Kids Triathlon in Jackson, MS

This morning we got up early and drove to the triathlon starting spot. We were supposed to be there by 6:45 so that all the racers could get "tattoo-ed" (actually, they just got their numbers drawn on their arms and legs; but the kids called them tattoos.) There was a meeting with the racers at 7:30 explaining the course and the rules.

Alec shows off his tattoo - number 40.

Kirsten shows her double tattoo. Kirsten sits by the pool thinking about the event.

Alec is trying to size up his competition.

This is the group that had the senior girls (Martha, Margaret and Kirsten). The competitors were broken down into senior boys and senior girls (11-14) and junior boys and junior girls (7-10).

Alec swims his laps when the junior boys were swimming. Alec and Kirsten both struggled with the swim part of the triathlon, but they both made up time in the transition and the bike part. We decided with all the cross-country training that they have, that they were ahead of some of the kids when it came to the running portion.

Alec during his transition from swimming to biking. I could not get pictures of the girls during this portion because he was still in the pool when they were starting their biking. Steve and Yonea said that Kirsten passed several people in the transition because she changed so quickly.

Alec is finishing the biking part and getting ready to park his bike and start running.

Here he is at the finish line. His time was 25:27 and we are so pleased with his first time competing in a triathlon. He finished 15th overall in the junior division and 12th in the boys section.

This is Kirsten when she was finishing her bike part and transitioning to the running part.

Here she is crossing the finish line. She had a time of 48:31 and finished 23rd overall and 10th in her senior girls group. She did awesome!

Margaret, Martha, Kirsten, and Alec celebrate the fact that they are now called Tri-Athletes.

Martha was amazing -- she finished 7th overall (that includes the boys) and won a 2nd place trophy in the senior girls.