Sisters Lawson and Caroline Barrett posed with their pink bikes and coordinated helmets before they hit the closed biking course during the 2016 FirstHealth of the Carolinas Youth Triathlon.
PINEHURST – In May, FirstHealth Fitness-Pinehurst will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the annual FirstHealth of the Carolinas Youth Triathlon, an event that has attracted more than 2,000 participants over the past decade.
“Our goal with this event is to introduce children to fitness in a fun and non-competitive atmosphere that focuses on their success in completing the event rather than winning,” says Race Director Jodi Heimrich. “We have seen many children who have come back year after year and competed through all of the age divisions.”
The 2017 Youth Triathlon is scheduled for Saturday, May 13, on the campus of FirstHealth Fitness-Pinehurst. Competition will begin at 12:15 p.m. with the race for children ages 4-5. Additional races are scheduled as follows: 1 p.m., ages 6-7; 2 p.m., ages 8-9; and 3 p.m., ages 10-12.
Each leg of the closed-course race has been designed according to age-appropriate distance and will include a swim in the FirstHealth Fitness pool and a bike route using parking lots at FirstHealth Fitness and Pinehurst Surgical before concluding with a greenway trail run.
This very popular community event is supported this year by the following sponsors: Rainbow Cycles; Brixx Wood Fired Pizza; Southern Pines Ace Hardware; NuView Home Theaters and More; Benjamin Franklin Plumbing; Dr. Rick Saunders, DDS; and Rita’s Italian Ice.
“This event would not be possible without the support from our many volunteers such as the Pinecrest Football Team, Sandhills Cycling Club, Sandspurs Triathlon Club and FirstHealth Fitness members and staff,” Heimrich says.
Race registrations will be accepted through Friday, May 12, at FirstHealth Fitness-Pinehurst, 170 Memorial Drive, Pinehurst. Registration and packet pick-up will be Friday, May 12, from 5 to 7 p.m., also at the fitness center.
For more information about the 2017 FirstHealth of the Carolinas Youth Triathlon, visit www.firsthealth.org/youthtriahtlon or contact Jodi Heimrich at (910) 715-1843 or jheimrich@firsthealth.org.
