#CountryKids at #IronKids Bolton

When the entries opened for IronKids at Bolton this year Pippa at Red Rose Mummy suggested that I sign my kids up as she knows we love to run. It takes place before the full Iron Man triathlon when over 2,000 athletes from 38 countries around the globe will compete in the 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run. The first male Pro athlete is expected to achieve this in just over 8.5 hours! We travelled to Bolton last night to collect their race packs and meet Fred Dibnah:

After not much sleep in our hotel we were at the start line about 7:45 when the cobbles were wet and the streets were still quite quiet:

My daughter was in the second band of runners from years 7 and 8 who set off in waves on their 1.5 km run. She doesn't run as much as the rest of us and was full of cold but she looked amazing as she floated past us:

Hearing us as she came towards the finishing straight gave her a boost and she still looked strong:

It was impossible to get to the finish in time but this was her semi-official finish when she was feeling unwell due to running with a cold:

We had quite a long wait for my son's race as he is 3 school years behind. However there was plenty to cheer and see including these police officers supporting the year 5 race:

My son had decided to start in a middle wave so that he could chase down runners from previous waves! Here he is just after the start of his wave looking very determined:

By the time he came to end of his 1 km he had passed everyone in his wave and was looking strong to the finish line:

Here he is just after he had received his finishers medal:

After his finish we headed for a second breakfast like Hobbits before exploring Bolton. There was was a lot of sporting activity going on including the morphs from Greater Manchester Apprenticeship hub with their Olympics (I beat my daughter!):

It was an amazing event which I would recommend if you are in the area or near another Iron Man event!