THEY came as individuals, as part of a school contingent or as a family. Enthusiastic youth worked up a sweat at Sentosa for this inaugural MOE-run event for those aged 8 to 18 years.
Split into three age groups, kids aged 8-11 had to swim 100 metres (m), cycle 3 kilometres (km) and run 1 km; those in the 12-15 age group did a 200 m swim, 8 km of cycling and a 3 km run; and the 16-18 year olds swam 300 m, cycled 12 km and ran 3 km.
Emphasizing the TRY nature of the event, every finisher received a limited edition trophy.
Ten-year-old Dextor Chew from Monfort Junior related how he got involved: "My friend Ziyao signed me up. So I am here because it looks fun."
Elder brother Dextin who is part of the school badminton team at Monfort Secondary missed the chance to sign up, so he was there to support his little brother.
Their dad was all smiles and beaming with pride to be involved in his children's sporting activity as he shared, " This is our first time participating in such an event. It's new to us. But I support my sons participating in sports for fitness and health. For myself, I exercise twice a week in soccer and badminton."
Girl power!
SCGS was the biggest contingent with a total of 89 participants. Ms Fei May Bowness, who is SCGS HOD for PE, Aesthetics and CCA said: "We have 89 participants from the school comprising both the primary and secondary level. I am pleased that our girls value their health and see this as an opportunity to gear themselves up. To do this, I just had to announce and the girls registered. We try to instil in our girls the culture of sports and fitness in their life-long living. Our next event is another marathon organised by the Great Eastern where we have consistently been recognised for having the most participants. In the previous Great Eastern event, our school had 500 participants!"
SCGS Secondary 4 student Yani Perera told us that she had participated at the 2008 OSIM Triathlon and thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere and fun. So she signed up for this fun TRYathlon. Yani was there with her father who himself has a healthy and active lifestyle, playing squash and running twice weekly.
Fast runner leads the family
Another SCGS student was 9-year-old Gwendolyn who exclaimed: " I enjoy participating in Triathlon. In fact, I'm the first in the family to do it. Actually, I think I'm a talent in this aspect because I run very fast!"
Her brother, 8-year-old Kieren from Pei Chun primary was also participating. A keen young sportsman, Kieren also took part in the OSIM Triathlon 2008 where he was the youngest participant.
Both kids are active because exercise and health figure highly in their family. Dad Roy has his own hectic weekly routine which includes swimming, cycling an average of 180 km, and running between 10 to 15 km.Said Roy: "Actually I only started becoming more active through the kids. In fact, they are the ones who influenced our lifestyle...we need to keep up! Gwen has participated in the OSIM Triathlon twice, the SAAB City Duathlon, and the recent OCBC Cycle Singapore 2009."
Mum Charlotte, also looking very lean simply added, "I run with Roy but most times at such events I support and cheer them on!"
That indeed is great family support...goes a long way to cultivating a healthy and active lifestyle in the family.
Ballerinas gracing the occasion
Clarice Boo of MGS primary saw the TRYathlon poster at a bus stop, became curious and decided that she would like to experience it as a participant. But no, she wasn't going to do it alone!
And so came a team of ballerinas for the relay: Clarice herself, Charlotte Lee and Ho Ning who all attend the same ballet school.
Mr Ho Beng Kiat, father of Ho Shuen and Ho Ning modestly described himself as a recreational jogger, doing his routine thrice weekly. But it was his previous competitive sports background that led him to set a good role model for his girls. He said: "It's important that I set a good example for them as I believe that sports play a critical role in character development."
In agreement was Clarice's father Mr Calvin Boo, a member of the Joyriders who keep a weekly 40 km cycling regime. Besides that fun but hectic training, Mr Boo runs at least 10 to 20 km weekly, in addition to his regular swim routine with the children.
Mrs Lee values daughter Charlotte's active lifestyle on the track and field scene.
She said: "My busy schedule does not permit me to spend much time in sports but I support Charlotte and feel that her commitment in sports is healthy as she cannot simply progress in academics without fitness."
A balanced exercise programme contributes positively to academic progress. In an earlier story on the value of sports and exercise towards academic development, onSponge cited research that showed regular exercise tends to improve the cognitive function, increasing children's thinking ability.
For those of us who lack the motivation to exercise, participating in events like the TRYathlon injects that vital fun element spurring us on to make time for regular exercise in our lifestyle.
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