tri-ath-lon – noun
An athletic contest comprising three consecutive events, usually swimming, bicycling, and distance running.
For a sport involving a great depth of fitness, it is perhaps unexpected to hear that the first idea for a long–distance triathlon was conceived over a couple of beers. A solider, navy commander and fitness instructor had been debating who the toughest competitor was over three events: The Waikiki Rough Water Swim (2.4 miles), the Oahu Bicycle Race (112 miles), or the Honolulu Marathon (26.2 miles). A race combining all three aspects was thus established and first held in 1978 and called an “Ironman”. Triathlon made its first Olympic appearance at the Sydney Games in 2000, over the Standard distance of 1.5km / 40km / 10km Typical Race Distances – though events can be held over any distances and formats: you don’t need to be super fit to take part, there are many short events on the calendar.
| NAME | SWIM | CYCLE | RUN | Sprint | 750m | 20km | 5km | Olympic/Standard | 1.5km | 40km | 10km | Half-Ironman | 1.9km | 90km | 21.1km | Long Distance | 3.8-4km | 120km | 30km | Ironman | 3.8km | 180km | 42.2km |
Aquathlon events consist typically of swim-run, and there are also plenty of Duathlon races, generally held in a run - bike - run format.
There has never been a better time to get involved in the sport – there are over 800 races already taking place in the UK this year and thousands more abroad: triathlon is the fastest growing sport in the country.
To help get you started we have put together an 8 week training programme to get you ready for your first race, links to some informative training videos to hone your skills and even a downloadable checklist guide to make sure you have all the kit you need:
Training Plan
This programme is for beginners starting out in triathlon. It is an eight week plan with a race - either sprint or Olympic distance - at the end of it. The idea is to build your training gradually by helping your body steadily adapt to the increased levels of training each week. Rest and a good diet play a big part in how your body recovers to training; so remember to build gradually, get plenty of sleep and make sure you have a good diet and don’t forget to hydrate well.
All people will improve at different rates, and of course have different levels of natural potential, the important thing is to enjoy your training and if possible find a good training partner of similar levels to yourself.
8 Week training programme
Training Videos
Gatorade have put together a series of triathlon videos to help you with your training and racing:
1. Essential equipment for triathlon
2. Open-water swimming
3. Biking for triathlon
4. Running for triathlon
5. Transitions
6. Race Day tips
Race Day Checklist
You can check out our race day checklist with handy hints and tips to make sure your day goes to plan: http://www.tri247.com/article_1528.html
We have even put together a downloadable check list for you here
