I have this friend who just started racing triathlons. She is 8 years old and already crushing it.

A friends of mine, Doug, has a few kids the youngest being his daughter Maddie. I got to know her quite well during our 5 hour car ride down to Eagleman in June. She got to see Doug and I complete a Half Ironman, which I think fueled even further her desire to keep training! I promised her a chance to guest blog on Beyond Defeat and so without further adieu, here s Maddie’s recap of the Lake George Triathlon.

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This week, I took a mini vacation with my family – my sister Hailey, my Stepmom Danika, my Dad Doug, and my dog Bishop. We drove upstate to South Glens Falls, NY (where Danika is from) and stayed with family friends.

The night before, I was very excited for my race. For dinner we had tacos, which were delicious! I went to bed early and made sure I got a lot of rest. I woke up in the morning and saw the sun, so I got up and cuddled with my dog for a little bit. Then I ate Fruity Pebbles for breakfast. I watched TV for a little while & then at 11am, we left to head up to Lake George. When we got there, we walked over to the table and checked-in. This year I got to pick out the color of my swim cap – I was really excited because I got to pick a pink one! Once I had my race packet, I went over to the water and dipped my feet in to see how the water felt. It was a little cold so I kept walking back in to try to get used to the water before the race.

About 15 minutes before the start of the race, I went into transition to set up my area. I put down my towel and folded it. I put my sneakers, water, and clothes in a corner so I could get my towel easily. Then I put on my swim cap and goggles and walked over to listen to the Race Director. He told us about our waves and the race course. I was in the first wave, which was kids ages 9 and under.

At 12pm we walked over to the Lake where the race started. There were a lot of people there to cheer us on. I felt good and very excited. The Director counted backwards from ten and when he got to one, we started swimming really fast.

There were four people ahead of me when I came out of the water. So I ran really fast and passed three of those people on the way to the transition area. There was one girl in front of me. She got into transition at the same time as me. She got her goggles and swim cap off faster than me and she took off really fast. So then I took off fast. In the middle of the run, my neck started to hurt. I kept running as fast as I could but my legs were really, really tired. I saw the other girl go through the finish line first.

Then I saw my family cheering for me and I felt a little bit stronger and went a little faster and then I passed the finish line second.

I was coughing and my stepmom told me to relax and stretch out the cramp in my neck/arm. I got my medal and then my Dad, Danika, and Hailey and me all went to Mr. Bills for lunch. I got French fries and a bacon cheeseburger. It was really good but I got ketchup on my new race t-shirt and my Dad said “Well, you will always remember that you went to Mr. Bills after your race.” Then we went home so I could play in the pool.

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Killer work Maddie! Second Place overall is pretty amazing. I look forward to the day (probably 10 years from now when your Dad and I are geezers) that you pass us in a race.