Friends of Aine Kid’s Try-athlon 2021

The Friends of Aine Kid’s Try-athlon is a special race to us in many ways.  The boys began competing in this race in its second year.  The course distances are shorter which make it a relaxing race.  We value this race because it honors a young girl, Aine, who passed away.  Her parents recognized that their other daughter needed grieving support, but resources were limited.  This race is a fundraiser to provide support for grieving children.  Each year it seems to grow; this year the total number of participants was 245! We appreciate that children and their emotions are valued.  Every year we are there, Mom gets tears in her eyes when Aine is remembered.  Additionally, this was the only race Mom and Dad felt the boys could compete in during the summers of 2017 and 2018.  Due to Mom’s surgeries (and the boys’ young ages), training opportunities were massively curtailed.  However, the short distances of this race enabled Gavin, Brody, and Chase to still compete comfortably.  Since the age maximum is fifteen, Gavin felt it was extremely important to compete in this race one last time in 2021.  Mom watched the boys complete their fifty yard swim while Dad waited on the bike and run course to cheer them on.  Following the swim, Mom made her way to the finish line to give the boys her usual finish line cheer (which they find humorous to repeatedly play in videos!).  Each crossed the finish line with a strong sprint.  This day provided a lot of excitement for us!  We enjoyed a great conversation with a 2024 Olympic-hopeful triathlete who attended the race.  In Gavin’s final year of competition, he destroyed the course record– beating it by 1:36!  Gavin obviously came in first across all divisions.  Brody placed 2/10 in his age division, 9/55 in the male category, and 10/81 in the 11-15 year old category.  Chase placed 12/17 in his age division, 31/55 in the male category, and 41/81 in the 11-15 year old category. As always, Mom and Dad are proud of their excellent performances!