The program provides swim, bike, run and transition training to athletes who will be racing at the Woody's Triathlon.  All sessions take place at the Michener Aquatic Center and are run by experienced coaches and a large number of volunteers.  Parent volunteers are also crucial to this program, so please let us know if you are able to help... no experience required! 

The goal of these triathlon training clinics is to introduce and expand swim, bike, run and transition skills needed to complete a triathlon. Areas of focus will include:

• Introduction to triathlon racing, rules and terms

• Swim skills and endurance

• Bike handling

• Running skills and endurance

• Transition from swim to bike and bike to run

• Meeting new friends and having FUN!

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Please note that for insurance purposes, all participants must be registered in the 2020 Woody's Triathlon or sign a waiver at each training session.  NO EXCEPTIONS!

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Dates:

• Sunday April 19 - First swim training CANCELLED

• Sunday April 26 - Swim training CANCELLED

• Sunday May 3 - Swim training

• Sunday May 10 - Swim training & First Bike/run/transition training

• Sunday May 17 - May Long NO TRAINING

• Sunday May 24 - Swim training & Bike/run/transition training

• Sunday May 31 - Aquathlon (simulated race with swim and run portions)

• Sunday June 7 - Swim training & Bike/run/transition training

• Sunday June 14 - Last swim training & Bike/run/transition training

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Schedule:

• 5-7 year olds will swim from 11am to 12 noon. Once the outdoor training starts, they will be outside doing bike/run training from 9:30am to about 10:30am, then have about 30 minutes to have a snack and get changed for swimming at 11am.

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• 8-11 year olds will swim from 10am to 11am. Once the outdoor training starts, they will be outside doing bike/run training from 11:30am to about 1:00pm. This will give them about 30 minutes to get out of the pool, get changed, have a snack, and start bike/run training at 11:30am.

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• 12-15 year olds will swim from 9am to 10am. There is no weekly bike/run/transition training for this age group for this year. A one-time transition clinic will be held Saturday June 1 at 10:30am.

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• 16-19 year olds (Junior Sprint) may join in the swimming from 9am to 10am. There is no outdoor bike/run training for this group. They can attend the adult transition clinic on Saturday June 1 at 8:30am.

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Location:
Training sessions are located at the Michener Centre in Red Deer. Swim training happens at the Michener pool and the bike/run training happens in the Michener Curling Rink parking lot and on the streets around the Michener grounds.

       
Parking:
Please park your vehicle in the lot East of the pool. This will leave space in the curling rink parking lot for the training.

Things to Bring:
Swimming: Swim suit, goggles, swim cap (good to practice as ALL racers need wear one during the race), towel, change of clothes. Life jackets are available for young swimmers.

Bike/Run: a properly sized bike and bike helmet, running shoes, water bottle, extra towel for transition practice, extra layers for colder days, and a snack if doing both swim and bike/run training.

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Fees:
Swim training costs $5 per athlete per session. This helps cover the cost of renting the pool. Bike/run/transition training is provided free of charge.

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Swim Coaches:
Our swim coordinator is Kevin Hesterman. If you have any questions or comments please see Kevin at the pool sessions or email him here. 

We have paid and unpaid coaches in the pool. Our paid coaches include experienced competitive swim coaches as well as highly trained competitive swimmers and triathletes. Our unpaid coaches are volunteer high school students and parents like yourselves.

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Bike/Run Coaches:
Our bike/run coordinator is Kevin Hesterman. If you have any questions or comments please see Kevin at the bike/run sessions or email him at woodystriathlontraining@gmail.com. Our volunteer coaches are experienced competitive triathletes and parents like yourselves.

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Parent Volunteers:
We are lucky to have such enthusiastic parents that bring their kids to Woody’s triathlon training and the Kids of Steel race. Many of you are triathletes, swimmers, bikers, and runners yourselves. To ensure the safety of all our athletes, we will ask for volunteers to help in the pool, biking along with a group on the triathlon course, or helping set up or take down our transition area. No experience is necessary. Please remember we cannot hold these training sessions without parent support!  Parent volunteer sign up click here.

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Aquathlon:
Our aquathlon this year is on Sunday, May 31. An aquathlon is a swim followed by a run. Racers will swim and run the same distances as on race day based on their age group. All athletes must register in advance for this event here. Please note there will be no formal swim or bike/run training on this day.
Registration info can be found on the website. For questions about the aquathlon please contact Kevin Hesterman at woodystriathlontraining@gmail.com. This is a great race simulation for all our athletes. Plus it gives parents an idea of their child’s estimated
swim times. These swim times should be as accurate as possible for race day to keep the heats organized. Swim time changes can be made up until June 14, 2019 and should be emailed to swim.woodystriathlon@gmail.com.