your kids what you can accomplish together, with a little mud thrown in.
