MOCO Multisport Motivates Kids to Explore the Sport of Triathlon

When North Potomac resident D.J. McKenna signed on to help Montgomery County Multisport (MOCO Multisport) run its first kids triathlon, she didn't know she would have so much fun in the process.

MOCO Multisport is a local triathlon club dedicated to “promoting the multi-sport lifestyle and providing opportunities for local athletes to compete, train and socialize.” 

When club members decided to sponsor a kids triathlon, McKenna and fellow resident Lisa Reichmann volunteered to co-chair the event, which took place this past Sunday, Sept. 18, at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Recreational Park in Silver Spring.

McKenna was excited for the opportunity to introduce kids to a different sport and show them just how fun triathlons can be. Somewhat new to the sport, McKenna calls herself a recreational athlete who started getting involved in triathlons just a few years ago at the urging of her sister, a competitive triathlete.

“Most of the kids and many of the parents are new to triathlon,” said McKenna, “and we wanted to give them a fun introduction to the sport.”

Fun, too, was the excitement that a kids triathlon was bringing to the MOCO Multisport members and local triathletes who were looking forward to finally having a race in their own backyard.

Triathlon is three races in one: swimming, cycling and running. Finding the right venue for all the events proved to be the biggest challenge facing the planning committee.  

“It took almost three months to find a pool/park combination that would let us run the [triathlon],” said McKenna.

However, finding young triathletes was not so difficult. By race time, MOCO Multisport had 98 registered participants.

The goal for this Sunday’s race was to make it fun for the kids and keep it at a level they could finish, so each participant was awarded a medal for taking part in the competition.

And part of keeping it fun for the kids involved being flexible. On race day, the outdoor pool’s water temperature was about 70 degrees.

“Since the weather wasn’t so warm, I decided to make the swim optional…and about half of the kids that showed up did the swim,” said McKenna.

Nine-year-old North Potomac resident Maeve Smith submitted the winning T-shirt design in a promotional contest by one of the race’s sponsors, Fleet Feet Sports. Other event sponsors were Run Farther and Faster and All-American Bicycle Center.  

MOCO Multisport’s first kids triathlon was more than fun, it was a success. Triathlete parent Melissa Nagy said, “This was a great experience for children and families.”

McKenna recalled, “The most rewarding part was looking out at all the young faces while I was doing the pre-race briefing and realizing that they were all there because of all the hard work we had put in, and that they were about to experience a triathlon, most of them for the first time. It actually choked me up a little.”