Young athletes show tough side during Alaska IronKids 2012

When it comes to teaching the youngsters the importance of determination, perseverance, and triumph, it is never too early to start.

Just ask one of the children-athletes who competed in the fourth installment of the Alaska IronKids—the biggest event that gathers young triathletes around the country—last October 27 at the Palms Country Club in Alabang.

Young as they may, many of the children just beginning their grade school days, these inspiring athletes know all about discipline, having strength in both mind and body to finish a route that to many (adults included) would have been a struggle.

While these kids carry a bagful of you-can-do-it attitude, the task that they faced wasn’t, by any measure, an easy one. During the race, the youngsters had to complete a 2-kilometer run, a 10-kilometer bike, and a 300-meter swim.

“During race day, I really felt great. I have been training with my coach (Jojo Macalintal) regularly and I felt I was in my best condition to do the race,” Nicole Danielle Eijansantos, the first place winner of the girl’s 11-12 year-old category of the race, told Junior Inquirer.

Despite Nicole’s young age, many would consider her a budding veteran when it comes to triathlons for children. After all, Nicole has been participating in triathlons since she was nine. She isn’t a stranger in winning Alaska IronKids races either. Last year, she also bagged the top prize for the girl’s 9-10 year-old category.

With the gun start set at 5:30 in the morning on a Saturday, it was an early start for Nicole and the other young athletes. Hard work and preparations, of course, started weeks before the event itself. After all, there were five previous legs earlier this year that culminated in Palms Country Club that day.

“I enjoy the swimming part the most. I was a swimmer first before I transitioned to triathlon. It’s during the 300-meter swim that I am able to stretch my lead over the other participants,” said Nicole. She finished the challenging route in 34 minutes and 26 seconds, about a full minute ahead of the runner up.

It’s perhaps one of the best things that the Alaska Ironkids have taught these children—that the road to success may not always be as easy as casting a spell with a magic wand but that hard work pays off in the end.

Then there are the children’s parents who proudly cheer their young ones as they go to their starting positions, full of encouragement in their eyes. A hint of worry in their faces is evident, but is easily drowned by the trust in their children’s abilities to overcome the challenge.

The Alaska IronKids is part of the milk company’s campaign to promote a healthy and active lifestyle. In the age where many children spend hours on end playing with their gadgets, this event couldn’t have come at a better time.

The event itself has seen a lot of growth since the first time it was launched in 2009—from 57 participants the first year, the number grew to 95 the following; that figure ballooned to 139 the next.

This bodes well for the future of the event. But more importantly, the growing interest in this activity is a bright promise for these skilled young triathletes who would hopefully be able to carry to adulthood the things they have learned in the sports and parlay it in their everyday day lives.

Nicole said: “I do enjoy what I do. I trust that my parents and my coach are giving me the proper supervision to excel in this sports. I’ve learned so much and I look forward to doing this for a long time, hopefully until I become an adult.”

*** Photos from www.ironkidsphil.com ***