A young girl smiles as she runs the final leg to the finish in Killington’s inaugural Duathlon.
KILLINGTON — The inaugural Killington Duathlon took place this past holiday weekend, hosted by the Killington Parks and Recreation Department. The Johnson Recreation Center provided a perfect spot to hold the swim-run event: the River Road Loop trail made the run much more interesting for the runners and the pool is on site.
The first place finisher in the female division was Taylor Blodorn with a final time of 41.04. The first place male finisher was Marco Svoren with a time of 42.05.
Because the event included swimming, Rec. Director Kim Peters hosted nearly a dozen training sessions, which included swim lessons, swim training, and running. The training sessions had about ten kids in attendace ranging from ages 7-15. Training for an event with a group rather than by themselves makes the training much more fun and creates a supportive environment for the young athletes, Peters said. She was very proud of the athletes who committed their time to the training sessions and competed in this event. In particular, three of the participants could not complete the 500-yard swim in early August, but their dedication to the training gave them the confidence to complete the swimming portion of the duathlon, she noted.
In addition, many of the athletes made a personal goal to run the 5k (3.1 miles) without stopping, which they did, she added. All of the athletes have now competed in and completed their first duathlon and are now ready to add biking to the event next year to will make it a triathlon, Peters said.
“It is important for kids to create a goal, work hard to achieve that goal, and then set new goals,” said Peters. Be sure to look for the event next year with free training dates.
Courtesy of Killington Parks and Recreation
