Waiting in line for her ultimate reward Sunday an ice cream cone 6-year-old McKenzie Vincent just couldn’t stop smiling.

It was the same smile she and her six teammates beamed while paddling a raft down the Deschutes River; the same smile she had sprinting through an obstacle course.

And it was an even bigger smile than the one she had while jumping up and down when the St. Francis Fritters finished Sunday’s U.S. Bank Kids’ Mini Pole, Pedal, Paddle. About 625 kindergarten- through sixth-graders hundreds more friends and families gathered at Drake and Harmon parks for the 25th annual event, putting a festive end to an already festive Pole, Pedal, Paddle weekend in Bend.

Saturday the park was filled with spectators and competitors for the grueling adult version of the multi-sport race. But Sunday it was the kids’ turn to remind everyone that the most important part of the weekend was having fun.

McKenzie’s advice for anyone her age who decided they’d rather sleep in or watch Nickelodeon on Sunday morning?

”They should do it, too,” she said, holding a green participation ribbon and obviously wanting to get in on the ice cream. ”It was fun.”

The event was as aerobic and fun for some spectators as it was for the participants as they ran along the riverbank before getting a good spot to watch the finish.

Many were holding video cameras and shouting encouragement while smiling as wide as the kids’ were.

Karen Likens brought her granddaughter, 6-year-old Laney Hayes, to participate in the event and said it was amazing to see so many children having so much fun.

Likens said her daughter had signed Laney up, but was out of town and couldn’t be there for the race.

Everyone, including Likens, agreed that all of the kids were winners.

”Laney’s team wasn’t first,” she said, ”but they were the tops in having fun.”