Over the weekend, I was slated to run a race with my kids. My wife had signed my 5 year old daughter and 4 year old son up for the race to try and push them to do something they never have done before. Also, we wanted to make sure our son had plenty of opportunities to get his energy out because he is still a burst of energy each day (I wonder where he gets that from…). What I failed to realize in the days leading up to the race was that it was a Spartan Race for kids.

The whole time in the weeks leading up to the race, I thought we signed the kids up for something like a mile run with hot chocolates or snacks at the end of it. A race that could show them they can compete and have a good time. My wife then started to message to the kids that they needed to be comfortable getting muddy. Sure, that’s fine. It might rain and we might run in some dirt. No sweat. When I found out it was the Spartan Race for kids, my mindset completely changed to survival.

I knew my kids didn’t like to get dirty. They frequently complain about getting mud on their shoes or clothes and wanting to change. Sometimes it evolves into a full-blown tantrum when they can’t change or clean themselves. Although I was curious and seeing how the race would go, I was also filled with dread. The only hope I had was to have the obstacles be so easy that there was not a huge chance for them to get very muddy. As we pulled up to the race, the hope started to disappear.

We first had to wait in line to check in. They didn’t split up same day registration with those who just needed to check in. The line ended up taking forever and we missed our scheduled run time by more than 30 minutes. Many people who needed to register, took a while to put all the information which held back the rest of the line. There were dozens of families and kids waiting and many of them were already playing in the puddles and the mud. My kids were throwing a huge tantrum and, I need to just survive the whole check in process.

Once we finally got checked in, we went right to the start of the race. It took another 20 minutes to split up the heats and finally off we ran. The course was supposed to be marked for a half mile run, a 1 mile run, and a 3 mile run. My kids were signed up for the half mile run. Of course, the first obstacle was climbing a small wall, which was easy. It was meant to boost your confidence. Then came the muddy ponds and trenches. I was somehow able to keep my kids upright and navigate all of the muddy challenges to only get a bit dirty. They seem to somehow enjoy it and kept running on the track.

After a few more obstacles, there was a point in the race where we could have went under some ropes to head back towards the finish line. My wife was asking why I wasn’t following the track and suggested that we just followed the others. I ended up agreeing for some reason and we probably ended up running the 3 mile race. My kids did end up having a blast on most of the obstacles. They needed help on the ones for bigger kids, but overall, they completed each obstacle.

Since my kids were having lots of fun though, when we got back to the muddy ponds and trenches, my daughter ended up playfully, dragging me around and causing me to fall into the water with my back, completely touching the side of the muddy trench. I was somehow able to keep my kids upright so they didn’t submerge their entire head into the water and get extremely muddy. I got up and drag them out of the trench to make sure that we didn’t get dirtier than we already were. They were laughing so much and I decided to give them a muddy five. My daughter gave me a muddy five first, and then my son did the same, but unfortunately my son’s hands were so muddy that the muddy five ended up splattering mud all over his face when our hands hit. He didn’t have a good time for about five seconds, but when he realized that nothing worse was gonna happen he lightened up and kept going in the race.

Overall, I was really proud of them for having the determination to get through the entire race. It was not easy and I didn’t see very many little kids do the race. They did such a good job and I hope that they take this memory with them when times get a little bit tougher. After the race, my daughter was talking about how much fun she had getting muddy. I asked her what was the one thing that changed today vs. the other times she got muddy. She thought about that question for a little bit and ended up saying that she didn’t know. I told her that it was her outlook (really her entire attitude) on getting muddy. She looked back at me like she had a revelation, and it was something that I want to keep instilling in them - that a good attitude can take you a long way. I survived the day and it ended up being a great day for the kids (and hopefully a core memory too).