We did it! We survived our first family race! Today, CLIF Kid is sponsoring this story about how it went.

Earlier this year when I began my partnership with CLIF Kid we set a family goal to do a race together. I’ve done a couple of thematic races before. One was a wipeout style event where I ran through all sorts of hilarious obstacles, and another was a Color Run where people chuck paint at you as you run through.

Both were fun but I really wanted to do a race together, as a family, or at least as mother and daughter. I saw an ad for a Kids Obstacle Challenge coming to Austin and I knew this was our chance. I was so excited. And I thought she’d be too. Boy was I in for a surprise.

I pulled up the preview video of the race on my phone and showed it to my daughter her eyes got wide with horror as kids ran, jumped and crawled through the mud.

“Mud?” She exclaimed. “I don’t like mud!”

“Oh it’ll be fun!” I tried to convince her. “And mommy can run with you. And Aunt Kimmie too!”

I thought tossing in her aunt as a participant would up her excitement level. It didn’t really work. It took weeks of coaxing and motivating and encouraging for her finally to get a little bit excited about it.

I learned 3 important lesson after our first family race together:

1. Be prepared

Both mentally and physically. Drink lots of water, and make sure you have a power snack on hand. CLIF Kid was there with some free CLIF Kid Zbars at the ready. And if you have a child who is reluctant to mud, or racing, take some time to talk about it beforehand, even practice a little and find ways to get excited about it.

2. Remember it’s a race, but not really

The most important thing is to have fun. My daughter got worried about being last, and at one point people in the wave behind us were catching up, but that helped her to not feel “last.” I realized part way though that she reacted better when I (jokingly) talked to her like a drill sergeant. She was laughing and working harder at all the obstacles when we made it our own game.

3. (From my daughter) You might fall, but it’s still fun

There were several times where we slipped and she fell a couple of times. But she got right back up and kept going. One of final obstacles was a rope swing and while I plowed into the muddy water, she practically cleared the entire pool.

“The rope swing was easy, most were easy but some were hard,” my daughter adds.

I asked her what advice she has for kids or families who are thinking of doing an obstacle course like this: “You think you won’t like it but then you do,” she said. “So give it a try!”

Our stronger bond

Seeing her gritting her teeth and powering through new obstacles both physically and mentally was really something to witness. Having that experience together and running that course hand and hand was really a one-of-a-kind bonding experience. Something I’d never had as a kid, but I’m glad I was able to share with my daughter.

In our latest vlog I dive more into this.

But first, we are going to start training for our next event. In a couple of months we are flying out to another race sponsored by CLIF Kid: the Kids Adventure Games in Vail, CO.

My daughter is a little nervous about zip lining but now that she has one race under her belt, she’s getting more confident in what she can do. I’m so impressed with her. And I admire her drive and courage to try something new, even if she’s a little afraid.

I’ll keep you posted as we plan some summer activities to prepare for our next race. My husband may even chime in here with some family workout tips!

Have you ever done a race alone or as a family? How did it go?

I’m passionate about getting my children outdoors to play, and making meaningful memories together. That’s why I’ve partnered with CLIF Kid for 2017, to share our adventures together as a family. CLIF Kid ZBar Protein bars have 5 grams of protein and are now gluten free! You can learn more about this product here. 

Tags: clif kid, mommy and me