Participants line up for the tryathlon's first leg, a 200m swim at St Heliers Bay. Photo / Dean Purcell
Participants line up for the tryathlon's first leg, a 200m swim at St Heliers Bay. Photo / Dean Purcell
KEY POINTS:
A young boy makes a dash for the sea in the swimming leg of a kids' "tryathlon" and the rest of his group follows lemming-like behind him.
"Stop," yells the organiser, who is trying to manage the swimmers into staggered starts.
"What did you have for breakfast?" heasks the over-enthusiastic boy.
"Um, Weet-Bix," comes the wise answer.
"That's all right then," says the organiser, letting the lads off the hook from a telling-off.
After all, while rules have to be followed to manage 2700 excitable children and teenagers, it was really all about attitude and just giving it a go in yesterday's 15th Weet-Bix Tryathlon.
Everyone was a winner on the day, the panting and air-punching participants receiving gold medals at the finish line from sporting stars such as triathletes Hamish Carter and Debbie Tanner and members of the Auckland Blues rugby team.
On the sidelines were encouraging parents, sisters, brothers or caregivers, some even chest deep in the sea at St Heliers Bay to get a good photo of the competitors.
In the transition area, hundreds of bikes were in many cases identifiable by flying flags, pennants, signs and balloons.
But not all could find their bicycles in a hurry. Eight-year-old Finn McClay of Meadowbank was a picture of despair as he wandered up and down the lines for 10 minutes searching for his wheels.
Finn wasn't alone, with a few other contestants in tears as they got disoriented. But plenty of helpers were on hand to track down their bicycles.
Greta Taine, 8, of Glendowie, was distraught at the disappearance of her official T-shirt, leaving her with just her togs and running shoes for the cycle and running legs.
"Do you want to carry on?" a helper asked. A stoic nod and Greta was off.
Some faced popped tyres and loose pedals while others dumped their bikes in such a hurry they ran off still wearing their cycle helmets.
Bryce Wessels, 8, of Howick, surprised his parents by admitting he liked the running best of all.
"The sea was too salty and I got sore legs from the cycling."
