Are You Living It?

The Durango Kid’s Triathlon takes place every August. The race is on a Saturday, and there are two training camps the week prior to the big event. The race is a great event, but I enjoy the training camps even more. There’s less stress on the kids, so you get the chance to interact with them on much more intimate level. They range in age from about 6 to 12. Most of them know how to swim, and they can all ride a bike and run. However, the concept of putting all three together in a race is foreign to them. Just as it was for me the first time. I was about 30 when I did my first tri, and I was more nervous than these great kids. They’re full of questions, and they have an unbelievable desire to please. You give them a little tip, they try it out, and they come right back asking for feedback - how did I do? did I do it right? They’ll kill themselves for praise.

The one thing that really struck me is their energy levels. High intensity is the best way to describe it. Short bursts of all out effort followed by exhaustion. Then they reload, and do it all over again. They could never ride for 6 hours or run for 3 hours like I can. Their specialty is being able to do 5 minute all out efforts, rest a few minutes, and then do it again…all day long! I took a group of 12 year olds on a mile run. They worked me over in a big way. I was amazed at their speed and ability to recover so quickly. Ah, the benefit of youth.

The best moment came on the second day of training camp. A mother pulled me aside to tell me a story. After the first camp, her two kids went home and set up a mini-triathlon in their driveway. They basically did endless bike-run transitions for 8 hours that day…after the morning’s camp. She had to drag them in for dinner that night. The next day, they went at it for another 12 hours. That little story gave me a smile that lasted the rest of the week. I don’t know how triathlon will ever fit into these kids’ life, but it was great to hear about them biking and running and having fun. That’s what kids should be doing. A little fresh air and exercise…having fun with reckless abandon. That’s what summer should be for a kid. Hopefully, our little race planted a seed in a few of these kids. With any luck, a few of those seeds will grow and bear fruit.

by Randy Stueve