Building brotherhood one obstacle at a time
Two middle school boys fill my home with their laughter, their wit, their wisdom and often their ability to push each other’s buttons. These pre-teen/early teen years are proving to be an immense source of joy and fun in our home. However, like any age they come with challenges. On the road of becoming more independent and discovering who they are – they can have their fair share of disagreements. As part of my year long partnership with CLIF Kid, the boys were invited to participate in the Kids Adventure Games sponsored by CLIF Kid. Though this is technically a sponsored post in conjunction with my CLIF Kid partnership, saying “Yes” to this opportunity was an easy yes – it was actually more of an excited-I-Can’t-Believe-They-Get-To-Do-This Yes.
Over the last few months we’ve been talking about defining moments in life and how each day we get to write the stories we will one day tell. At the end of August, they wrote a story about overcoming obstacles together and being the other’s biggest support…as their mom these are the kinds of stories I want to give them as many opportunities as possible to write.
The Kid Adventure Games are 3 mile adventure races full of challenging obstacles. It is crucially important to me that my kids learn how to work as a team, encourage each other and recognize the fun they have in each other. I’m constantly looking for practical and fun ways to encourage those traits. It is one thing to tell them to work as a team and use words that give life. It is entirely different to provide them fun opportunities to put those lessons to practice. Adventure racing could not be a more perfect fit for my family in regards to a fun way to help instill core family values in my kids.
The day before the event the boys participated in an optional Skills Clinic. Seeing how we don’t go mountain biking often, we thought a day to get used to the altitude and the bikes was a good idea.
The clinic was broken up into 4 categories: biking, teamwork, adventure racing, and obstacle training. During the teamwork clinic the volunteer coach told the racers, “Being successful on adventures isn’t about reaching the top, it’s about the journey. What happens in you here on the mountain – it goes home with you and you get to apply what you learn there.”
The mom in me was yelling, “YES!” Winning a race was not my goal when I signed the boys up to participate. Being changed on the mountain as teammates and then taking those changes back home with them – that is how I spelled victory. I care far more about the heart, mind and attitude of my racers than any trophy or spot on a podium.
The rest of the crew joined us for the weekend. Did I mention it was at Stevens Pass in Washington? Breathtaking scenery and chilly August temperatures (at least for a bunch of Okies) greeted up each day. I’m so grateful CLIF Kid invited our entire crew to come along – things never feel quite right unless we are all together.
Once the Skills Clinics were over, younger siblings entertained themselves with the helmets. A bunch of goofballs…
The next morning we headed back to the mountain for the race. The boys were in the first wave of racers and they took off faster than I could keep up with them.
Instead of following them up the mountain and trying to chase them back down, I positioned myself near the half-way point of the course and caught them dominating several obstacles. They were working as a team, depending on each other, and making this mom so very proud.
They signed up to be challenged and have fun in the process. I signed them up for something far more than a race to a finish line. I signed them up to race TOGETHER and to put to practice our family’s goal of being sources of encouragement to each other. They are already dreaming of the next race.
The other three are also dreaming of racing. Our youngest was too young to enter. I had concerns about the mountain biking for my 8 & 9 year olds, so I opted for them not to race. In hindsight, I should have signed them up. You can tell the girls were so thrilled that they were not racing too! (Those photos were not taken during the actual race. During the race they were running along the sidelines cheering for team Okie Grit)
Sweaty hair, scratched up knees, and caught licking the CLIF Kid ZBar Filled wrapper at the finish line! The altitude was a big change for us, so the boys stayed hydrated with lots of water and kept CLIF Kid bars on hand all day (no high fructose corn syrup or artificial flavors, which I appreciated at the end of an energy burning day). At the awards ceremony the sponsoring companies gave awards for various reasons. CLIF Kid won more points with me when they gave a Sportsmanship award. The Sportsmanship winners, two sisters, received a $500 check to give to the charity of their choice – best prize of the weekend, in my opinion.
This will be a story they will be telling for quite a while. Right now their memories are fresh and focused primarily on the obstacles and running. I have a feeling this is only their first race and one day they will be talking about that time they ran their first race TOGETHER – the one that started it all. Next time, boys, I’m joining you on the course!
