More than 200 middle school girls from across Long Island are expected to participate in the Hamptons Youth Triathlon on Saturday, July 12, as i-tri marks the 16th season of its program in Sag Harbor.
The event includes a 1.5-mile run, 6-mile bike ride and 300-yard open-water swim. Registration is available online or on-site on race day for girls ages 10 to 17. The triathlon begins at 7:30 a.m. at Foster Memorial Beach, 1000 Noyack-Long Beach Road. A rain date is set for Sunday, July 13.
“This is a big year for us. We just celebrated our sweet 16 with the gala, and this will be our sweet 16 race,” said i-tri founder and Chief Visionary Officer Theresa Roden. “Our kids have been working very hard, and we’re looking forward to welcoming some other kids to come out and race with us.”
Roden, a mother from East Hampton, launched the program after completing the Block Island Triathlon in 2007 in her 30s.
“After a lifetime of very negative self-talk, [I found] that setting a goal as big as something like doing a triathlon, that I couldn’t continue to berate myself and succeed. So, I used tools like positive affirmations and visualization and a growth mindset to get me to the finish line of my own triathlon,” she told South Shore Press.
When her daughter entered middle school, Roden decided to apply lessons from her own triathlon experience to help students at this formative stage—grades six through eight—build the skills to overcome challenges.
The program began in 2010 at Springs School in East Hampton with 10 girls and has since expanded from Mastic to Montauk, with more than 1,600 participants crossing the finish line, according to Roden.
Today, as many as 13 middle schools participate, and students begin training together in February. Some participants learn to ride a bicycle for the first time in the program. Each student also receives swimming instruction in preparation for the open-water swim, Roden said.
“This season we’re working with 200 some girls in sixth, seventh and eight grades, and we also have several alums of the program, who are now coaching with us, which is phenomenal,” she said.
Before training begins, few participants have the confidence to say they can complete a youth-distance triathlon. Over the course of the program, as camaraderie develops, many gain confidence, Roden said.
The program provides participants with the goal of completing a triathlon along with resources, equipment and support, Roden said. None of the girls pay for the training, which costs i-tri approximately $2,500 per participant. Fundraising and website donations cover the expenses. Roden said i-tri plans to expand beyond the Hamptons to the Bronx.
Roden said individual success stories include girls who become congressional interns or graduate nursing school early, reflecting the program’s tagline, “transformation through triathlon.”
She also said triathlon training gives participants a break from their cell phones and helps them form friendships.
“What we heard so much coming out of COVID is that we all, and kids especially, were missing connection, and even though we think we’re all connected via social media, we’re more disconnected than ever,” Roden said.
For more information about the race and how to participate, visit https://itrigirls.org.