Leah's "Have-a-Go" Triathlon

Race 3 of the "Have-a-Go" triathlons for the Trystars (kids 7-12) at the Craigie Leisure Centre was on today at 7.30am.

The kids races are done in such a way that the competitors choose their distances - with maximum limits, but no minimum - the theory is that kids are usually overly competitve and this should be monitored so they don't overexert themselves too young.



Lately, Leah has taken up swim training sessions on Wed nights through North Coast which has helped with her endurance so I wasn't suprised when today she put her name down for the max. distance for her age group - 100m swim.

The bike, she could choose from 1 lap (1km), 2 or 3 laps. She only got a new bike last weekend and hasn't yet taken it to training (fortnightly) so she opted for 2 laps.

The run for her age group is 500m which was an out and back run. Her least favourite part of the race (just like her mum and dad!).



David, Chardae and I all had marshalling duties so we didn't actually see the start of Leah's race or any of the swim. We did see her appear at the transition racks at the front of her age group however which was a bit of a shock which made us realise she'd done a good swim. She jumped on her new bike and took off standing out of the saddle which I've never seen her do. When she flew past David at the far end of the course, he said he couldn't believe how fast she was riding and her computer showed a max. speed during the race of 22km/hr (but an average of 11km). I think the next lap was a little slower. For safety, the marshalls encourage the kids to slow down to walking pace as they go around the roundabouts (closed roads). She was thrilled to "beat" Zac off the bike (the boy from school who has always eluded her in these races) and as she ran past me I've never seen her look so happy to be running. She was knackered at the finish but she had managed to stave off Zac - who said at the end she cheated, cause she chose to do 2 laps on the bike and he did 3 - but Leah was quick to point out that she swam 4 laps and he swam 2.



Following the race, is the draw of spot prizes and today was her lucky day with her number called out third. Luckily I was listening as Leah didn't respond and I called out to get her to claim her prize - she later said she was "asleep". She was thrilled no one else had taken her first pick and came home with a gorgeous white teddy bear.

We stayed on after the race to let the kids muck about in the new outdoor swimming pool and kids area - still with the energy of childhood to burn!

Well done Leah you did great today and we're very proud.