Hawke’s Bay kids excited as Weet-Bix TRYathlon returns

11-year-old Perseus Ngapera is ready to finally give the Hawke's Bay Weet-Bix Kids TRYathlon a Try. Photo / Paul Taylor

After three years of cancellations the Hawke’s Bay Weet-Bix Kids TRYathlon is finally back and on schedule for February 2024.

Hundreds of Hawke’s Bay kids will be hanging out to finally give the triathlon a try, however, one local 11-year-old boy is super excited to get out on the track and take home first place.

Perseus Ngapera was meant to complete his first TRY at the start of this year but couldn’t due to Cyclone Gabrielle, so now the sports-loving pre-teen is eager for the coming TRY.

The 11-year-old had done some training for his first Weet-Bix TRY before it was cancelled, however this time around he hasn’t started training for it yet and not sure what he will do to train.

Perseus said, “I have not really been doing any training but I think I have the dub (win), my goal is to come first.”

While he hasn’t done any training, Perseus’s mum Tess Rollinson said he is heavily involved in a number of sports that will help with his fitness and determination during the triathlon.

Perseus added, “I try my best at school and especially in sport, I love basketball, rugby, soccer and martial arts.”

This will be Perseus’s first Weet-Bix TRY and he is excited about giving every event a go, but has said he thinks the biking section will be his favourite.

When asked why he wanted to try the Weet-Bix TRY, Perseus said, “so I can get better at running, biking and swimming and maybe some other fitness I could use in other life situations.”

This year the Napier boy is one of Weet-Bix Kids ambassadors and said his advice to other kids who may be unsure about signing up, “maybe if you’re into running or biking or swimming maybe this could be your thing.”

To keep motivated before and during the Weet-Bix TRY Perseus has his own saying that he follows through most of his challenging moments in life, “I got this, just do it.”

His tip to other entrants is “Never give up, I’m running my own race.”

Six to 15-year-olds’ Hawke’s Bay Weet-Bix Kids TRYathlon registrations are open now at tryathlon.co.nz and remain open up until the day of the event, or until spaces are sold out prior.

Event information:

• WHAT: Sanitarium Weet-Bix Kids TRYathlon
• WHEN: 10am, Wednesday February 14, 2024
• WHERE: Mitre 10 Sports Park, Hastings, Hawke’s Bay