Spartan Race Kids in Marseilles

Last year we took our kids to the Spartan race and had so much fun, we had to come back this year.

How much do my kids like to get muddy, you decide – the picture below is from our camping trip just a week earlier

As fun as it was, running through the mud in November in Chicago is not something too many parents  are thrilled about. Well, sort of…. There were plenty of kids on the course and it seemed like everyone had a great time. I honestly didn’t know until the last day if my kids would be healthy enough to run the race , since they were sick on and off for a few weeks.

I have to tell you, July course of Spartan Race Kids in Marseilles IL was a lot more complicated, but thankfully the July weather was on our side, so getting muddy was fun.

My kids are 4 and 5 years old, but the course is open for kids up to 13. Being some of the younger runners my team required some assistance on the course and it was great to have parent volunteers at the obstacles. Spectators were not allowed on the race course and that meant that we had to let our kids go on their own, which was pretty freaky considering that we were letting them out into the wild. I guess I wasn’t the only who felt that way. My daughter told me later one, “I turned around and you were not there. I was all alone.”

Let me just tell you, this race was just insane. I am not sure what my kids loved best – getting muddy or bringing home the medals. How often do you get to jump into the mud pit without any repercussions?

To all parents out there, I have to say – this is a huge confidence booster and loads of fun, since kids got to do something completely wild and fun at the same time. And of course there were medals.

Caution!

If you have a child with special needs, this could be a great self-esteem booster, but there are few things you have to keep in mind.

1. If you are afraid to let your child go on his/her own, go for 1/2 mile run. It is as fun and parents are allowed on the course (and medals as good as the one from 1 mile)
2. If you have other adults, make sure that at least one of you is standing at the finish line, while the other one runs around making hundreds of pictures.

Total moms fail on my end – my child walked out from the course, because both my husband and I assumed that the other one will stand at the finish line. The people working the event were very efficient and helped us find our muddy buddy, who didn’t even realized that he got lost. When found he looked like this

And for the rest of you who really want to know why in the world would I drive my kids 1.5 hours to get dirty, here it is:

I live the Spartan Race Experience through my kids

Since I can’t say “Hey, I did it!”, I can now “That’s my kid” and be a proud about it

I can check out on Fourtsquare or Facebook for everyone to see and comment: “You are WHERE????”

I get to make some pretty awesome pictures

I did get a little bit inspired by others who look pretty good without baggy shirts and might even consider doing the next race

I still get to bring home the medals

Learn more about Kids Fit events at kidsfitfoundation.org