Start ’em young

by Norman Aceron Garcia

It was another great race day for athletes and weekend warriors of all types and ages! The Second Kildonan Park Family Duathlon was successfully held on July 5, 2015. The goal of this event is to encourage a healthy and active lifestyle through duathlon and triathlon multi-sports. Being a family-oriented race, the event is open to everybody; children ages five and up, and adults of all ages.

The race event consisted of two events, Short Distance (1K run / 2K bike / 1K run) and Medium Distance (2K run / 4K bike / 2K run) inside Kildonan Park, which has minimal vehicle traffic on early Sunday mornings.

The run course is a 500m out-and-back route in between the two parking lots of Rainbow Stage and the Peguis Pavilion. While the bike course is a counter-clockwise two-kilometre loop around the main park road. For each discipline, Short Distance athletes did one lap while the Medium Distance athletes did two laps.

The centre of the event was the Rainbow Stage parking lot where the finish/start arch, transition zones, aid station, registration desk, bike mechanic station, and sponsors tents were all located. Some 120 people participated as athletes, parents, volunteers and sponsors. The event was capped with a wind-up barbecue picnic to thank all the supporters.

Ethel Fernandez, mom of six-year-old athlete Eli, proudly exclaimed, “Eli just recently learned how to ride a bike and is not a big fan of running, so I’m a bit worried that he may not complete the race. But he did! Watching him cross that finish line with a big smile on his face and the crowd cheering him on, made me the proudest mom at that time!”

Joanna Ocampo-Flores, who was also a volunteer last year, said, “I volunteered because it was all for a great and worthwhile cause. Nabawi lahat ng pagod namin ng kasayahan ng mga pamilyang nag-participate.”

Race Director Dennis Flores, who’s also a sitting director of Triathlon Manitoba, announced, “We have noted items that we need to improve and we will definitely come up with a better and bigger race next year!”

Sulong Triathlon Group thanks the following partners and sponsors:

Media Partner:

• Pilipino Express

Sponsors:

• Absolute Autoguard
• Aleph-Bet Child Life Enrichment Program Inc.
• Alter Ego Sports
• Insahyu Training and Therapy
• Olympia Cycle and Ski
• Mr. Peg Property Inspections Inc.
• Raymond Vauclair Projects Ltd.
• Stride Ahead Sports
• Swimming Matters
• Woodcock Cycle Works

Partner Organizations:

• Filipino Members Chapter – Association of Professional Engineers & Geoscientists in Manitoba
• Isabela Association of Manitoba
• Pinoy Trail Bikers Manitoba
• Triathlon Manitoba
• Trifactor Triathlon Club
• University of the Philippines Alumni & Associates in Manitoba

Please visit our website at www.sulongtriathlon.org and like us on Facebook at Sulong Triathlon Group.

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