Accessible winter family fun

Having two children with varying needs takes some planning when it comes to family activities and we are a family who enjoys cold winter family fun time.  I have one son who is a young fell runner and an older son who due to a spinal condition can walk, however is unable to participate in the races that my youngest and I do.

Now baring in mind that we have appointed him our running manager who helps organise us, he misses out on the medals and the celebrations that others share with us when we drag our muddy selves over the finish line.

That is all about to change.

Winter family fun 2017 has just upped a gear because i’ve discovered virtual running. Now bare with me whilst I explain.

I happened across this website where you can sign up for a run – your choice on charity and distance – and within that month you fulfil that run (mostly in one go although there are some challenges which are done over the month).

The run can actually be a walk or pushing the pram or however you can do it but the point is, you do the distance and send in the evidence (something like a screen shot of your app measuring the distance) and in the post they pop your medal and certificate.

You choose your own time to do it, you do it in your own time so there’s no stress about being the last one over the line and the best bit is you get to do it locally or wherever you want to do it.

Okay so there isn’t the grand finish but what it does do is encourage a friend of mine who is visually impaired to jog / walk a 5 miler for the first time. Then there’s my gorgeous son who wants to do the races but knows he can’t run them or navigate them by himself, so i’ve signed us up as a family to raise money for charity and walk some 5 – 10k’s to build his confidence.

So this Winter family fun time for us will be getting some well earned medals to hang proudly off James’s wall of achievements and having introduced this virtual running to some of my other friends and family who live with a disability, it looks like we are going out in a crowd.

Virtual Runner

Race The Distance

But there’s a lot more so check them out…

What top tips have you got for some winter family fun that’s accessible, please do share them.