Teenage triathletes train around town

• Teenage triathletes

Eleven New Life Academy students, one sibling and several parents will be competing in the Life Time Minneapolis Triathlon July 9 at Lake Nokomis in Minneapolis.

Talk about it

A group of New Life Academy students will be hitting the track for the Life Time Minneapolis Triathlon on July 9 at Lake Nokomis in Minneapolis.

A total of 11 New Life Academy freshmen – Kyle Linton, Tom Hunt, Chloe Westhund, Miranda Lockner, Sarah Rahimi, Molly Saum, Hailey Brumley, Emily Bolduan, Reagan Rice, Aislinn Kavanagh and Natalie Hager – and one sibling – Nicole Hager – will be competing in the event this year as part of the newly formed North American Junior Invitational.

A total of six parents will also compete in the triathlon.

“Our hope this year is that everyone can cross the finish line,” said Jenny Hager, one of the parents competing in the triathlon.

The triathlon includes a quarter-mile swim, a 15-mile bike ride and a 3.1-mile run.

An inspiring team

Many in this year’s triathlon group competed in the triathlon last year, but with other adults, but this year Life Time approached NLA about starting a teenage division.

“(Life Time) were inspired by this group of kids to get more teenagers involved,” Jenny Hager said.

The North American Junior Invitational will be a race within the whole triathlon event but will be strictly reserved for racers ages 12 to 17.

Individual age group and team awards will all be presented.

In addition to NLA, Jenny Hager said she knows a team from Canada will be competing as well.

“I want to beat Canada,” Lockner said.

Jenny Hager said she is very impressed that so many NLA students stepped up to participate in the triathlon.

“This is like one-sixth of their class,” she said.

Additionally, the students’ involvement has prompted other family members to participate.

“The kids have motivated family members,” Jenny Hager said. “Its been spreading through families and they’ve been getting families excited about it.”

Training for the triathlon

The NLA team began training for the triathlon in February of this year by biking, running or swimming for about an hour-and-a-half each week.

As their training progressed, the team moved up to four our five hours per week.

“They are having to squeeze in four to five hours of cardio into their days,” Jenny Hager said. “They are definitely having to manage a lot to put their hours in.”

Jenny Hager said she has enjoyed seeing how creative the team has gotten with when to get their training in.

“Most of their social time is spent training since it’s always on your mind,” she said. “I’ve really enjoyed seeing the kids do a healthy thing when they’re hanging out.”

Brumley said the training schedule has definitely helped her manage her time better.

Even though the triathlon is what the students are working toward, Jenny Hager said the most important part of the triathlon is the training that everyone must go through leading up to it.

“The whole purpose of the training schedule is to get them to be disciplined while sticking with a schedule,” she said. “It’s a great lesson in discipline and that’s what we want to instill in the kids.

“The actual race day is the reward of the hard work and time you put into it.”

Many of the students agree that the training is much more challenging than the actual triathlon.

“I feel like the training is actually harder than the actual triathlon,” Lockner said, “so the triathlon is kind of like the cherry on top.”

A great experience

All of the NLA students agreed that the triathlon is a great experience since it is both fun and healthy.

“I love the feeling of accomplishment you get when you cross the finish line,” Natalie Hager said.

Brumley and Rahimi said they appreciate the healthy lifestyle training for the triathlon brings with it.

“Being able to get in shape is a super good reward,” Brumley said.

“The triathlon kind of gives you a good lifestyle for the future too,” Rahimi said.

All of the NLA team said they want to make the triathlon a tradition.

“We show that kids can do this too,” Lockner said, “not just adults.”

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