10/30/2009 6:00:00 AM Tomlin Triathlon gives youngsters a running start Mile run for elementary school students added to events
SHAWN BYRNE/Miner
Participants in Dick Tomlin's Spirit of Triathlon will once again attack downtown Kingman Nov. 6-7. This year's events mark the fifth anniversary of the triathlon.
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KINGMAN - Dick Tomlin's Spirit of Triathlon is about to celebrate its fifth year of swimming, biking and running Nov. 6-7, and the event's organizers wanted to find a way for the proceeds to benefit Kingman kids.
And they will.
The triathlon has added a 1-mile run at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 6, which starts at the downtown Elks Building at Fourth and Oak Streets and goes down Beale Street. The run is for elementary-aged kids and the cost is free. Glow sticks will be provided, and kids can register through their P.E. teachers at school.
Nine schools have been invited to participate, and for each school that has 5 percent of its enrollment run in what has been named The Tomlin Dash, there will be a $200 award presented to the P.E. program.
"Bonnie Tomlin came up with the idea as a way to get a large number of kids involved," volunteer Kimberlyn Slocum Springborn said. "If we can make running fun now, it might become a life-long hobby and habit."
Each of these schools also has the opportunity to receive another $75 for the P.E. programs. Local dentist Dr. J.R. DiCarlo and his wife Irene have volunteered to donate that amount to any program that participates.
"It's an idea Dick would have liked," Springborn said. "Hopefully, we can build upon the idea and next year get matching sponsors so that we can give more to the P.E. programs."
The triathlon and its surrounding events began in 2005 after the untimely death of Dick Tomlin. Tomlin, who was a community activist, was killed while riding his bicycle on Route 66 near the airport.
Jack Steele has volunteered to spread the word to get kids to participate in The Tomlin Dash. Steele, an employee with Mohave County Public Health, said if all nine schools get the 5 percent, that would be approximately 250 kids running through downtown Kingman.
"My involvement has been recruiting P.E. teachers, who in turn have been recruiting the students," Steele said. "I do an activity program in the schools already, so this was a good fit."
Following The Tomlin Dash, a 5K race will start at 7 p.m. Registrations for the 5K are being accepted at Bicycle Outfitters, 3001 Stockton Hill Road. The cost is $20 before Sunday, and $25 anytime after.
There are five special categories for the 5K - first veteran, first retired person, first teacher, first stroller with a child and the first overall finisher.
The kids triathlon starts at 9 a.m. Nov. 7, with the triathlon starting at 10:30 or when the last child has left the pool.
