Hi,
My daughter is 11 years old. She’s new to swimming lessons but swimming reasonably well. She is the second best at the running beep test in her school (boys included) and we often cycle to school. I’m thinking it’d be really nice to do a mini triathlon event together late this year.
I’m not currently a triathlon club member and a quick search of local clubs doesn’t really indicate a lot of options for parents training with young kids.
Has anyone else here trained for an event with a child? Any advice? I’m aiming to keep it fun and not too serious as that would put her off.
Keeping it fun and listening to her are the only mandates.
She could probably finish a mini triathlon tomorrow.
A few practice swims in open water would be helpful. Cuz big water can be big scary.
I’m not sure what distance you mean by “mini†but an active kid like her can probably bike 5-10 miles and run 1-2 miles without much preparation as long as she keeps things mellow. Which she will do in the kid-way; too fast at first, then too slow for a long time, then fast again right at the end.
Otherwise, she’s 11. She’s going to change; we all do; next year she might be second to last in the beep test. In 10 years, she will be unrecognizable; I look around my house of teenagers and think “who the hell are these creatures?â€
And she’s 11. Her interests can rapidly and radically pivot. Be prepared to follow her lead; some of my favorite memories are the activities that our kids led us into; not my own hobbies.
My specific advice: Dangle the notion of a mini triathlon once, maybe twice. If she bites at this small bait, then go for it and keep the preparation very low key. If she doesn’t bite, then put out a gentle feeler again next year.
And you are right; a club might be a good way to go. Interaction with, and feedback from, adults who are not your parent will feel very different to a child and have a different nutritional value to their psyche.
Along the way, listen to her and be prepared to follow her lead; she might take you somewhere very interesting.
Support and encourage her while keeping everything guided by her. If she is interested in learning more or training more then go for it. Reach out to a coach or club. I think the best thing to do is keep it enjoyable and not too serious (as type A triathletes tend to do).
I agree I don’t want to make it too serious. I should clarify I am not a triathlete myself. I did a mini event about 17 years ago for fun and that is the extent of my triathlon experience. I might be a bit more type A about other sports I have participated in but I am 3 months post of from an ACL reconstruction right now so I can’t do everything I usually like to do. I believe this week my physio will give me approval to jog again for the 1st time.
I’m purely interested in this as a fun, bonding activity that will get my daughter and I outdoors together do activities - swimming, cycling and running - that I know she enjoys individually. However, I really don’t know anything about triathlons. If there are specific rules RE cycling etiquitte I don’t know them. We dont have fancy bikes either (and won’t be getting them).
Is the shortest triathlon not called a mini? I’m not actually a triathlete myself so this is me trying to be led by her. I got the idea from my neighbour who was telling me her grandson is training for one with his dad.
I get what you mean by the running pace. I don’t think she has any concept of pacing herself at the moment. I know some other parents take their daughter to do ParkRun but I think jumping into a 5 km distance would completely put my daughter off of running right now. She has trialled little athletics but didn’t really like it.
We went on a trail on the weekend and she enjoyed that but I don’t find ways to keep mixing things up se will get bored for sure!
That is interesting. Being mutually inexperienced could be a cool experience. It’s also fun for kids when mom/dad is the weak link at some activity; at least it seems hilarious to everyone in my house. Just acknowledging your recent injury; no actual comment on your potential is implied. I don’t think you need to worry about etiquette or equipment or any of those details; you and your daughter would get a pass on any faux pas. And any club worth its salt would welcome you both. If she’s into it, have fun. Best wishes and please post a finish photo if it happens.
Light - she’s under 35 kg but tall. She’s probably only about 1 cm shorter than me now - around 160 cm. I’m 60 kg and usually I can carry her around pretty easily if she doesn’t wiggle too much - but right now while I am ACL rehabbing I don’t.
My daughter will LOVE kicking mum’s ass for sure! I will post a pic if I am successful in keeping her interest all the way to participating in an event. That will be worth celebrating!
Hi there! USAT coach with youth/junior certification
Age 11 is definitely still in the development/fun discovery period of a kid’s journey in triathlon with a lot of great skill building that goes well beyond swim/bike/run, so good for you to suggest right from the get-go that this be fun and bonding activity for the two of you!
Is your child goal-driven? Would signing up for an event be a thing she’d be interested in?
There are a lot of different fun combinations for multisport for a kid to try out- duathlon, splash and dash, aquabike, and triathlon. Relays are also a fun entry point where kids can team up with other similar aged kiddos or their parents/mentors.
Feel free to DM me with any questions, or even still let me know where you’re located and I can try to connect you with a local coach or club.
Fair Point! I used to pull her behind me on the bike in a Weehoo and she NEVER used her pedals to help either! She sang though - she made a cute radio!
Initially when you asked how heavy she was I thought you were suggesting I partially assist her in completing an event with me … but I think at my current pace all I’d hear would be “Hurry up mum I’m soooooo bored!”
I’m in Adelaide South Australia. I don’t see too much for kids here when searching online. What you describe sounds AWESOME! I might need to see if I can find more local parents with kids who would be interested in starting something!
I’m in Adelaide South Australia. I don’t see too much for kids here when searching online. What you describe sounds AWESOME! I might need to see if I can find more local parents with kids who would be interested in starting something!
