Over 100 young athletes from across central BC competed in the Kids of Steel Triathlon Sunday morning.
All participants started at Canada Games Way, then biked, swam, and ran their way through downtown Prince George. The younger ones sprinted around a 500m track then cycled as far as Queensway and Patricia. Tracks got longer as the athletes got older, including a 900m track and a 4km bike route. All the swimming took place in the nearby Four Seasons pool.
This was 14-year-old Akida Allum’s first triathlon ever. She spent weeks training on the Ecole Lac Du Bois track and says it was encouraging to run with people her own age.
“It’s kind of nice to see how everybody comes together and helps each other out. You don’t even know the person and you’re running by and they cheer you on.”
For other athletes, like Chris Bennett, this is a familiar event. He says it’s great to see so many people come out on a Sunday morning.
“It’s wonderful seeing this many kids and these many athletes out here and the number of people out here to support the kids. It’s phenomenal seeing the kids racing. I love this.”
This is the 12th time the 29-year-old has participated. Between this event, running Olympic-length events, and being a lifelong bike enthusiast, he’s encouraging these students to keep working hard and being active.
“You’re not racing anyone else, you’re racing yourself. If anything, try to do better than you did the year before and have fun. No one is here to do better than you. Just best yourself.”
The event wrapped up around 11:30 AM with prizes for winning athletes.
Young athletes are running, biking, and swimming to the finish line in today’s #cityofpg kids triathlon pic.twitter.com/jD5Cng9PmS
— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) May 28, 2017
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