By Shane Frederick
Free Press Staff Writer
NORTH MANKATO —
Six-year-old London Campbell was a kid on a mission.
First one out of the water. Way ahead of the pack on the bike path. Cruising into the finish chute with no one in his shadow.
Looks like he’s got a good triathlon career ahead of him.
All smiles despite racing in the afternoon’s heat and humidity, London quickly returned to Hiniker Pond with a beach ball and a couple of buddies in tow.
London was one of about 80 children between 5 and 13 years old to race in the first North Mankato Triathlon kids race, which took place in and around the pond and park.
The event took place in three waves, with 6-and-under and 7- and 8-year-old groups swimming 70 feet, biking 1.4 miles and running a little less than a half-mile. Kids ages 9-13 swam 150 feet, biked 2.8 miles and did a 2/3-mile run.
The best part?
“After you’re done running, you can get a medal,” London said.
The 15th annual signature race will take place at 8 a.m. today. But Saturday belonged to the kids, a growing demographic in the world of triathlons and other multi-sport races. That appears to be especially true in the Mankato area.
More than half of Saturday’s participants sported lime-green jerseys of the Green Hornets, a first-year kids triathlon team.
Coach Randy Knutson said he hoped to get about a dozen kids involved in the club when it was started in the spring. There are now 67 kids on the roster.
“Word spread,” Knutson said.
The team practices together twice a week, and many of the members have raced this summer in Albert Lea, and Fairmont, as well as an IronKids race in Sioux Falls, S.D., that featured greater distances. Rochester is next on the schedule for some.
Besides training in the sport’s three disciplines, practices feature some of the intricacies of multi-sport racing, including improving transition time (moving from the water to the bike and from the bike to the run) and other areas where valuable seconds can be lost or ground can be gained.
“Triathlon is a sport that’s definitely growing,” said Mark Bongers, whose Final Stretch company now organizes the North Mankato races, as well as October’s Mankato Marathon. “The exciting thing about the sport is that so many more people are doing it than there were five, 10 years ago.”
And as more people started training and racing, the more the next generation followed.
“I think that’s a big part of it,” Bongers said. “They see mom and dad doing it, and they want to try it.”
Lisa Campbell isn’t a triathlete but thought her kids, London and 9-year-old Indya, would be interested in joining the Green Hornets.
“We’re just trying to be active,” she said. “It’s a fun way to be active.”
As Saturday’s races moved up in age, they became more competitive and intense.
During the 6-and-under race, finishers grinned ear to ear as they got high-fives from older racers and hugs from their parents.
Later, the pre-teen runners worked hard to efficiently get through their transitions, and many sprinted at the end, trying to catch a competitor at the last second or eke out a friend at the finish.
Carter Deichman, 11, said he hurt his ankle swimming and got out of the water later than he would have liked, but he made up for it on the bike and the run for a first-place finish.
While the race was untimed, he finished in a little more than 18 minutes, a few seconds ahead of 9-year-old Grace Busch, who said she had a strong swim and held on to second place nearly the entire rest of the race.
“It’s fun, and it’s healthy,” Grace said.
