 Logan Gartin
Football and baseball are two of his favorite sports, but Gartin, unlike most boys his age, has another athletic passion — running triathlons.
Last year, the youth pastor at New Life Church in Maumelle held a triathlon competition against the congregation’s sister church in Conway. Gartin’s father, Kent, entered him in the event, a grueling 200-yard swim, a 3-mile bike ride and a half-mile run.
To his family’s surprise, Gartin finished ninth overall, running against older competitors. Not only did he finish the race, he asked his father when he could run another one.
“I started asking around and found some other places that run triathlons for his age group,” said his father, Kent, who was had a football scholarship to Henderson State University and played baseball, ran sprints and played rugby for the the University of Mississippi Rebels. “He’s been to Conway, Dallas, Hot Springs and Jackson, Mississippi, and now we’re trying to get him to the national triathlon at the Wisconsin Dells [Wisconsin] in August.”
In his most recent meet, at Jackson, Gartin twisted his ankle and still finished third overall. He finished second overall in Dallas, but in each of these events, he has been first in his age group.
“I really enjoy training Logan for his competitions — some say he’s really training me,” Kent said. “We have done 3Ks and 5Ks together and that was a great time. I told him that I will not make him do anything that he doesn’t want to do, but he is very self-motivated and loves competition.”
Gartin and his father train by riding bikes on a 20-mile Sunday ride over the Big Dam Bridge in Little Rock.
“We have done as much as 30 miles in one day,” Kent said. “I had to get a new bike because I could not keep up with him. I really enjoy watching Logan compete.”
His mother, Michea, who played basketball at Cutter-Morning Star and was a student coach for the Henderson State Lady Reddies, is also proud of her son and helps him train, too.
“As long as he enjoys doing it, I’m behind him 100 percent,” she said. “He is a very active kid and loves all sorts of sports. He once told his first-grade teacher that his favorite day of the week was Saturday, because that is when the triathlons are. He said he wished everyday was Saturday because he loves doing them.”
Today, the Gartins will be hosting a 10K (6.2 miles) fundraiser at the Benton High School track to help their son get to the USAT 2007 Youth National Triathlon Championships at the Wisconsin Dells on August 4.
“I am not sure how many national champions in any sport have represented Benton, but Logan has a good shot at bringing it home,” Kent said.
Gartin also has his own site on the World Wide Web, www.runfastlogan.com, for people to view his results and make a donation by sponsoring him per lap to help him get to the championship. The fundraiser is to reduce the costs of travel, entry fees and hotel expenses.
“I like all the events, but my favorite is the biking,” Gartin said. “I get to pass a lot of people faster. I have to do a lot of training to get ready for my events. I train with my dad and usually run about four miles a day and I go with my mom to the track and run the straightaways. Sometimes I train myself and run three miles.”
Gartin trains in his pool at home, rides his bike through hilly terrain and begins his runs at 6 a.m. He and his family will be going to San Antonio, Texas, next week for a triathlon training camp.
“I eat a lot of vegetables —that’s why I’m so skinny,” Gartin added. “It gives me energy to train like I do. When I ran my first triathlon, I really liked it and wanted to do it again. I guess I’ve been running them now for about a year, and to get a chance to go to the nationals, that’s awesome.”
Gartin is the type of boy who’d rather train than play video games and watch television. He has aspirations of one day being a Major League Baseball player and is a current member of the Lugnuts machine-pitching team in Benton.
His brother Michael, 10, is also a fan and supports his younger sibling in all of his triathlons.
“Mike likes to play baseball and football, too,” Gartin said. “He pumps me up and helps keep me going.”
|
Razorbacks
