How Ben Lucas is training his 6yo son to run 5km

By Ben Lucas, Director of Flow Athletic

Running became part of my life when I retired from rugby league. It is a great activity that gives you a sense of purpose, and as there are so many events worldwide, there’s always something to train for.

For me, it was a lifeline. Wrapping up a sport that I had played my whole life was a huge adjustment, and setting up my first business was busier than I could have ever imagined.

I would go for a run every chance I got, between work and sleep of course.

Six years ago, my wife and I had our first child, Oli. Our daughter Riley came around three years later. As all parents can imagine, keeping up with your exact fitness routine is not the easiest when you have small kids in tow.

Then, when the lockdowns came along, as a fitness studio owner, and a husband and dad, it was a tough time.

In order to be as good as I could possibly be for others, I decided to run 5km every day, rain, hail or shine for my mental health. My son Oli was old enough at the time to see the routine, and he started getting interested in running.

Last year, I completed a local fun run and Oli was very jealous of my medal. He asked me to train him for his first fun run. He has been training for around 8 months, there has been many “teachable moments” when it comes to healthy habits.

He will do his first 5km fun run in July at the Real Insurance Sydney Harbour 10k/5k. We chose this one as it is family friendly and has a very flat course!

The benefit of doing a fun run as a family

I want my kids to grow up learning healthy habits from an early age. However, unlike in our generation, where marketing for every health or fitness product suggests that you need to “fix” yourself, I wanted to start the kids young, doing things that they enjoy because it is something fun to do.

My kids have seen me finish a bunch of fun runs. The atmosphere and entertainment is always great and now they can see how fun they are. I am stoked to be able to share that with them, and to participate as a family.

Oli’s training plan

While we are certainly taking it easy, I am treating Oli’s plan as I would any other plan. We generally go out for a run 2 days a week. That will consist of a weekly long run around Centennial Park.

Generally, we will alternate between walking and running for around 3km. We also do a hill sprint day on the hill near our house.

Additionally, we take our dog, Max, out for long walks, Oli is also part of an AFL team and he is doing swimming.

As you can see, I am adding a little structure, so he can see what it is like to train for something, but I am working around the other activities that he enjoys.

Wish him luck! He is very excited.