Austin and her children -- son Tommy Patterson, 18, and daughter Macie Anderson, 16 -- with her nephew Sean Owens, 17, of Seneca, will compete in their first sprint triathlon, The Powerade Tri the Rock 2008.

"I'm not an athlete at all. I've never played any sports," said Austin, 41. "I was doing the whole thing. It inspired them to do it."

The third annual event begins at 8 a.m. Saturday at the Rock Hill Aquatics Center. Participants will swim 500 yards in the pool, strap on shoes for an 18-mile bike ride beginning and ending at the center, then finish with a 5K run on the paved road between the center and Old Pointe Elementary School. The athletes compete against the clock.

Austin will complete all three portions of the race, while her family will compete as a team. Tommy will perform the swimming portion, Sean will bike and Macie will run.

The triathlon takes one to two and a half hours, depending on the athlete's fitness level, said Jim Martin director and head coach for the Rock Tri Club, a Rock Hill-based group of recreational triathletes, sponsored by the Upper Palmetto YMCA.

A lot of people compete in triathlons just to see if they can do it, Martin said. Austin she saw a flyer for Martin's Tri-101 class at the YMCA last year and decided to give it a try this year.

Tri 101 is a 15-week intensive workout course held January through May that provides training. Forty-two people ages 20 to 59 are participating in the course, up from 29 last year, Martin said.

Training includes a five-day-a-week group workout schedule focusing on swimming, biking and running, core and strength classes and nutrition education.

Martin, 42, has been competing in triathlons for seven years. In 2004, he moved to Rock Hill from Dallas and found no organized triathlon training. With the help of the YMCA, he organized the Rock Hill Tri club which offers the Tri 101 course and year-round triathlon training.

"People were tired of going to Charlotte to compete and train in triathlons," he said.

In upstate South Carolina, there are seven sprint triathlons sponsored by the YMCA. The YMCAs participating in the series are the Rock Hill, Greenwood, Anderson, Middle Tyger, Laurens, Pickens and Union locations. The next event will be the Middle Tyger YMCA triathlon May 31 in Duncan.

Initially Austin's goal was just to finish the Rock Hill triathlon. Now she is considering the Middle Tyger event. "Now I'm thinking, if I do this, this way well maybe I could place," she said. "It becomes competitive very easily."

Fitting in training with a family and a full-time job hasn't been easy, Austin said. "I've had to commit myself. I've missed soccer games and not been at home cooking," she said.

Getting up early to train for swimming was hard at first.

"After I got up for a week at 5 a.m., my son said, you're serious about this aren't you?" Soon her son Tommy, a South Pointe High senior and regional swim champ, began training with her at the aquatics center pool.

"I couldn't swim from one end to the next," she said.

But her son helped her change that. "I've been teaching her how to do it right. I've been teaching her the technical stuff," he said.

Tommy has been preparing for the 500-yard swimming portion. Even with his strong swimming background, he said the race might prove to be a challenge.

"I'm a sprinter and this is long distance," he said.

Austin's daughter Macie, a South Pointe sophomore and a soccer and volleyball player, will run the 5K. "I'm under pressure to get a good time because Tommy's going to get a good time," she said.

Despite the challenges Austin said there have been a few perks. Her husand offers to give her massages when she's sore. She has lost about three pounds and built muscle. "My arms and shoulders are more toned because of swimming," she said.

Austin wants to race in more triathlons this season. "Then my next goal before I'm 45, I want to run a half marathon and by the time I'm 50, I want to run a whole marathon."

Want to go?

What: Sprint triathlon, Powerade-Tri The Rock 2008

When: Begins at 8 a.m. Saturday with the 500-yard swimming portion of the race followed by the 18-mile bike race and 5K run.

Where: Rock Hill Aquatics Center, 325 Rawlinson Road, Rock Hill. The bike race and the 5K run will begin and end at the center.

Admission: Free and open to the public.