This year Dundurn School’s triathlon contained an extra element of fun: mud.
It’s what covered many of the 180 kids by the time they completed Dundurn School’s sixth annual triathlon held June 20 at Blackstrap Provincial Park.
They had to splash, spin and dash through a steady downpour. Although there were some shivers at the start, before they got going, after they had warmed up with the exertion most were happy, enjoying an after-competition hotdog, watermelon and Booster Juice.
“Yeah, it was fun. Yeah, it was muddy,” says Will Gogel, Grade 6 student, as he patiently answers an obvious question. He is covered in mud.
“I wiped out 20 times,” he says.
Answering another question, he say he’s not going into the nearby lake like hoards of other students to wash his mud encrusted clothes and skin.
It’s obvious that his mom, who stands next to him, has other plans.
The triathlon was a welcome event this spring. It was great to see that steady rain that has put a damper on most outdoor sports and caused the cancellation of countless baseball, soccer and football games enhanced Dundurn School’s major sporting event.
Besides nearly 200 participants, it takes countless volunteers, about 100 of them, to ensure it is fun, successful and safe.
It was a community effort with school staff, friends, family, Hanley Composite School’s Grade 9s, Blackstrap’s First Responders and members from CFB Dundurn all pitching in for the cause.
At the start kids waited under large tents set up by the military to shelter them from the elements.
It was easy to motivate children, despite the pouring rain.
Before giving the command for the Grade 1s to start the triathlon, Kirsten Lester, emcee and Dundurn School’s vice principal, encouraged the kids from grades one to six gathered on the main beach.
“Who wants to get wet today?” she asked. The question was rhetoric because thanks to the steady rain, getting wet was unavoidable.
“Who wants to get muddy today?” Lester continued and earned an outpouring of loud cheers.
“Who wants to do extra laundry tonight?” she asked. All the moms groaned.
Then Dundurn School’s triathlon got underway with a splash, a spin and a dash.

To read more please see the June 30 print edition of The Davidson Leader.