LI native the youngest in NYC triathlon

It all started when his mother misread an email.

Jackson Lathrop, a 16-year-old from Port Washington, has long been interested in extreme sports and athletes who can really push themselves beyond boundaries. So when his mother, Alyson, received an email from United Jewish Appeal that talked both about youth in sports and the upcoming Nautica New York City Triathlon, she thought it might be the perfect thing for her son to try.

"I thought it was a triathlon for kids," she said with a laugh. "I had no idea how big it was."

And that is how Jackson Lathrop became the youngest of the more 3,000 athletes competing in this Sunday's event.

The event, which is in its 11th year, is the only Olympic-distance triathlon held in New York. Athletes will begin with a 1,500-meter swim in the Hudson River, followed by a 40-kilometer bike ride on the West Side Highway and ending with a 10-kilometer run through Central Park.

Lathrop runs both track and cross country for Paul D. Schreiber High School. He has also worked as a lifeguard. He says he has long been fascinated with people who can push physical boundaries, and one of his favorite books is Born to Run, a story about the Tarahumara, a tribe of indigenous people in Northern Mexico who can run hundreds of miles with very little rest and food.

"I really like being challenged and seeing how far I can push myself," Lathrop said.

Lathrop is competing to raise money for UJA, and has collected more than $3,000 in pledges. He said his goal is to finish the race in three hours. "People say I ought to be happy just to finish, but I really want to finish in a reasonable time," Lathrop said.

Added his mother: "I just want him to finish in one piece. And have a really good time."