Kids - Triathlon's Future

Kudos to you, Max, for bringing this up. 

I love the way my kids are getting into training with me.  At 4 (today) and 5 they are not quite ready for competition but they sure want to be.

I'm glad I'm setting this example for them.  A year ago I was on a path to having my kids know how to properly draw a beer from a keg or make a mixed drink and now they fight over who gets to run on the treadmill.  It is a tremendous honor and responsibility to be the person who gets them started on a healthy lifestyle.  That is way more rewarding than any time or distance I might achieve in a race. 

Max,  you are so kind and encouraging! Emily was so excited to get her USAT membership card yesterday. Plus she enjoyed seeing you, Patty and Denise on Saturday. She can't wait for races this summer and she hopes she can ride with an Ironman (you Max)!

Every day she goes on line to check races she can do and see if the dates and applications are up. Emily comes to all the Tri Club meetings we go to and talks to an older boy who is 2 years older than she is and won the IM ironkids race in Germany last year.

She gave up playing travel soccer this spring so she can train and race in triathlons. Games are on Sunday which is often the day of races.

She has incredible dedication and determination. Last fall she did a biathlon (really a duathlon...can't imagine 100 kids with guns and cross country skis...yikes). We calculated the distance of the run and bike to a route in our neighborhood. She knew what the winning time was for the previous year in her AG. She practiced 3 times a week. Guess what she won by over 3 minutes in a 18 minute race and beat that winning time from last year.

As you can probably tell I'm so proud of her. In no time she'll be passing me in the bike and swim too! She smokes me on the runs already. Yet I'm cautious as to let this be driven by her and not to push at all. We have a training plan, but she does it when she wants. Best of all it is great time together learning to have a healthy lifestyle. Even if I always come in last  passing on the passion for sports, and athletics to my daughter is the bigger prize.

Jorge...I hope you do a kids race. My one suggestion is to vary the length based on age...so older kids go farther than the younger kids. There are not enough kid races around here in MA. I wish I could find more super sprints....sort of half way between a kids race and a sprint.

I shoulnd't be very specific until I have all the details but that's pretty much the idea

y wife and I try to include our daughter in as much of our training as possible. She is only 18 months old, but we push he in our jog stroller and pull her behind us in the bike trailer. She love the time she spends with us, and I hope it helps her to develop a healthy lifestyle. She is learning to swim, and already has a favorite bike at the bike shop... Its a pink Raleigh 12 incher with training wheels.

If you want to see Sophias blog she is on Bt as mspiglet http://beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/training/index-weekly.asp?memberid=31347#

I cant wait until she is older and gets to do races without the stroller!

Very cute. 

My son Zack, 9 did 2 tris last summer,  and my daughter Catherine, 7 did her 1st tri, and they both did the kids marathon last monnth (1.8 mile run). There is nothing like watching the pure joy visible through the smile on their faces when they cross the finish line. I get tears every time. They do read the posts here from time to time, so I have had to monitor some of them, but generly, BT is an awsome place for us all!

So, yes, they are this sports future.

Thanks Max, great thread!

I know Ron and Marmadady have enough on their plates, what with just monitoring Jim's posts, but maybe a kids section of BT someday?

Just a thought.

I was just going to say having a BT section specific to kids tri would be awesome! I would really enjoy talking to other parents about this topic.

Ron what do ya think?

It's probably going to take some leg work, since you'll have to go through all the events in your area and see if there's any mention of kids races planned.  The other thing you can do is to speak up and get others with kids to do the same.  Talk to the promoters of the races and ask about having a kids event.  Some are more than happy to expand the race schedule a bit to allow the kids to have their own "mini tri."  Up here in New England, Keith Jordan who is the race director for the wildly popular Timberman and Mooseman triathlons in NH, has added kids activities to his races. 

A good way is to start out small, and hopefully get the kids into the newer events like Jorge (Amiine) has planned here.  Hopefully this will work out for him!

Here in MA there are a number of kid tris...

Firm had two last year...one was around June 10th and has different length depending on the age, they had an off road tri in late September. It was a bit of a mess not enough adults guiding the kids to go the right direction. Plus they had the kids start based on registration and so you may be 12 behind a 7 year old on an dirt trail.

Salemn has one in early August that their Park and Rec puts on. This is a good race...ocean swim but the kids can stand if needed. They have three different lengths depending on age...so the oldest kids are competing 20-30 minutes and make three loops of the bike and run.

There is Marshfield Biathlon in October run-bike-run. I early June a Y near Taunton does a reverse kids tri run-bike-pool swim. I think it conflicts with Mooseman.

Before Emily had a blog I put her race reports under my screen name so if interested you can read about the races.

Endorfun does them for Timberman and Mooseman. Just be sure to understand what type of bike to bring since sometimes they are done in a park on grass so a road bike might not be the right choice. 

 After doing the Salemn Tri Emily saw the advantage of a road bike as a few kids had them. She used her paperroute money to buy her own road bike and being tall for her age fit into a Trek 1000 in the smallest size. 

We do have five kids and Shasha did a tri last year. Libby who is 7 will do her first this year. I'm trying to get one of my 16 year old twin sons to do a family relay in an off road tri....I'll swim, he'll ride and Emily will run.....now that would be a blast!