They ran, biked and swam, but most of all they tried.
Hundreds of children and their proud parents descended on Mosgiel yesterday for the annual Weet-Bix Kids TRYathlon.
A capacity field of 1422 young athletes, aged between 7 and 15 years, took part in a swim, bike ride and run around Memorial Park in Mosgiel.
It was the first time the Dunedin event had sold out, having drawn a crowd of about 1200 last year.
The youngest children taking part yesterday tackled a 50m swim, a 4km ride and a 1.5km run, while those aged 8-10 doubled the swim component of the event to 100m.
Those aged 11-15 years swam for 150m, and doubled the bike ride to 8km, before finishing with the 1.5km run.
Among those taking part was Josh Shore, who was celebrating his 10th birthday.
Proud father Mark Shore said his youngest boy was ''pretty competitive'' and wanted to mark his birthday by taking part.
It was his third Weet-Bix Kids TRYathlon, and he and older brother Ollie (11) also took part in the Junior Challenge Wanaka.
''He just enjoys that sort of stuff.
''He went good. He enjoyed it. Him and his mate George ran together and they had a good time - loved it.''
Mr Shore said it was a ''great'' event for kids.
''It is good for all kids to get them out doing some activity, rather than sitting in front of a playstation or TV. It's cool.''
Another participant, Izaak Kinney (8), said he was taking part for the first time, but really enjoyed the run and bike legs.
His mother, Michelle Kinney, said the ''amazing'' event was a great way to encourage kids like her son to get active and ''give it a go''.
''We are proud of him,'' she said.
