They huffed and they puffed as they swam, cycled and ran across the 2013 IronMaori course in and around Napier on Saturday. For the 600 youngsters in Friday's Tamariki Rangatahi and the 2500 adults who took part in the big half-triathlon the following day it was a sense of pride when they crossed the line. Hundreds of friends and family saw them start and finish and along the way kept the calls of encouragement kept coming. "It was a really great day,'' creator and co-organiser Heather Skipworth said. Only a "handful'' were forced to pull out,mainly due to the high winds on the cycling section. Photos by Paul Taylor