TRYathlon impressive on many levels

Don’t miss Adam Green and Megan Banks on The Hits Hawke’s Bay from 6am to 9am Monday to Friday.

What a great day it was, as thousands of our budding young triathletes took part in the Weet-Bix TRYathlon in Hastings! It was impressive on many levels, but probably none more so than the fact that so many children were able to get their own hats and goggles on without much help, swim some lengths, get out of the pool without their poor parents yelling at them for half an hour that it’s time to go, dry themselves without shivering and yelling for some food, get some shoes on without crying, jump on a bike, drop the bike just like they do on the front lawn and sprint to the finish. If only they would do that in real life then every day after school would be just like a TRYathlon. Sometimes, come 7.30pm, I feel like I’ve competed in one. My one and only attempt at donning some lycra was another cereal-sponsored event. Twelve years ago, I put on my Special K T-shirt and took part in a very small duathlon — the kind of event any professional athlete would do on their “rest” day. A little bike ride on the windy Wellington foreshore and then a little wee trot to the finish line. It took me months to train for and more than an hour to complete but, boy, did I feel “special” and not really o-K! The only good thing about the event for me was in the name, a duathlon. While I love swimming, I usually just love it when it includes a beautifully warm salt water pool with a swim-up bar. I don’t do swimming in the sea because I’m liable to get eaten by anything that lurks there. In my head even in the shallows I could get eaten by a barracuda. So a duathlon was the perfect fit. You’re probably surprised therefore to hear that I’m not actually in training for the adult version of the Weet-Bix TRYathlon, and that’s the Tremains triathlon. It’s a huge event for Hawke’s Bay, and one that, upon moving here six years ago, I was really looking forward to. Unfortunately with my radio job, I will be at the triathlon, but working instead on the microphone with my just-as-fit and sporty co-host, Adam Green. We’ve both spoken about what a shame it is that we can’t actually compete but we will be there with words of encouragement for those who do. I’ll be on barracuda watch!

Don’t miss Adam Green and Megan Banks on The Hits Hawke’s Bay from 6am to 9am, Monday to Friday.