Event training day is not only the most exciting training day of the week, it is also the longest. Three hours is the general rule on event day, give or take an hour depending on how many people are training along with you. As a way to monitor my kids and keep them outside being active while I train, I started making some kid-friendly implements. Here are a couple of implement ideas if you’re looking for some ways to involve your kiddos or random neighborhood children who wander your way into event training days. Whatever you do, don’t offer them candy.

These sandbags are made out of the legs of jeans. Find an old pair of jeans without holes in the knees. Cut the jeans right above knee height and sew one end shut. Next, go to your local hardware store and buy sandbags for the inserts. These are very cheap and will prevent any leakage. Fill the sandbags to desired weight, close it up, place it into the cut out jean legs and sew it closed.

These weigh in at 25 pounds each. Not only are they great for sandbag runs/loads for kids, they are also great to have around when you want to easily add some extra weight to a sled pull or other random event. These have proven to be very sturdy. Making the sandbags heavier or lighter is as easy as slicing the end open, adding additional sand and sewing it closed again. The kids enjoy loading them to the top of the quarter pipe, truck bed or kegs for time. They are also great for max distance runs. It’s a great little workout without being overly heavy or bulky for little hands.

Kegs are another easy implement to make and incorporate for kids. The top keg in the picture is a Heineken mini keg I picked up for less than $15. I was able to empty it out and spray paint it. The weight is exceptionally light but it sure is cute. This was a great implement to use during the toddler years.  I was not able to open it up to load it with sand.

Once this keg is outgrown, quarter barrels are excellent options. Just like an adult keg, adding and changing weight is as easy as unplugging it and filling it up. The next size up that can be integrated is a slim quarter or sixth barrel. Make sure you rinse the skunk smell out of them and then rinse them again with some bleach.

Finally, get some stone molds and make some stones. The standard mold sizes that are perfect for little people are:

  • 8” diameter, approx. 23 lbs
  • 10” diameter, approx. 42 lbs
  • 12” diameter, approx. 72 lbs
  • 13” diameter, approx. 100 lbs
  • 14” diameter, approx. 116 lbs

My suggestion is to skip the 13” diameter. Save the money and just go with a 14”. If you mix the concrete with more water, you can reduce some of the weight so it falls closer to 100 pounds. You can also add a Styrofoam insert. That process is so labor intensive because I have to set things up just right, that I prefer to just water down the concrete. Stone loads for little people can be done to full size kegs or you can make a mini stone loading platform.

This one measures 36 inches, which is not only great for little people, but also for variation in my own stone training. If 36 inches is too high, use a keg as a platform.

There are countless ideas for kid friendly, cheap implements. Tire sleds, water jugs for farmers, the list goes on and on. These are just a few ideas to get you thinking and incorporate your kids into event training day and moving alongside you.