Iron Kids rule, okay?

“As the leading provider of quality dairy products from Thai farmers, Foremost is proud to encourage Thai families to drink milk and exercise regularly through our ‘Drink.Move.BeStrong’ campaign. This is now in its fourth year and proving successful in promoting healthy and active lifestyles,” said Pimjan Vimuktanonda, marketing director of FrieslandCampina (Thailand), which distributes Foremost dairy products. 
“We have prepared our chocolate-flavoured milk to give away to junior triathletes taking part in Foremost Iron Kids Thailand to keep them energised throughout the race.
“I was overjoyed to realise that I was the first in my age group to finish the race with an overall time of 49 minutes and 16 seconds. It was my first triathlon race and although I’ve been competing as a swimmer, I always felt my performance wasn’t all that good. So when I was introduced to triathlon that includes swimming in its three sports, I wanted to try and see how good I can be in this competition. I spent a few months training for the race and became aware that it demands a lot of patience and dedication: you need to be physically strong and very determined. Winning this race is a motivation for me to pursue my dream as a professional triathlete. My message to other kids who are interested in the triathlon but unsure if they can do it is just to give it a try. All it needs is effort and training,” said Punnita “Nack” Kaewjin, a Matthayom 2 student at Satriwitthaya 2 School who won the 13-14 year-old category of the triathlon.
“Our family stands by her and we encourage her to fully pursue what she loves. As parents, our concern is her health, and we always insist that she eats well because athletes need a lot of energy. We want her to have nutritious foods, such as milk, vegetables and fruits,” said Nack’s father Kittipong.
The contest now moves down south where it will be held at Thanyapura Health & Sports Resort in Phuket on November 25.
Ekkarat “Coach Ricky” Phantip, race director of Foremost Iron Kids Thailand and triathlon head coach at Thanyapura, had this to say.
“Triathlon is a challenging sport that calls for strong willpower because each triathlete has to complete three continuous and sequential sport disciplines – swimming, cycling and running. To undergo each stage, a triathlete needs to be fit and ready both physically and mentally. 
“Juniors should therefore focus on staying healthy, building their physical strength, and ensuring good basics in all the three sport disciplines in addition to following a well-planned training schedule. However, physical ability alone doesn’t guarantee that one can be a successful triathlete; the determination and mental stamina to push back one’s limits are also key to success.”
Triathlon training for junior athletes should be enjoyable to make sure that the kids don’t feel too stressed. However, the training programme should be based on sports science, too. For example, focus should be given to speed training rather than covering extreme distance because physical overexertion in kids can have adverse effects on their bone and muscle development. 
Continuous training should be given across swimming, cycling and running with three sessions per week and special attention to posture control and speed. Each training week should include at least one or two rest days. As for training distance, the ideal range varies according to the sport discipline and age of each youngster. 
Junior triathletes must also work on building up bone and muscular strength through three meals a day and a daily portion of milk. Milk is not just a complete source of nutrients. It is also rich in proteins, which are essential nutrients for athletes because the body absorbs proteins to restore itself and rebuild broken down muscle tissues.
A non-negligible precaution for parents is the safety of their children. Junior triathletes should never be left to train on their own or without supervision of a coach or trainer. Besides, protective gear and prevention measures should be used while training and competing because accidents and injuries are unpredictable, such as muscle cramp while swimming or running and accidents during the cycling stage.
Kids can enrol for the next round of the “Foremost Iron Kids Thailand” at Thanyapura Health & Sports Resort in Phuket by logging on to http://2017.ironkidsthai.com.