Last Updated on September 29, 2019 by Heather Hart, ACSM EP, CSCS
Yesterday, I cautiously brought out my pageant err little leauge uhh runner mom self and brought my 4.5 year old to the Grand Strand Running Club’s first ever kids running program(part of RRCA’s “Kids Run the Nation“). If you are new here, let me go ahead and inform you: out of my two sons, I’m pretty sure the 4 year old would rather eat brussel sprouts and visit the dentist instead of “race”, as he has demonstrated by screaming his little head off at previous (apparently not so fun) fun runs. For a more in depth analysis of the race day freak outs, read this post from last summer.
Heather Hart is an ACSM certified Exercise Physiologist, NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS), UESCA certified Ultrarunning Coach, RRCA certified Running Coach, co-founder of Hart Strength and Endurance Coaching, and creator of this site, Relentless Forward Commotion. She is a mom of two teen boys, and has been running and racing distances of 5K to 100+ miles for over a decade. Heather has been writing and encouraging others to find a love for fitness and movement since 2009.
Run with Jess
Awesome!! Our local running club starts the Kids Series in May… and I’ll be taking my 4.5 yr old for the first time. Fortunately she is just as excited as I am!
Rachel McPhillips
Aww.. how awesome!!! I don’t think we have a kid series around here.. I need to check into it.
Sara
My oldest (6) is doing her first 5k in April! I’m so excited for her!
Mamarunsbarefoot
That is AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!
Mrs. L
That’s so cool!
My baby bro and sis have only two speeds: still and zoom.
They would love to do something like this!
Laura Wheatley
oooooh this is sooo sweet!!!! I’m so happy that you were able to share your passion for running with your little guy!!
Mike
Neat to see your little guy rise to the occasion! You must be proud.
Beachgirlrunning
Thanks so much for sharing this story! Love it!
Carrie
Awesome! What a great story. Love that he had a great time.
BigHappyFamily
My kids love to do kid races. I’ll have to look for the kids run the nation program near me.
Kurt @ Becoming An Ironman
Yay for runner’s high!
All kids love to be active and a part of a group. It just takes time for them to warm up to it. Glad to hear he’s excited about next week – I’ll cross my fingers that you don’t have to deal with the initial refusal this time.
BeePieRuns
I love it! His previous experiences with running sounds a lot like my youngest’s experiences. Thanks for giving me hope!
Colleen
Proof that running can brighten anyone’s day… even if you are 4.5! I love that you got him involved in this! Keep us updated!
RG
awesome! We don’t have a kids running club here, but is trying to convince hubby to start one. my 2 younger kids have seen me struggling with my running for the past year, but they love to go with me & do the fun runs.
Debbie S.
My boys will run the Girls on the Run 5k with me this May. They totally think they have to wear pink uniform shirts and I’m not telling them otherwise til closer to race day. Let them sweat it out a bit!
Irene
What a great post! For my kids it was swimming. A lot of my friends who didn’t have kids could not understand that physical activity meant the kids would be better behaved and did better in school. Those friends assumed my kids would be tired — it’s quite the contrary. They were also happier. 🙂
I loved that a 4 year old experienced runner’s high!