A Weekend in Greenville + Strong Kids Triathlon

What a weekend!!! We spent our long Labor Day weekend in Greenville, South Carolina and it was a memorable one from start to finish. After our oldest boys loved the Strong Kids Triathlon last year so much, we knew we wanted to make a long weekend of the event again this year and recruited friends to join in on the fun with our crew this year.

We arrived in Greenville on Saturday in the late afternoon and quickly checked into our hotel before making our way to Falls Park where large rocks in the water tempted our boys and they immediately joined all of the other kids for some rock-hopping and water play. You know how this ended, right?

Two of our three boys ended up soaked but happy and after a quick change back at our hotel we were back in action and ready for more exploring!

We booked a room at the Grand Bohemian Lodge thanks to a generous gift certificate Ryan received from his coworkers for Christmas last year and our hotel location could not have been more perfect. The hotel was also one of the most stunning hotels I’ve ever stayed in and the location made it so easy for our family to pop in and out of the hotel and walk almost everywhere.

Prior to our visit to Greenville, we read about “Mice on Main,” a scavenger hunt of sorts along Main Street in downtown Greensville. Our boys loved searching for the nine bronze mini mice statues hidden along the street and tucked into secret little spots. We actually popped into the Greenville Visitor’s Center before beginning our hunt which was a worthwhile stop, as the kind man working there gave us a helpful clue sheet and activity booklets for the boys.

Pair a bunch of bronze mice statues with candy and ice cream shops and an adorable toy store along Main Street and the time we spent meandering along Main Street was fun for all of us! (For anyone who may find themselves in Greenville with kids, O.P. Taylor’s toy shop is definitely worth a stop if you have kids. It feels like shops dedicated to selling only toys are a thing of the past and this one is such a gem.)

Eventually my friend Lauren called to let me know their family had arrived in Greenville as well. We quickly made a game-time decision to pick up a bunch of pizzas for our families to eat at Falls Park so the kids could continue their outside playtime along the rocks which was basically all they wanted to do!

We rounded out our evening with a big group trip to Jenni’s for ice cream before calling it a night a little before 10 p.m.

Sunday

You would think a late night would mean our kids might sleep in but that’s a pipe dream for our kids and our whole crew was up by 6:30 a.m. on Sunday, well before anything in the area was open. I made myself coffee in the hotel room; they had Nespresso pods which honestly were pretty fantastic for hotel room coffee!

Eventually we found a little donut shop that was open nice and early and walked to HenDough from our hotel.

The donuts were okay (I think this spot is more known for their fried chicken and biscuits) but the real gem was the location, as it was located within Gather, an outdoor food hall of sorts with plenty of room for the kids to run around. I have a feeling this spot is really popular in the afternoon and evenings!

We then walked along the Swamp Rabbit trail (beautiful and clearly popular!) to the Greenville Zoo, a small local zoo we enjoyed visiting last year as well.

It’s a quick stop (the entire zoo is basically a one-mile loop) and once we were done, we walked back to our hotel, ate lunch in our room using food we packed from home and then drove over to Unity Park to meet up with friends for some afternoon playtime.

I am kicking myself for not taking pictures during our time at Unity Park but the park is truly epic for kids!!! It’s big, clean and very unique with an awesome playground, large splash pad, plenty of trails and open play areas as well as The Commons located nearby which is basically a large warehouse that’s home to a food hall and retail spaces.

Our kids were super sweaty after running around at the park so we eventually took my friend Pamela up on her parents’ invitation to their community pool where our kids all swam and had fun jumping off the diving boards!

After pool time, we headed over to the Prisma Heath Family YMCA to pick up our race packets for the kids’ triathlon the next day.

At this point, it was clear our kids were running out of steam so we figured we should call it an early night and opted to grab burgers and a selection of desserts from Carmella’s to eat back in our hotel room. The boys were all fast asleep by 8 p.m.!

Monday: Race Day!!

Monday was race day! Everyone was up by 6:15 a.m. and race day energy was high. We ate breakfast in our room before checking out of our hotel and driving to the YMCA to check in, pick up chip timers, get the boy’s marked up with their race numbers, and set up their bikes, shoes and water bottles in the transition area.

I said this last year and I’ll say it again — this race is SO well done. I cannot even imagine all of the logistics that go into planning a children’s triathlon with 300+ young participants. Despite construction all over the YMCA’s parking lot this year, the event ran seamlessly from start to finish.

Kinder-Tri Race

The Kinder-Tri kicked off at 8:30 a.m. and this is the race the younger members of our crew did together that included a 25 yard swim, one mile bike and a quarter mile run.

The Kinder-Tri changed a little this year for the better. Parents of Kinder-Tri participants were given a wristband so we could walk to the pool with our children and be with them as they jumped in the pool.  We then walked along the edge of the pool as they swam and could run with them to the transition area. (Last year they did all of this on their own.) This was wonderful as it definitely helped kids who were a little nervous feel more comfortable. Rhett and Ryder were buzzing and clearly ready to go when it was their turn. (Kids start the race one at a time.) They both leaped into the water once they got the okay and they were off!

Ryan was Ryder’s buddy and ran with him to transition while I ran with Rhett.

We were able to help the boys in the transition area which was nice, especially for Rhett, as getting socks on wet feet is tricky business.

The KinderTri allows one adult to accompany each participant throughout the entire race but most kids opt to do bike and run on their own. Ryder did this as well and Rhett did the bike on his own but Ryan ran with him on the run which he loved!

Ryder and Rhett both said the bike was their favorite part of the race because they loved being able to bike as fast as they could!

Ryder’s excitement over having the support of his big brother and his friends as he took off on the run was so sweet.

I swear my mama heart could’ve exploded watching our boys try so hard and have so much fun on the race course no less than 1,000 times during this triathlon. There is truly something so special about watching your kids accomplish big goals that feels so incredible as a parent. Our boys practiced for this triathlon every weekend in August and truly loved it so much.

Ryder flew through the finish and said he had a blast right as Rhett was taking off on his quarter-mile run with Ryan.

Ryan said Rhett ran the whole thing, stopping only for a water break, and every single time I caught a glimpse of Rhett on the race course, he was truly beaming.

We are so proud of our Kinder-Tri finishers!!

Junior Triathlon Race

The Junior Tri took place immediately following the Kinder-Tri and it was so cute to see the big kids in our group filled with nervous energy. The Junior Tri is much more independent than the Kinder-Tri as all participants in the Junior Tri must complete the race from start to finish on their own. We said goodbye to Chase and his buddies as they entered the YMCA and then we lined up with the other spectators outside of the pool to watch for Chase as he ran from the pool to the transition area.

Once Chase’s 100 yard swim was complete, he came flying down the hill to high fives from his little brothers and ran to grab his bike to begin his 4-mile ride.

The bike in the Junior Tri is a 2 mile loop participants complete twice which is fun for spectators as we were able to cheer for our racers multiple times during the bike. Like his little brothers, Chase said the bike was his favorite and loved flying by on his bike at top speed!

We smiled watching Chase because he clearly gets so in the zone when he races. While he’ll throw ya a high five, he’s all-in and you can see the focus in his expression as he races.

A one-mile run rounded out the Junior Tri and even after a 100 yard swim and a 4 mile bike, Chase managed to bust out a 7:40 mile.

Chase finished feeling strong and didn’t even seem tired which blew my mind. We then lined back up with our friends to cheer for all of the other big kids as they completed the Junior Tri. It was such a positive, encouraging and emotional morning for all of us as we watched our kids do something so special!

We were some very proud parents!

After everyone crossed the finish line, we hung out for a bit, grabbed shaved ice for the kids and then eventually loaded up our cars and made the drive back to North Carolina. Our entire crew absolutely loved this triathlon and since all of our kids said they want to do it again next year, I cannot help but wonder if this is going to become a tradition!? It’s such a wonderful event and we loved being a part of it for the second year in a row!