Kawakawa's Ethan Pickford, 12, finishes his run in style at last year's Fireco Kai Iwi Lakes Triathlon. Photo / Jason Milich
Kawakawa's Ethan Pickford, 12, finishes his run in style at last year's Fireco Kai Iwi Lakes Triathlon. Photo / Jason Milich
Happy New Year to everyone – here's hoping you have had an active holiday season and have considered how you might challenge yourself with some fitness goals for 2020.
New Year's resolutions are sometimes hastily made and therefore often not fulfilled. So instead of making daunting or unrealistic resolutions, why not set some reasonable goals and take action to achieving those objectives and put yourself on a consistent path for the year?
A great way to keep yourself motivated and active is to commit to an event.
The first event of the year for Sport Northland is the annual Fireco Kai Iwi Lakes Triathlon on Saturday, February 22. Based at Kai Iwi Lakes, this event features two children's events and three adult distances.
Competitors race into the water at the start of the short course 350-metre swim event at Kai Iwi Lakes last year. Photo / Jason Milich
The Splash & Dash is new to 2020, featuring a shallow swim where kids can touch the bottom if they need to, then follows a short run along the lakefront. Children do not need to be able to swim and parents can accompany their child if they wish.
There is also a Try a Tri teams event for children. Teams are limited to a maximum of two participants, with one team member completing the swim, one completing the bike and then both completing the run together.
New this year for adults is the Try a Tri which is targeted at novice athletes who are wanting to try a triathlon but want to ease their way into it.
The Kai Iwi Lakes is a fresh water lake making this an ideal swim for those who are not fans of the open ocean. Distances are a 100m swim, a 9km cycle and a 2km run.
Then there is the Short Course Tri and Sprint + Tri which are both available for those triathletes looking for that extra distance.
Once again, Sport Northland also has a fantastic run/walk series available to the people of Northland in 2020. These events are a great way to challenge and motivate yourself by giving a purpose to your training.
Al Weatherdale completes his second half marathon at one of the many run/walk events last year. Photo / File
Every run/walk event you participate in puts you in the draw to win a Suzuki Swift sponsored by Pacific Motor Group. The more events you do, the more entries you get towards winning the car.
Our first event in the run/walk series on Sunday, March 15 sees one of the bigger events on our calendar being held – the Chilltech Beach 2 Basin.
Started by Athletics Whangārei in 1978 with a couple of hundred competitors, the Chilltech Beach 2 Basin has grown into a very popular event attracting over 2000 participants each year.
Tegan Capp, (left) Rachel Cowey and Fran Lawrence were crowned best fancy dress winners at last year's Beach 2 Basin. Photo / Jason Milich
Competitors can run, fast walk, casual walk or pram stroll either the 10km or 6.8km course. Once again the event will incorporate the two new bridges on the Hātea Loop (Te Matua ā Pohe and the Kotuitui Whiti Foot Bridge).
The event gets great support from schools in particular, with students often entering as a team and getting right into the spirit of the day by dressing up and enjoying themselves en route to the finish.
