A decades-long tradition continued over the weekend, as hundreds of children ran, swam and cycled as part of the Weet-Bix Kiwi Kids TRYathlon.
Conditions were perfect for the event, which took place at the Taieri College grounds in Mosgiel yesterday.
Sanitarium national marketing manager Peter Davis said the turnout of nearly 1000 participants was the biggest in years.
"We’ve had a few interrupted years with Covid-19, so we’re really excited to have all the kids back again.
"The secret of its success is that any child can do it, and when they’ve done so, they feel they’ve really achieved something."
Participants aged 6 to 15 were eligible for the event, which featured a 50m to 150m swim at the college pool, a 4km to 8km cycle around the streets surrounding Taieri College and a 1.5km run around the school field.
"There are always participants who train a lot for this — we do get excited about the ones who train for it, get active and then stay active."
Parent Kim Jellie, whose son, Archie, 7, was participating for the first time, said she remembered taking part when she was at primary school in 1996 and 1997, when she was at St John’s Girls’ School in Invercargill .
"It was held in St Clair in Dunedin. I don’t think it was as big as it is now.
"I remember running in the sand."
Her son was absolutely stoked to complete the course yesterday, Mrs Jellie said.
"A few weeks ago, I showed him a little bit about the event, and he was excited to hear that everyone who finishes gets a medal."
St Francis Xavier School pupil Annemijn Kelderman, 10, of Dunedin, was among the participants yesterday.
She had been practising for several weeks.
"It was really fun, but a relief to finish," Annemijn said.
"Set a goal, try to achieve it and know that it’s OK as long as you take part."
Mr Davis said the Weet-Bix Kiwi Kids TRYathlon had existed for more than 30 years.
"We want to see kids make decisions about a healthy future, and that can start with feeling great about doing something like this once, and then wanting to do more of it."
