Want your child to run, take them to the zoo!

Summary

brilliant day at the zoo with a little run for the kids too!

This article is locked by Andreia

Want your child to run, take them to the zoo!
As a runner (slow but steady one that is) I have managed to drag my family to several running events to whet their appetite to want to get involved. I had managed this by combining their favourite past time to mine, the ZOO. I attended my first family running event on a hot spring day in Luton, yes sunny spring day. A heat wave had struck England the same weekend my 4 very excited children were to run their first ever running race, a 2k.
The journey to Whipsnade zoo was fast, breezy and enjoyable. Parking was quick and efficient and so was the entry. We got in just in time to watch the first 10k runners cross the line in the heat; they were greeted with plastic chalices filled with cooling water, instead of drinking this they threw it on their heads! The children were excited, clapped their hands and shouted words of encouragement “good luck and keep going” even though they had already finished!!
Some animals were let loose at the zoo and I’m not talking about the kids. We saw some amazing monkey’s size of a human palm loose from their cage jumping and almost flying from branch to branch.
The kids then made their way to their start line, myself and my partner sat on the grass and seeped in the glorious sun heat. We made sure all the kids had a good gulp of water before the race, my daughter started her warm ups, star jumps and jog on the spot. I curiously asked her where she had seen this type of warm up, “lazy town mummy”. For those without children this is a show on cbeebies all about the joys of exercise.
At 11am on the dot, a lovely lady started the race via a countdown and a horn. My son and step daughter at the front shot off with the other older children looking to grab that winner’s trophy.
My daughter who is 5 and my other step daughter stayed with us and decided to run at a more leisurely pace. She decided to run (jog) half km to then announce she had enough and wanted to be carried. The race itself was filled with friendly encouraging marshals, beautiful scenery and was traffic free; ok it was in a zoo, but an amazing well kept one!
This was the perfect race to get a child excited about running; my son has so been bitten by the running bug. He didn’t manage to win the trophy but he did finish at a brilliant time for his age. He is already searching for his next race and strategically coming up with a plan how to win it. He was however very moody for an hour or so after the race and everything was boring, he then blurted out in a stream of tears why everything was so boring, he didn’t get to bring home the trophy!
Kids do get attached far too quickly with the idea and imagination of what can be achieved, and when that is not attainable they are the best creatures for tantrums.
All in all what a day! The entry fee covers a whole day at the zoo too, we spent the rest of the day seeing all the animals, taking a ride on the free bus around the zoo and eating the most delicious organic animal friendly burgers. There is even a train free for children, parents pay £4 each to take you a small course around the zoo and the journey is 15 minutes long.
Will I do it again? Of course, I have no choice but to do it as my son has promised himself that trophy!

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May 2012 Andreia
May 2012 Andreia Article created







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