Saturday Duathlon a fun early morning event at the festival

[September 16, 2024]   On Saturday, September 14th, the third annual kids’ duathlon was held at the Courthouse Square in Mt. Pulaski. This run started at 9 a.m. as part of the Mt. Pulaski Fall Festival. The weather was nice for this event, not yet being as warm as it would become in the afternoon.

The kids were split into two groups at the starting line. Fourth grade and older went first, with anyone younger going next. The kids lined up on their bikes and waited in anticipation for the race to begin. The winners in each group were to receive a gift card. These gift cards were donated by the Mt. Pulaski Teacher’s Union.

Once the race began, the kids took off, biking down West Cooke Street and making a right onto South Marion Street. The kids then went down to the end of the block, making another right onto West Jefferson Street. Once the kids came back up to the Courthouse Square, they would make another right onto South Washington Street. Finally, the kids would make one final right back onto West Cooke Street, where they would park their bikes in a designated area and complete the lap again, but this time while running.

Shortly after the older group of kids began, the younger kids were lined up and began their race. The kids all tried their hardest. Some sprinted as fast as they could during the running portion, while others took their time, trying to conserve energy to get all the way around.

Things got a bit chaotic at the end, with kids crossing the finish line from both the older group and younger group. The race coordinators ended up figuring out who had won each race, but stated they would make sure that does not happen again next year. All-in-all, the kids appeared to have a great time regardless.

[Matt Boutcher]