This post is by Jackie Ayers, a BAMRbassador from Bend, Oregon, who occasionally contributes to our blog. Her most recent posts were about running the Richmond Marathon and the Portland Marathon this fall. 

Growing up, my family didn’t enjoy or participate in active movement together, so doing it with my own children has brought us all so much joy. And we’ve found myriad ways to move together. 

“I’ll see you in about two hours at the park, and we’ll do a route and a couple of raid battles. Bring my after-run snack bag with you!” I yell to my husband and two sons as I head out for a run that’ll culminate with us all playing Pokémon GO during my cool-down walk. 

Last summer, my elementary-aged kids got deeply into Pokémon, which led my husband and I to download the game app to our phones. We each partner and play with one kid. Most of the game centers around stops, routes, and battles in parks and other open spaces, encouraging walking to engage with a virtual world. Here in central Oregon, home to the state’s second largest Pokémon GO community, our family of four frequently joins a few dozen other people walking around our downtown, fighting mighty virtual battles. Walking miles with my kids has been a bonus to learning important life lessons like, oh, that a fairy-type Pokémon is super-effective when battling against a dragon-type. 

Pokemon GO with the Central Oregon group

Standing in my long coat and warm boots on a recent, sunny-and-cold Tuesday, I clap gloved hands as kids run laps around the playground during their lunch recess. Running Club is hosted one or two days a week at our son’s school, depending on parent volunteers. I volunteer as often as possible, cheering on the students and getting to talk to them about my own races.

I watch Theo, my first grader, and Leo, his best friend, come in fast as they earn their half-marathon achievement! Four laps around the playground count as a mile, and they’ve now racked up 52 cumulative laps this school year. They come to a screeching halt at our table with iPads set up to scan their personal QR code card into our tracking software. Every mile, parent volunteers reward students with a foot charm to wear on a necklace and additional tokens to represent higher-mileage achievements. Handing Theo his half-marathon sticker and water bottle while giving him a huge hug warms us both. 

During the I Like Pie 5K with Theo

Theo’s Running Club success led to him asking to run the local Thanksgiving turkey trot. We are out of the house by 8 a.m. on a frosty morning. Our breath forms clouds in the air as we walk to the arches of our first I Like Pie 5K. Pace constancy isn’t 6-year-old Theo’s strong suit, so we sprint, jog, and overall walk a lot. We talk, he holds my hand in his little gloved one, and we yell at the geese. It is magic. Our elapsed time doesn’t even register with me: It’s our time together that matters.  

At the end of the 5K, Theo received the cutest beanie hat as his swag. Every time I spot that hat in our winter gear pile, I bust out a spontaneous grin and remember all the ways my family came together this year to have fun and cover the miles together.  

P.S. Comment on the AMR Facebook posting of this article later today if you want to be Pokémon GO friends: Theo and I send/receive gifts daily.