We threw an obstacle course race themed birthday party for our son Jack. It was a huge hit for all the kids, super-active, and fun for all (that includes parents!) Running, jumping and laughing…That’s the stuff!
Eight obstacles for 8-year olds. We teamed up with Wood, It’s Real for this project and it’s made from one of our favorite materials–pressure treated Southern Pine. It’s easy to DIY, safe, will last outdoors and was totally fun to make.
The first one is called a ‘slip-wall’. We left gaps in the boards for kids to get a toe-hold to get over if they wanted.
The log flip. With a 6-inch round pole (pilings where I’m from) left over from our fence-we-love project, this one requires muscle and balance.
We call this one the over-under. We even added a little ‘danger’ to the obstacle course—here’s some grown-up OCR and DIY fitness stuff here. Really the angled pieces are directions the kids followed instinctively.
The real challenge for the kids with this one wasn’t the weight (though I underestimated their strength) but to put it down without it tipping over. Like Spartan Race, there was a penalty if they failed an obstacle—burpees!
The kids loved the ‘crawl-under’. It was an obstacle that showed real competitors too. Get your gr-ass in gear!
Among the many reason I love Jack, he took his own path on the ‘crawl under’ taking more of a parkour approach.
Jack shows off just how badly I underestimated these kids’ abilities to balance and run. The posts are about 7-feet tall where the guide rope is. The next time we do this: It’ll be a 2×4 instead of 2×6 and the guide rope will be tougher to reach. To get the guide rope tight, I used a knot called a tensioning knot. Learn how to tie a trucker’s hitch here.
All the kids had to do on this one was get their feet off the ground and touch the rope. Some, like ‘got-game Maddi’ made the most of it. Awesomeness.
Theresa’s idea for an obstacle course race themed party was part love for me—I’m a Spartan Race guy—and love for a good time. I think every kid will remember this party. They all raced it. Everybody made it. Everybody had a blast and did the course over and over again, too.
And for the kids that thought it was ‘easy’ we were able to say, Well you only did it once. How about 10-more laps!
Even the older kids got in the game. Our record-setter was athletic Eddie who’s closer to his driver’s license than third grade. Everything was easy for him too, until he added speed into the equation and then there was a challenge.
And because we made this with pressure treated Southern Pine, we can keep it outside for somewhere around forever.
For more cool projects, DIY, and how-to visit Wood, It’s Real.
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