Ironman Utah hosted its opening ceremonies at BYU's track and field the night of June 5.

The ceremonies kicked off with a fun run for children. The children ran the track twice and every participant received an Ironman medal and t-shirt.

Provo resident, Kandra Miller, a 6-year-old participant in the fun run said, "I like running it's fun."

Miller one day plans to compete in an Ironman competition. "Probably when I'm 10," she said.

Her mother, Nora Miller, expressed her support. She said, "It's healthy and every child should have a goal no matter what the age is and if that is her goal that's very important."

The top 20 finishers received socks, Gatorade bottles, Timex watches, t-shirts and medals.

Joshua Harrison, 7, along with his brother Benjamin Harrison, 12 and sister Elizabeth Harrison, 10 were top 20 finishers.

"We wanted to do something physically active," said Benjamin Harrison.

All three said someday they would like to compete in the Ironman like their father; Brian Harrison will be doing on Saturday.

"I want to do it as soon as possible," Joshua Harrison said.

Father and son team, Rick and Zachary Meinzer, of Provo, met at the finish line after the race.

"I ran because my dad is running," Zachary said.

Rick Meinzer said he has competed in a few shorter triathlons but nothing like the Ironman. Meinzer has been training for the endurance race for the past six months.

"I did all sorts of different training; running, swimming, biking and weight lifting," Meinzer said.

When asked if he hoped to win the race, Meinzer said, his goal was only to finish the race.

Ironman competitors came to the opening ceremonies to enjoy each other's company and the sounds of the Peter Breinholt with Ryan Shupe and the Rubber Band.

Ironman competitor, Paul Swensen from Iowa said he liked the sound of the local group.

Because of the high demand from future participants for more Ironman venues, Ironman North America looked to Utah as a host.

Shane Facteau, communications director of Ironman North America, said, "The Olympics played a nice part in it because obviously it was proven that it can hold large scale events here."

Julie Kingsley 22, from Roland Heights, Calif., majoring in elementary education, said she is considering running in the Ironman next year, based on her volunteer experience this year.

Many of the Ironman competitors have been training for the physically demanding course for three to six months.

"These guys out there are not super people, they're just normal people trying to make it through the day," said Dan Bramblett, a supervisor for Ironman Utah.

The Ironman Competition will start Saturday June 8 at 7 a.m. at Utah Lake.

Copyright Brigham Young University 7 Jun 2002