A few years back, I was coming up short on meaningful birthday and Christmas gift ideas for my spouse. He’s a lucky one with a birthday during the holiday season! I arrived home one afternoon after a Stroller Warriors workout and excitedly mentioned a local trail half-marathon that several Stroller Warriors friends registered to run. My spouse did a quick search of the race and commented on the positive and fun online reviews, and he was especially excited for the post-race pancake breakfast. My brain sparked— what a birthday/early Christmas present idea! That evening, I went online and registered him for the race, wrapped up the registration, and gifted him the experience of a holiday trail half-marathon!
On race morning, our entire family woke up to get “race ready” and drove out to the park to find a spot on the trail to spectate— the kids made a motivating sign and loaded a bag full of jingle bells to sing holiday tunes to the runners! Although we didn’t last long on a trail, the kids found a park and played while we watched runners move along the trail and off in the distance. The gift of a race became a joyful morning activity for the whole family. We even walked away with a cozy fleece race blanket that was provided with the race swag!
If you have your eye on several races in the upcoming year and not sure which to choose from, put those races on your holiday wish-list for the gift of a race experience!