My 10-year-old niece did her first triathlon Saturday and it was so cool!
It was a fantastically organized event. (Even you, GaryAllenFan) would have been impressed!
Let me see if I can summarize quickly. The kids were broken into age groups ... 7- and 8-year-olds in one, 9- and 10-year-olds in the next and so on. At the registration table, each kid was marked with a number and letter on their arm and leg. The number made them look like super cool little athletes and served a purpose I'll get to in a second. There was also a designated area for each group's bikes and the kids had to get their swim-to-bike transition stuff in place before they went into the pool.
In the pool area, the diving well had five lanes marked. For the 9- and 10-year-olds, the swim distance was 100 yards or four lengths of the pool. Each lane was numbered (1-5) and each had a row of folding chairs marked A-J. The kid had to find the chair that corresponded to their aforementioned arm/leg marking. So if you were 5F, you sat in row 5, seat F.
They wisely keep parents on the sidelines; none allowed in the swimming area proper. There was a round of stretching and then a round of instructions ... instructions shouted out by the organizers and repeated back by the kids for maximum understanding.
The swimmers in A chairs were first in the water. And then B chairs were started 30 seconds after, and C's 30 seconds after that, etc. Swimmers kept to the right and most managed to not run into each other as they made their laps.
Down and back, down and back ... then on to the bike. Most kids kept their swimming suit on and added a piece of clothing (shorts or shirt) with their race bib on it. Helmet, shoes, and they were off. There was a small army of teen volunteers, taking each rider or group of rider onto the course. The teen riders stayed with them for the whole 3-mile course ... ensuring no one could get lost or left behind. (Again, no parents allowed to ride alongside. I imagine this hands-off approach was very tough for some of the more controlling/smothering parent types, but a very good idea, in my opinion. The kids had to do it themselves.)
The three miles wrapped up at the same transition point. The kids dropped their bikes in the same spot they picked them up from, peeled off their helmets and head out for the half-mile run. Again, the teen volunteers picked up each runner or group of runners as the kids moved through the transition area and ran with them until the misting area right before the finish line.
The kids got to cross that baby all on their own ... with parents, grandparents, siblings and more cheering loudly.
All got a participation medal. And top finishers got additional hardware.
My niece? Out of about 40 in her age group, she was 8th place girl and 19th overall. Considering she's about as peanut as they come, I think that's fantastic.
And, best of all, she snagged a sense of accomplishment that just can't be beat. She knew going into this that she'd have bigger, better, faster competition. In fact, her two besties (one a full head-and-a-half taller than she) actively run and are on swim team, plus they both participated in the pre-race training events. So Ms. B was nervous about being able to do it.
But she did do it. She said it wasn't nearly as bad as she thought it would be.
And this morning she got up early and walked 3 miles with me, choosing to run part of the way.
Because now she knows she can.
I love that.
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