A record 2,500 budding stars of the future took to Bolton town centre in the sunshine last Saturday morning to mark the start of the IRONMAN UK race weekend.
This ‘fun run’ event, which was open to children aged 3-14, was initiated by IRONMAN and Bolton Council in 2012 and has gone from strength to strength, having tripled its entries to a now 2,500 sell out.
IRONKIDS is all about encouraging kids to lead a healthy, active lifestyle and Bolton Council’s partnership with the event enables a subsidised entry, with a view to motivate as many children as possible of all levels of ability to take part.
The 3-5 year olds ran 500m (accompanied by a parent/guardian), 6-10 year olds ran 1K, 11-13 year olds 1.5K and the 14 year olds ran a 2.5K race. The largest field of entry was the 6-10 year olds with 1421 entries – with many competing from local schools, clubs either as groups or individually and with some also using the event as a way to raise funds for worthy charities.
All of the children finished under the iconic IRONMAN finish arch, with each child receiving a special commemorative IRONKIDS t-shirt and a medal after completing the race to celebrate their achievement.
Kevin Stewart, Managing Director of IRONMAN UK said, “IRONKIDS is a fantastic start to the weekend’s racing and it’s great to see so many children and their families here supporting the event. This is a perfect opportunity for kids to get into sport at an early age and we couldn’t achieve this without the support of Bolton Council.”
The development of IRONKIDS in the UK has been a key focus for the team at IRONMAN UK & Ireland.
2015 saw over 3,000 teens and tots take part in one of the three races on offer, alongside the main IRONMAN event the following day.
IRONKIDS aims to give kids aged 3-14 the opportunity to lead an active, fun and healthy lifestyle, while also enabling the whole family to feel part of the IRONMAN action. In addition to IRONKIDS UK (18 July), IRONKIDS Exmoor (27 June) and IRONKIDS Wales (12 September), 2015 also saw the introduction of an IRONKIDS run event at Staffordshire on Saturday 13 June.
www.ironkids.co.uk
www.ironmanuk.com
