Madly speed-walking across the pool deck, seven sopping kids race to their bicycles, grabbing sneakers and helmets along the way. A few circuits of the Soda Aquatic Center parking lot, then a dash back down the hill and -- splash.

For Ironman coach Wayne Spaulding's young charges, it's just another day in the life of a triathlete wanna-be. Spaulding, an Ironman finisher and Leukemia and Lymphoma Society triathlon coach, is spending a chunk of his summer down at the swim center -- poolside, trackside and out on the sidewalk.

The Pleasant Hill resident's introduction to the triple sport came in Germany years ago. As a new arrival at a United States military base, higher-ups volunteered Spaulding to establish a military triathlon team.

"Wait, what's triathlon?" he says he asked.

A scant year and extensive research later, Spaulding's fledgling swimming, running and biking team went up against other European army teams in championship races. By the time he moved to California, two countries and four states later, Spaulding was hooked.

"This is like triathlon heaven," says the veteran of more than 30 triathlons, centuries and other run events.

During his first year in California, Spaulding and his wife Sheila joined the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's popular fund-raiser, Team in Training. The intense training program raises tens of thousands of dollars for cancer research while promoting physical fitness. Members pledge a certain amount of donations in return for a structured triathlon training program. By 1999, Spaulding was coaching his own Team in Training.

This summer, Spaulding's young athletes are the offspring of some of those adults. Children like Katie and Samantha Enea, students at Walnut Creek's St. Mary's School, are accustomed to triathlon finish lines, having been cheering spectators for their mother, Elizabeth. Now, the Enea sisters are trying the sport for themselves.

Parker Doliber, a student at Diablo Vista Middle School in Danville, is similarly motivated.

"My mom does triathlon and she wanted me to do it. I like to bike and run. I don't really like to swim, but I have to," he confides.

For Elliot Reynolds, a fifth-grader at Camino Pablo Elementary School in Moraga, the appeal lies in cross-training.

"My cousin does it, and I might want to do a triathlon someday. (I'm doing it) to get in shape for lacrosse," he says.

But there's more to it than running or swimming fast. There are challenges to overcome and fears to conquer. The combination of sports is new to these athletes, and the sheer length of a triathlon course can be intimidating.

Triathlon sprint races send athletes swimming 400 yards, biking 8 to 9 miles and running an additional 2 to 3 miles. But a mondo event, like the famous Ironman in Hawaii, sends competitors on a 2.4 mile swim, followed by a 112 mile cycling course and a 26.2 mile run. A professional can do the Ironman in nine hours. For what Spaulding calls "a lifestyle athlete," bank on 12 to 17 hours to finish.

At camp, Spaulding and Sheila, a fourth-grade teacher in Antioch, guide the kids through the training routine, from stretches to laps. They work on transitions -- the logistics of moving from pool to bicycle to track. And they work on relaxation and reflection, including end-of-practice journal writing.

Like pros, the kids swim laps with aplomb, and smoosh fruit gummies onto their bicycle handlebars for easy mid-race snacking action. By the end of the week, they run an actual triathlon sprint course.

"The neat thing is seeing them realize how much they have inside themselves. 'Wow. Look what I was able to do,'" says Spaulding. "The most satisfying thing is seeing them cross the finish line. You see it in their eyes."