Racing toward family fun at the Highland Fling Family Adventure Race
Tyler Daniel, 10, of Highland, runs past the starting line along with other kids and their families during the Highland Fling Family Adventure Race on Thursday, Aug. 3, 2017, at Highland Glen Park in Highland. ISAAC HALE, Daily Herald
Kaitlyn Hughes, 11, center, digs with her family as they search for an item buried in the sand during the Highland Fling Family Adventure Race on Thursday, Aug. 3, 2017, at Highland Glen Park in Highland. ISAAC HALE, Daily Herald
From front to back, Easton Zimmerman, 12, his mother, Amy, and his brother, James, 10, get out of their kayak to head towards the next station during the Highland Fling Family Adventure Race on Thursday, Aug. 3, 2017, at Highland Glen Park in Highland. ISAAC HALE, Daily Herald
Amy MacKay and her cousin, Mason Tapusoa, 9, run towards the next station during the Highland Fling Family Adventure Race on Thursday, Aug. 3, 2017, at Highland Glen Park in Highland. ISAAC HALE, Daily Herald
Maddie Pearson, 11, of Vineyard, gets ready to start the biking leg of the race with her family during the Highland Fling Family Adventure Race on Thursday, Aug. 3, 2017, at Highland Glen Park in Highland. ISAAC HALE, Daily Herald
In a race, generally the goal of participants is to win the race. Though in the Highland Fling’s Family Adventure Race, it was all about having fun.
Approximately 100 people from families from around the county came together to form about 20 teams to tackle the challenges of the Family Adventure Race, held Thursday evening at Highland’s Highland Glen Park.
“This race is a family-oriented adventure race,” said race director Andrew Sparks. “It has three legs: a canoe leg, a biking leg and a running leg. Each leg has five different tasks. As each family moves through each task, they have a passport, and they punch the passport as they complete each task.”
Some of the objectives included tasking racers to canoe out onto the lake to find an object, make and throw paper airplanes through hoops, dig for an object hidden in the sand of a volleyball court, having kids fill up a water vest worn by parents using water guns among other family-fun activities.
The Highland Fling race was born out of a family race that the Sparks created before they lived in Utah.
“When we lived in Missouri, our family ran an adventure race similar to this that the city put on,” Sparks said. “When we moved out here about six years ago, there wasn’t any type of race like that here, and my family really wanted to run something like that. So, I decided to create one.”
Two years ago, Highland asked the Sparks if they’d be interested in putting on such a race for Highland Fling Days, and so the Family Adventure Race became a part of the city celebration.
Throughout the race, families moved at many different paces, but shouts of encouragement and laughter could be heard from all of the teams. While there’s a raffle at the end of the race, whatever team wins the race simply earned the satisfaction of being first.
“We don’t award a first, second and third prize; this is mainly just a fun event for families,” said Sparks. “It’s about the journey, not the destination.