The word “triathlon” strikes fear into the heart of most people. A sport for the super fit and the achievement of a lifetime, right?
Well, not really. There are several different distances of triathlon. The barrier of entry into the sport is actually fairly low, especially when you can swim breaststroke, ride on whatever bike you have in the shed, and walk the run if you wish to. Let’s look at each distance in more detail.
A quick disclaimer before we get going that the distances of events vary greatly. While these are the official distances, organisers can shorten (or in rare cases lengthen) the distances. This is most common for the bike, where it is very difficult to get a distance on the dot without closing roads, which is reserved for the biggest events.
Super Sprint
There are various “try a try” events which may be even shorter, but the shortest distance recognised by World Triathlon is the super sprint.
This consists of a 400M swim, 12KM bike and 2.5KM run. Most reasonably fit and able people should be able to complete this in less than an hour, and without needing to dedicate an enormous amount of time to training.
Many of these events (if not most) are held in swimming pools to make them really accessible for beginners. I highly recommend you have a bash if you’re considering one of these.
Sprint
The sprint distance is slightly misleading. It’s still going to take you over an hour to complete this event. However, for experienced athletes it is fast and furious racing which pushes athletes to their limit.
The sprint distance begins with a 750M swim (400M in held in a pool), followed by a 20KM bike and 5KM run. While most people could roll out of bed one morning and drag themselves around a super sprint triathlon, a sprint is going to require some focused training. Especially if the swim takes place in open water.
Even so, it is something most people could prepare for within a year.
Olympic
Known as the Olympic, as this is the distance that is raced at the Olympic Games, this is the challenge of a lifetime for many.
The distances are doubled from a sprint, namely a 1500M swim, 40KM bike and 10KM run. Most athletes will finish this event somewhere around the three hour mark with enough preparation.
If you are training for an Olympic, you need to take it seriously, unless you have an established background in one of the three sports, and the associated aerobic fitness. Where a sprint is an all out effort, an Olympic needs to be approached with more caution to avoid imploding on the run.
Middle distance (70.3)
This is the distance that many in the US will start their triathlon journey with, given the prevalence of the IRONMAN 70.3 race series, and general lack of shorter events.
The 70.3 refers to the distance in miles of the event. We start with a 1900M (1.2 mile) swim, followed by a 90KM (56 mile) bike and 21.1KM (13.1 mile) run. This is a true test of endurance, that will take most athletes somewhere around six hours to complete, with a cutoff at official IRONMAN events of eight hours and thirty minutes.
While IRONMAN put on the best events in the world, there are lots of events of the same distance that are organised by in independent race directors. The roads may be open rather than closed, the crowds won’t be as large and the aid stations probably won’t be as well stocked, but it’s the same distance, often in a more friendly, laid back atmosphere. Definitely don’t discount unofficial events if you’re tempted by the middle distance.
Most people will need a year or more to train for a middle distance event if they want to avoid walking for prolonged periods on the run.
Full distance (IRONMAN)
When most people think of triathlon, they think of IRONMAN. However, IRONMAN is a company (and trade mark), rather than a distance.
The distance itself starts with a 3800M (1.2 mile) swim, followed by a 180KM (112 mile) bike, finishing off with a 42.2 (26.2 mile) run. Yes, that’s a marathon.
The full distance is probably the greatest single day endurance challenge on the planet. For most, it will take several years of training to get to the point they can complete this challenge, but it could be done in less if you already have a good level of base fitness behind you.
Conclusion
There is a distance for everyone, regardless of budget, time available for training or current fitness. I encourage you to get stuck in and have a go if you’re on the fence. Training for my first super sprint was the best decision I ever made.
