UDATED IN OP: 5 year old doing first 5k, any advice?

[gumi]

When you are walking around a park (it would have to be a huge park) or amusement park, do you stop? My kids turn 5 next month and neither of them would be okay with a 5K. If I trained them, they could probably work their way up to it.

Is there a kids race? A lot of races have a separate, shorter race for the kids.

[shorewife]

That's awesome! I've done races with little kids before and they get so excited when people cheer for them - its really cute. So I say no on the ipod and just try to keep her excited and having fun and she'll have a great time.

[texassmith]

My 6 year old has done many kids races but would not want to do a 5K. I guess I could train her to run that far, but I have no interest in doing that.

I'd look for a shorter race or a kids fun run.

[Susie]

5k seems really long for a 5 y/o. I'd pick a race with a 1 mile kids fun run, definitely. If after that, your kid wants to go further, then consider a 5k. My friends' kids who are 5-6 do 1 mile fun runs; the 11 and 12 year olds do 5ks.

And goodness, no iPod, especially if your kid doesn't ask for one. Little kids are not mini-ipod-plugged-in-running-adults. Kids run because running is fun, they hear crowds... they haven't yet come to associate running with something to be endured or to get through for the high afterwards, or whatever. They run because going fast is fun. Don't ruin that by imposing on them an adult notion of running as something to be endured or to have to get yourself through with a gadget! It's hard enough to recapture that joy as an adult.

[schitzengiggles]

I did a 5k with my then-6 year old last year. We just jogged here and there but mostly did a lot of walking. We finished in something like 55 minutes. She LOVED it.

[awick14]

I did a 5K color run in Sept of last year and there were many children there as it was not a competitive run at all. The kids I saw loved it, but they got to wear cool sunglasses and got to walk through the color stations and get covered in powder.

Did your daughter ask to do the run? If she asked to do it I would encourage her to do it and I would walk with her whenever she wanted to walk. Maybe make it a fun mother daughter day by going for ice cream at the end or something like that.

[trigal]

Good lord, please don't plug her into an iPod! Adults shouldn't use them in races, let alone children!

I don't have kids, so take my opinion for what it's worth. Participating in a 5K is quite a big difference from walking around an amusement park.

[awick14]

Jun 6, 2014 15:27:32 GMT -5 @bluesky said:

Jun 6, 2014 15:21:20 GMT -5 awick14 said:

I did a 5K color run in Sept of last year and there were many children there as it was not a competitive run at all. The kids I saw loved it, but they got to wear cool sunglasses and got to walk through the color stations and get covered in powder.

Did your daughter ask to do the run? If she asked to do it I would encourage her to do it and I would walk with her whenever she wanted to walk. Maybe make it a fun mother daughter day by going for ice cream at the end or something like that.

It's a color run

Some other things that people did during the color run were pull wagons behind them with children, some woman/men walked/ran with children on their backs/fronts. Some other people had their kids ride their bikes with them running/jogging. The ones that had their kids and different transportation devices just made sure that it was okay with the organizers before they arrived, and they started at the back of the pack.

The kids in the wagons all got out and ran through the color stations themselves and the people throwing the color made sure that the kids got lots of color.

[trigal]

Jun 6, 2014 14:25:39 GMT -5 Susie said:

5k seems really long for a 5 y/o. I'd pick a race with a 1 mile kids fun run, definitely. If after that, your kid wants to go further, then consider a 5k. My friends' kids who are 5-6 do 1 mile fun runs; the 11 and 12 year olds do 5ks.

And goodness, no iPod, especially if your kid doesn't ask for one. Little kids are not mini-ipod-plugged-in-running-adults. Kids run because running is fun, they hear crowds... they haven't yet come to associate running with something to be endured or to get through for the high afterwards, or whatever. They run because going fast is fun. Don't ruin that by imposing on them an adult notion of running as something to be endured or to have to get yourself through with a gadget! It's hard enough to recapture that joy as an adult.

I love you right now!!

[awick14]

And I agree with others about not using the ipod. IMO children that young shouldn't be listening to ipods at all. But I also don't have kids so take my opinion with that in mind.

[marcyiam]

I agree with the no iPods. My nephew did the Color Me Rad race last year with us (he was 5 then). Ran the whole thing and loved it - especially the color parts.

I say go for it. Each kid is different. If she wants to run, run. If she wants to walk, walk. If she wants to skip, skip. ;-)

Just have fun!

(and yum to the ice cream suggestion!)

[gustafngrete]

DS1 did his first 5K at age 6. I would let her dictate the pace, take water breaks, and carry a couple packs of fruit snacks in your pocket to help motivate her during the last stretch!

Have fun!

[cinco]

Jun 6, 2014 15:54:07 GMT -5 @bluesky said:

yeah, I agree iPods are not good for kids, especially running. I just thought in case of an emergency I could have some Frozen music ready to keep her occupied. I will just skip it though.

When I run with my oldest we just chat. At that age they have plenty to talk about

My kids are in youth XC and T&F, so we usually do those races (1-3k, 400/800/1500m), but if we were to do a 5k I think a color run would be a good choice. It seems like it would be more of a fun experience than a race. Enjoy!

[mccallister84]

I think she'll love a color run. I don't know that I would have her do a regular 5k but a color run is very kid friendly.

[andrealynn]

DD (also 5) asked me if she could do a full race with me this summer. She's already done a bunch of kids races. I found an easy course with a nice finisher medal for us to do.

We have been "practicing" running in the evenings. For the race, we are going to do run/jog intervals. I imagine it will take about an hour for us to finish, and that's fine.

My main goal for her is to have fun. I'm letting her dictate the pace and if she decides she isn't having fun or doesn't want to do it, then that's fine, too.

[annie357s]

Awesome!

[cinco]

So glad you guys had fun!

[Deleted]

Lol at prancersising. (Sp?)

Glad it was fun!.

[AAM2012]

Sounds like she had a blast!!

[awick14]

I'm glad she enjoyed herself. I can't wait for my color run in sept.