…nipped along to my daughter’s first ever school sports day to cheer her on and generally lend support (helped that the weather is amazing).

Last race is called – a Dad’s race. Now, being a person who is no longer able to do strenuous exercise, I ought to have sat it out.

But my desire not to appear useless in front of my daughter, and spurred by an insanely competitive streak, I lined up. I’m the only one there in shirt, trousers and leather shoes.

It was all going so well – neck and neck with the leaders until, as we neared 3/4 distance – then suddenly BANG! a searing pain shoots through the back of my left leg.

Yep, I’ve torn my hamstring.

Now working on the sofa with leg up and a leaking bag of ice soaking my trousers. Sports day fail.

Ouch. Does your leg hurt more than your pride?

i pull that trick after about 10 meters though, just need to remember which leg 😉

My Dad still recounts the story of beating this chap: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hemery
to the win at my primary school Fathers race, to be fair he looked like he had held back a bit 😉

Always seize any opportunity that comes your way…..

An excuse to buy an e-bike? 😀

I had to “walk” back past all the other parents to my mother in law, all the time trying to resist the desire to lie on the ground and groan….

Last time I did this I was fit and 15 years younger. It took months to fix.

Now I’m out of shape and not even supposed to do stuff like this FFS! At least my daughter and I have something in common: we both finished last.

An excuse to buy an e-bike?

Sadly, for the other reasons referred to in my second paragraph, that will no doubt become a reality rather sooner in life than I had expected.

my last ever dads’ race was a revelation to me in 2 ways:

1) I honestly think I found a “gear” that I never knew about when younger (was never a fast sprinter but I accelerated and made big gains on the leaders in the second half)

2) leather-soled shoes, lush grass and ENORMOUS speed are all perfectly fine together – it’s just the hawthorn hedge that ruined everything

ourman – I thought you’d been let off those restrictions ? 🙁

ourman – I thought you’d been let off those restrictions ?

Thought things were looking better then a standard test indicated it may not be as good as I’d hoped.

Can still do “low to moderate” exercise, whatever that is.

Would have thought Dads races would have been banned by now as to dangerous or something.
Heal up quick!

Dad’s race.

Does that t-short say “Have you hugged a fool today?”

Because if it does, I could do with a hug off that fella right now. Ouch!

my geography teacher got a javelin through his shoulder on sports day. You lucked out buster

Went to my daughter’s sports day yesterday. Thankfully no dad’s race. However, one girl came a cropper at pace over a low hurdle. She was upset for a bit, but quite proud afterwards. The reason for the pride was a grass stain in the middle of her head. It’s the first time I have ever seen grass stained hair!

Fair play to the kids and the school, though. No namby pamby ‘no winners’ nonsense, but still making sure that all the kids had a good time trying their best.

My daughter has melted my heart a bit a both of the last two sports days as she genuinely doesn’t mind never winning anything, has a really good time trying, and seems genuinely pleased for the ones that do win.

My son starts school this September. I can guarantee it won’t be the same story with him!

We don’t have them here – which was a relief to me in a way attending my first sports day, as I’m sure a lot of people think of me as very sporty, and would be expected to do well, but I’ve never been a sprinter (apart from after an hour or two of racing). Do most people still have them at primary schools?

Heal quick omitn

Our’s is not a straight running race, various tasks to be performed, unfortunately I lost my crown this year.

My daughter was in the same class as Daley Thomson’s son.

The dad’s race was a bit of a foregone conclusion, tbh.

Attended my first ever Sports Day today, and had a blast. The cheating that was going on was ridiculous, bu comical at the same time. The parents race was an eye-opener, as I got trounced by most of the folk there. (Note to self – wear running shoes, not Crocs next time, and elbows. More elbows.)

I have a picture mid mums race finish, as one of them is going down hard face first into the grass. The look of delight on one of the faces behind is superb…

Let me see if I can find it….

It’s the first time I have ever seen grass stained hair!

Clearly didn’t attend the same secondary school as me or had similar girls as ours at your school 😉

The Dads are turbo competitive at my Sons school, mental cross-fitters and tough mudders the lot of them – I still fancy my chances – but last year three of them not only ducked for the line, but actually threw themselves at it – I’m not prepared to get involved with that level of stupidity.

I’ll wait until there’s a bike race.

Ouch – heal quickly omitn.

No parents races here since an ambulance was needed a few years ago. No great loss imo.

ourmaninthenorth – Member
Does that t-short say “Have you hugged a fool today?”

Because if it does, I could do with a hug off that fella right now. Ouch!

His hat says dont do it too.

I had the pleasure of watching all my students train for the x country race at school, from KG up to 16 year olds.

My daughter, was never going to win the KG race, about 500m, as she was just too slow, and easily distracted.

Race day came, and the school is outside, we are all there cheering on the KG, my daughter is going for it for the first meter or so then gets slower and slower, then walks.

As the running group of KG kids passes the furthest away corner, my daughter is no where to be seen, and then we spot her squated down on the floor examining something.

One of her TA’s heads back to spur her on. we are now opposite the crowd about 100m away. THe rest of the KG have now finished. Kids are cheering her on, its the heads daughter, go on , you can do it.

She stops again and starts examining a tree, TA tries to spur her on a bi tmore, they get a few more minutes she crouches down to pick something up, and shows it to everybody, 100m or so away and shouts something, we can’t hear, but it must be important.

Again the TA moves her on, oh no, she is now running the opposite way and heading back, what is she doing. Oh returning to the spot she just saw something interesting at to look at it again.

I send out an older student to help run with her.

THey move prbably another good 50m on the crowd goes wild, she decides that the trees are probabl more interesting than running. The older student looks on bemused, the TA encourages, she examines.

Two more students are sent out, to try and get her to the finish.

AFter another 5 minutes of walking, talking, looking and touching things, she nears the finish line and in she comes

13 and a bit minutes after everybody else on a 500m course.

As she crossed the line she ran up to her teacher – ” I saw a butterfly, catterpillars and lots of ants.”

Last time my dad decided to take part in a school sports day, he kicked a small child in the face. You’re doing OK.

My dad tripped up during a dads race and shattered his kneecap, he’d already done the other one in a motorbike crash a few years earlier. Still struggles kneeling for long periods now, not good for a sparky really!

One of best bits of being a chair of governors was re-instating competition at the sports day. Head was very weary about the whole thing. Luckily for me it was a massive success (helped by the great weather we had on the day). I sat out the Dad’s Race.

Hope you heal soon.

As she crossed the line she ran up to her teacher – ” I saw a butterfly, catterpillars and lots of ants.”

😀 Ace.

I had the pleasure of watching all my students train for the x country race at school, from KG up to 16 year olds.

My daughter, was never going to win the KG race, about 500m, as she was just too slow, and easily distracted.

Race day came, and the school is outside, we are all there cheering on the KG, my daughter is going for it for the first meter or so then gets slower and slower, then walks.

As the running group of KG kids passes the furthest away corner, my daughter is no where to be seen, and then we spot her squated down on the floor examining something.

One of her TA’s heads back to spur her on. we are now opposite the crowd about 100m away. THe rest of the KG have now finished. Kids are cheering her on, its the heads daughter, go on , you can do it.

She stops again and starts examining a tree, TA tries to spur her on a bi tmore, they get a few more minutes she crouches down to pick something up, and shows it to everybody, 100m or so away and shouts something, we can’t hear, but it must be important.

Again the TA moves her on, oh no, she is now running the opposite way and heading back, what is she doing. Oh returning to the spot she just saw something interesting at to look at it again.

I send out an older student to help run with her.

THey move prbably another good 50m on the crowd goes wild, she decides that the trees are probabl more interesting than running. The older student looks on bemused, the TA encourages, she examines.

Two more students are sent out, to try and get her to the finish.

AFter another 5 minutes of walking, talking, looking and touching things, she nears the finish line and in she comes

13 and a bit minutes after everybody else on a 500m course.

As she crossed the line she ran up to her teacher – ” I saw a butterfly, catterpillars and lots of ants.”

I really hope my children (if I ever have any) have the same outlook as your daughter.

Parents races at my daughters school are ultra competitive.
Some folks turn up in full running gear, etc.
The Dad who won last year (a fireman who runs/does Tough mudders etc) won by about 30 yards then went back down the track high-fiving all the kids – hideous.

I won’t get involved – this week I reminded my daughter I’m doing a sportive in France on Sunday, and couldn’t do it with a sprained ankle.

as others have said – I’ll wait until there’s a bike race…

who’s school was it that got sick of the ultra competitive Dad’s race and as the dad’s all lined up, in their running outfits complete with spikes, placed a skipping rope in front of each one?

That’s what dad’s races should be, wheel barrow, Sack race or similar.

then suddenly BANG! a searing pain shoots through the back of my left leg.

When i read this I immediately thought of that Derek Redmond photo. Did your daughter come and give you her shoulder? Or, like mine would, did she hide in embarrassment?

who’s school was it that got sick of the ultra competitive Dad’s race and as the dad’s all lined up, in their running outfits complete with spikes, placed a skipping rope in front of each one?

Do dads actually turn up in running kit?! really?? 😐

Missing daughter first ever sports day next week due to work commitments in North Wales 😥

Mini-g’s first school sports day was last summer, I prefer the distance running, but I fancied myself against what I had seen of the other dads in a sprint. I didn’t want to look too try hard, so I had trainers that were ok for running, but not proper running trainers, and 3/4 shorts with enough wiggle room to not be constrictive, shirt. I was certain I was going to at least podium. When I got there it turns out they don’t have a dads race, then the following 90 minutes was watching the kids split into 5 teams work their way round a series of activity stations where they spend 5 minutes each taking a turn at doing the kicking/throwing/jumping or whatever until the time runs out. At the end the teachers decided which teams were the best for various ridiculous reasons and every team was the winner at something, like best cheering, best helping the other kids, and then we all went home having witnessed no sport at all. The whole thing was totally poitless.

I asked the head why it was done like that and it was so the kids who aren’t good at sport dont feel bad about not being good at sport. It just had the feel of the whole thing was the brain child of some sport hating nutter who had a bad enough time in PE as a kid that it gave them PTSD or something.

I appreciate that turning up to the dads race ready to take it seriously is a bit pathetic, but not allowing any of the kids in the school to so much have a foot race against each other for fear of hurting someone’s feeling is equally pathetic.

Maybe they should change the maths lessons so that only the smartest kid can understand them

It’s not the same thing though is it.

Whats would be the same thing, would be watching a film instead of doing maths, so the kids who can’t do maths don’t have to feel bad about it

No it would not, because they’re still doing sports, just in a way that more of them will enjoy and benefit from. You said first school sports day, how old were they?

did the kids have fun though?

yep, I can understand making the parents race utterly embarrassing for the over triers but at least give some prizes to the fastest kids etc.