Six-year-old twin triathletes, Fred and Charlie Lumsden quipped they could devour 1500 Weet-Bix after conquering the Weet-Bix Kids TRYathlon on Sunday.
The annual event at Tāhunanui Beach Reserve served up a great start to the 1600 competitors’ day, just like the breakfast cereal it’s named after.
Six to 15-year-olds took the plunge, before saddling up for a 4km to 8km cycle, and topping the course off with a 1.5km run.
Fred and Charlie Lumsden, who attend Enner Glynn school, said it was their inaugural triathlon competition, which was inspired by their older sibling’s participation at previous events.
The pair said the course wasn’t too difficult and they enjoyed high fiving the crowd on the course’s final leg.
“I would now like to eat 1500 Weet-Bix,” Fred says.
The twin’s mother, Mackenzie, says her sons were already raring for next year’s event.
Meanwhile, an unforeseen broken collarbone was no barrier for Appleby School pupil Isla Kay.
Isla had been preparing for her third TRYathlon by swimming twice a week at Richmond Aquatic Centre and spent hours on a bike and running track, all fuelled by Weet-Bix paired with cornflakes or rice bubbles.
Three days before the big day, disaster struck. The 10-year-old crashed on the school’s pump track, breaking her collar bone.
Unphased by the painful turn of events, Isla soldiered on despite her injury preventing her from swimming or cycling, and laced up for the run section.
Her mother Fleur says it was great to see her “brave” daughter compete.
“She’s been very brave… she’s doing her best and joining in, it’s about competing at your own pace in a fun environment with all her friends from school as well, so it’s great to see,” she says.
Sanitarium national marketing manager Pete Davis says Nelson not only turned on the sunshine but served up “the finest people we’ve seen in the nation.”
“The Kids TRYathlon is all about kids having a go, and we have just seen so many kids look so excited as they’ve crossed the finish line, they look like they have achieved something really significant, and we’re super happy for them,” he says.
“We’re just so appreciative of the parents who bring their kids here, and the 200 to 300 volunteers who come here from the local community to help make it possible.”
“We could not do it without either of those two groups, so from Sanitarium thank you to Nelson for helping us to have a great day.”
