C3 Kinetico’s Kids of Steel race is just five weeks away

April 17, 2013 · 0 Comments

For more than 13 years, C3 and Kinetico have put on Canada’s largest kids’ youth triathlon in Caledon.
The 2013 version is coming up the last Sunday of May (May 26).
“The C3 Kinetico Caledon Kids of Steel Triathlon has been a labour of love by many of the community’s great volunteers and we are very excited that the 2013 version is just around the corner,” said race director Stewart Barclay.
Kids of Steel is now 28-years-old. It was started in Hamilton by Caledon Olympic coach Barrie Shepley.
“I remember being concerned that triathlon had lots of opportunities for adults, but no opportunities for children and teenagers when I came up with the idea of Kids of Steel,” Shepley commented.
The first year, Shepley helped start events in places like Leamington, Windsor, Collingwood, Hamilton and a small lake-side community called Sharbot Lake (near Kingston). In that very first summer, a 12-year-old Simon Whitfield went to Sharbot Lake and Canada’s triathlon history was changed forever.
“We were so lucky that a motivated Simon Whitfield would show up in Sharbot Lake and be introduced to the sport, and fall in love with it,” Shepley said.
Whitfield spent his teenage years racing Kids of Steel Triathlons before going on to win the inaugural Olympic Games Gold Medal for Triathlon in Sydney in 2000.
“Simon single handedly made doing triathlons cool back in 2000 and our C3 Kinetico Race was started 13 years ago to celebrate Simon’s gold-medal victory,” Shepley observed.
The 2013 event will take place all day at the Caledon Village Pool on Kennedy Road. All participants swim in the local pool and bike and run in the local neighborhood.
“There is no safer race course in the country and we are one of the few races that have a 3-to-6 year old mini-tri category,” Barclay said.
Children can race in the event as individuals or participate on a three-person relay team. As well, C3 has an adult triathlon wave, where parents and local community members can get a chance to participate in the mini-race within an hour or so of the young kids. The adults go in the morning and the younger kids go in the afternoon.
Details about the May 26 C3 Kinetico Kids of Steel registration and the eight-week Kids of Steel youth training nights are on the C3 website at www.c3online.ca/kids.shtml