Youth Triathlon Turns Out To Be More Than a Race

On Sunday, i-tri held its annual Maidstone Park Youth Triathlon.

The kids — and adults — began the race with a 300-yard swim in the waters of Gardiners Bay, a seven-mile bike, and finally a 1.5-mile run. i-tri, now in its fourth year, invites students from sixth, seventh and eighth grades to train for the triathon. Students also participate in weekly self-esteem workshops, family nutrition and fitness classes and other events to educate the girls in a healthy lifestyle, and create confidence and pride.

Theresa Roden, the founder of Transformation through Triathlon, said the program is about more than a race. "It is about empowerment. It is about confidence. It is about overcoming fears and limitations and showing the world just how bright your light is," she said.

"This was evident in so many ways yesterday! Watching girls who would literally cry tears in the water out of fear of swimming do 300 yards like pros — girls who at age 13 were still unable to ride a bike set off and return as confident riders after 7 tough hilly miles," Roden said on Monday.

The "ultimate testament of i-tri in action was Tiffanie Wyche refusing to leave the side of her friend and team mate Sara Havens after a nasty spill on the bike and holding her hand to cross the finish line together," Roden said.

Here are the race results:

Top Men
1 - Thomas Brierley 36:44:41
2 - Teague Costello 36:49:78
3 - Thomas Paradiso 40:01:21

Top Women

1 - Paige Duca 41:16:99
2 - Liana Paradiso 41:22:92
3 - Maggie Purcell 43:14:78

Under 10 boys

Evan Boccia 49:17:21
Logan Gurney 52:06:61
Kevin Bunce 1:19:03.0

Under 10 girls

Isabella Tarbet 51:56:24
Alden Powers 52:21:96
Olivia Duca 1:00:51.6

11-12 boys

Ryan Bahel 48:42:77
Thomas Treadwell 49:02:42
Bear Mathews 50:50:54

11-12 girls

Julia Brierley 46:59:85
Selena Garcia-Torres 49:20:11
Evelyn Purcell 50:01:18

13-14 boys

TJ Calabrese 48:06:88
Christian Brierley 48:25:63
Josh Farahzad 53:12:15

13-14 girls

Isabella Swanson 46:30:21
Cecelia DeHavenon 47:39:90
Tali Friedman 49:12:64

15-17 girls

Abbey Roden 1:09:42.1