Doon Academy pupils took part in their first ever duathlon recently.

A duathlon is an athletic event that consists of a running leg, followed by a cycling leg and then another running leg.

Set up through Triathlon Scotland’s duathlon challenge, a number of school across the country took part in the activity.

Thirteen kids from Doon Academy, split between S1to S3, andS4 to S6, were involved on the day.

The younger group cycled 2km and run 1.2km, while the senior group cycled 4km and run 1.6km.

Doon’s Junior winner was Molly Hunter, and the senior winner was Connor Meredith.

Thanks to the success if the premier event, the school are looking to make the event an in-house annual event.

The school had brand new bikes that were bought a number of years ago, but due to coronavirus restrictions, they have never been used.

It’s hoped that the kids will be able to enjoy the bikes more in the future.

Miss Calder from Doon Academy was delighted with how the duathlon went, and she is hopeful that it can lead onto more active events in the future.

She said: “We hope to have events like this more often because this one went so well and the kids that were involved loved it so much.

“It was a great release for them to be involved in something like this because of everything that has happened over the last few years.

“The kids got to use the school bikes as well and some of these kids haven’t really been on them before so it was a great experience in the regard as well.

“We got an email from Triathlon Scotland and we signed up straight away and we’re waiting to hear back about how we got on because we sent our results back to them.

“It would be great to see maybe one or two of the kids getting into the top 10 in Scotland.

“Getting involved and competing in an event like this helps get the buzz about the school again and it’s something that the kids can look forward to and work towards.

“One thing that really stood out to me was that it wasn’t just kids who are usually active in P.E. that wanted to have a go at this. We had a variety of children from a variety of backgrounds who were all keen to have a try at this. Everything has been on a backburner because of covid, so that’s why we’re thinking about doing an in-house team triathlon through the school for the summer months.

“I want to take advantage of opportunities like this whilst we can now. I’m delighted with how much the kids enjoyed it as well, so we’re really pleased with how it all went.”