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The Winchester Swimplex hosted a triathlon for ages 4-13 Saturday in the Winchester City Park as the culmination of its third annual Kids Triathlon Camp.

More than 20 children participated in the camp from Monday through Thursday as they learned how to swim like a triathlete, developed bike-handling skills and safety practices and learned the fundamentals of running to prepare for the big event on Saturday.

Swimplex Manager Lisa Clark said that the camp and the event were all about allowing the participants to improve at the various aspects of triathlons at their own pace.

“A triathlon is different because you’re only competing against yourself. Yes, they do race against other people, but they don’t,” she said. “It’s whatever they can do and their confidence in completing something, so it’s not so much for me how fast they do it. It’s just the completion of succeeding at it.”

The distances covered by the triathlon varied among the age group with 4-7-year-olds swimming for 50 yards, biking for 1.6 miles and running for 0.5 miles, 8-9-year-olds swimming for 100 yards, biking for 1.6 miles and running for 1 mile and 10-13-year-olds swimming for 150 yards, biking for 2.6 miles and running for 1.5 miles.

The course started at the indoor pool for the Swimplex with competitors swimming laps until they reached their allotted yardage and ran to their bikes waiting outside.

The biking portion took the triathletes down Old Estill Springs Road and through the nearby Holly Hill neighborhood before returning to the area outside the Swimplex.

“I want to thank Holly Hill’s HOA for allowing us to use their section in a portion of the race,” Clark said. “Being able to use the roadway helped out a lot.”

The running course for the final part of the triathlon varied slightly between the oldest age group and the younger two with ages 4-9 doing either one or two laps around the Winchester Rotary Soccer Park, depending on the distance required, while 10-13-year-olds started by running to the Field 3 Pavilion within the City Park and back before doing two laps around the Soccer Park.

Following the completion of the triathlon, campers were provided with refreshments, T-shirts and medals at the Swimplex’s outdoor pool area to mark their completion of the triathlon.

There was also a kids fun run for ages 2-4 which featured a shortened version of the course that circled around the outdoor pool’s fencing.

Clark said that the turnout for this year’s edition of the Kids Triathlon Camp was great with plenty of support from the local community and parents, and she thanked God for helping the event to run smoothly since its inception.

“God laid this on my heart three years ago, and I can honestly say this would not be possible without him pulling all the strings,” she said. “He’s done it all. It’s been wonderful to watch.”