All Are Winners At Children’s Event

Thu., Aug. 1, 1996

Marianne Love Correspondent

Everyone gets a medal.

Everyone gets a T-shirt.

No one loses.

And parents should love it.

That’s the plan when youngsters ages 7 to 14 get together Saturday, Aug. 10 for the Fifth Annual Coeur d’Alene Youth Triathlon at Sta-Fit Athletic Club.

“They still compete really hard,” race organizer Cynthia Taggart says. “But we quit timing it because the kids have a lot more fun.”

Racers can pick up their race packets following a pre-race meeting at 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 9 in the grassy park area on Sherman Ave. and Lake Coeur d’Alene Drive.

Anyone unable to attend the pre-race meeting should call Taggart at 765-7128 days or 667-3046 evenings.

The race starts at 8 a.m.

Youngsters will compete in two age groups. Competitors in the 7- to 9-year-old category will swim 100 yards in the Sta-Fit pool, bike 4 miles along the Centennial Trail and Lake Coeur d’Alene Drive and run a half-mile along Mullan, 19th and 21st streets.

Participants in the 10-14 age group will swim 200 yards at Sta-Fit, pedal 6 miles along the Centennial Trail and run 1-1/2 miles.

Participants in both age groups will be bused from the Sta-Fit pool to the transition zones.All competitors will receive fresh fruit and drinks at the end of the race.

An awards ceremony following the event is scheduled in the park at Sherman and Lake Coeur d’Alene Drive.

The top three male and female finishers in each age group will receive medals. Every competitor will take home a finisher’s medal and a race T-shirt.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: DIRECTOR STEPS DOWN This will be Cynthia Taggart’s last year as race director. “It’s time to shift to something new,” she said. Taggart’s daughters, Lindsay and Megan, both participated in past events but have surpassed the age limit. “I hope someone else with kids 7 or 8 will step forward to do it,” she said. “I’ve never had a bad experience. Parents are just great.”

This sidebar appeared with the story: DIRECTOR STEPS DOWN This will be Cynthia Taggart’s last year as race director. “It’s time to shift to something new,” she said. Taggart’s daughters, Lindsay and Megan, both participated in past events but have surpassed the age limit. “I hope someone else with kids 7 or 8 will step forward to do it,” she said. “I’ve never had a bad experience. Parents are just great.”