Tiny Bit of History The first modern swim/bike/run event to be called a 'triathlon' was held at Mission Bay, San Diego, California on September 25, 1974 and was organized by members of the San Diego Track Club. Triathlon was introduced to the Olympic games in 2000 in Sydney, Australia. Triathlon is governed by two main organiza9ons, the Interna9onal Triathlon Union and USA Triathlon.
Triathlon Race Distances Triathlon races vary in distance. There are four main designa9ons as shown in the table below. They are shown in the order that the races are executed (Swim then Bike then Run) Name Swim Bike Run
Sprint* 750m (.47 miles) 20k (12 miles) 5k (3.1 miles)
Olympic 1.5k (.93 miles) 40k (25 miles) 10k (6.2 miles)
Half Ironman (70.3) 1.9k (1.2 miles) 90k (56 miles) 21.1k (13.1 miles)
Ironman (140.6) 3.8k (2.4 miles) 180.2k (112 miles) 42.2k (26.2 miles) *Sprint races can vary in swim distances
Who wins and how? Triathlons are 9med events. Each par9cipant wears and 9ming chip and they are 9med the second they start the swim all the way through the comple9on of the run. There are two TRANSITIONS in triathlon, where the athlete will switch from their swim gear to their bike gear (T1) and the bike gear to their run gear (T2). Transi9ons are considered the fourth discipline in triathlon. Par9cipants compete against other people in their age group.* *Some races have divisions for par9cipants above a certain weight called Clydesdale for Men and Athena for Women.
Beginning to Train • Decide on what distance race to focus on. – Consider 9me available for training.
• Iden9fy your strengths and areas of improvement.
• Determine appropriate ways to remediate and improve upon iden9fied areas of improvement.
• Set a plan and s9ck to it!
Beginning to Train • Join the DFW Tri Club Today! (www.dfwtriclub.com)
– Train with others who can become mentors & take advantage of around 20 coached workouts each week.
• Buy a road bike or tri bike – Get fiPed! – Look for used or a prior year model to save money or to get more bike for your money
• Ride with a group, learn how to handle the bike, build fitness before going to the aero posi9on • Run frequently, build your base fitness before you go fast
– Running is the riskiest of all sports in terms of injury • Start with the sprint distance and bridge up one ‘distance’ at a 9me. • Buy as linle as you can at full price or brand new at first! • Looy goals require looy prepara9on. • Consult a specialist as needed:
– Bike Fit – Swim Coach – Run Coach – Cycling Coach – Nutri9onist
• Get a Coach when you step up to 70.3 or greater or when you want to anempt to qualify for na9onals or an interna9onal race (go fast) at the Olympic distance. (DFW Tri Club Coaches)