Sunday, August 3rd, 2025 will mark our 12th Annual Kids' Try-athlon. 

The Friends of Aine Kids' Try-athlon is designed for children ages 4-15, regardless of their athletic ability. The race course design and event timing are provided by our friends at Millennium Running, and our post-race family festival is run by volunteers, sponsors, and community collaborators. This community event now attracts over 300 racers, along with hundreds of spectators and volunteers. All event proceeds support bereavement services offered at the Friends of Aine Center for Grieving Children & Families. For detailed information on race bag pick-up, bib numbers, event parking, schedule and course details, please visit our Race Day Information page.

Our Try-athlon is made up of three events (swimming, biking and running) and is set up in 2 categories: 

Wave 1: Ages 11 -15

• swim 50 yards (no flotation devices allowed)
• bike 2 miles
• run 1 mile

Wave 2: Ages 4 -10 swim

• 25 yards (no flotation devices allowed)
• bike 1 mile
• run ½ mile

We consider this event a tribute to Aine, as a fundraiser and as an opportunity to get kids moving. We like to believe that the race allows kids to help themselves, while helping other kids!

After completing the race, all participants and families are invited to our post-event festivities! Children enjoy crafts, activites, and snacks to celebrate a job well done! 

Aine Marie Phillips (pronounced Ahn-ya) was just eight years old when she died suddenly and unexpectedly, leaving behind her parents, David and Christine, and her five-year-old sister and best friend, Bella. David and Christine soon realized that while there were support services available for grieving parents, there were few resources available for children like Bella. To channel their grief and honor Aine, David and Christine set out to fill this void. Friends of Aine was developed to create an enduring legacy for Aine that embodies her spirit and character by helping bereaved children and their families. Friends of Aine’s mission is to help children and families grieving a death navigate their path to a hopeful future.

Research shows that the impact of child grief can be acute and long-lasting and can have a profound effect on children's long-term health and well-being. Children who have experienced a death often deal with multiple traumas because of the death, which could be losing a home, changing schools, and economic factors.  Children who don't receive the support to deal with grief and multiple traumas are more likely to suffer from mental health problems, shorter schooling, lower self-esteem, sexual risk behaviors, and risks of suicide, violence, sexual abuse, and exploitation.

As the only organization in New Hampshire dedicated solely to child grief, Friends of Aine has extensive experience delivering youth peer-to-peer grief support and related education and consultation services to New Hampshire children, youth, and families. Since 2017, we have been running our in-center peer-to-peer program, providing grief support services to children ages 4 to 18 and their caregivers. This highly successful program has grown every year since its inception. What started as a program serving five children in 2017 has become a program enrolling more than 248 children, youth, teens, and caregivers to date. Our current capacity is 375, with a 50% retention rate. Since 2020 alone, we have served more than 610 children and adults through peer-to-peer support groups.