Triathlete starts career on right foot
August 21, 2008
By Ari Cetron
Ethan Fenick’s first race raised funds for medical research
Ethan Fenick, center in goggles, competed in his first triathlon to help raise money for medical research. Photo contributed
Six-year-old Ethan Fenick has some advice for budding triathletes.
“It’s not as hard as you think,” he said.
Fenick would know, having just competed in a triathlon sponsored by the Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason Medical Center.
“He’s pretty proud of himself,” said Eileen Fenick, Ethan’s mother.
For Ethan, the July 20 race at Seattle’s Seward Park was about more than having fun.
The race was also a fund-raising event for autoimmune disease research of type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis.
Ethan’s grandparents have diabetes. His run was, in part, to help them.
“They were proud of me,” he said.
Ethan enjoys running, swimming and biking, so the race was a natural fit for him. However, the triathlon was Ethan’s first, so he hadn’t quite worked out all the bugs in the transitions.
“I swam with my sandals on and ran with my bike helmet on,” he said.
The run was the hardest part, Ethan said, since he was tired from the swim and bike ride.
Ethan participated in a children’s-length triathlon, called Splashers, in this race.
The children swam 50 yards, biked one mile and ran 0.2 miles.
In his race, Ethan said he walked along the shallow part of the water, since it wasn’t deep enough for swimming.
Ethan finished seventh out of 95 contestants in 7 minutes, 7 seconds, a pace his mother found difficult to manage.
“That’s why we don’t have many pictures. We couldn’t keep up with him,” she said.
The event overall featured adult-length sprint triathlons, team races and another, longer children’s race. Organizers say they saw about 2,500 participants with more than 350 children. The event raised about $20,000.
Ethan doesn’t do anything specific to train, although his family does sometimes go on bike rides through the trails at Marymoor Park.
He has two younger brothers – Noah, 4 and Liam, 2 – but while the boys are competitive, Eileen Fenick said she does not allow them to compete with each other.
“If they want to compete, they have to run a race,” she said.
She also said she likes having them compete in events such as this one, where the children can learn to participate in events that have a greater cause.
“I’m trying to get them to do the feel-good things,” she said.
Ethan enjoyed racing to help his grandparents, he said, and he’s ready for another race.
“They should have more kid’s triathlons,” he said.
Editor Ari Cetron can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 233, or samrev@isspress.com.
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