Triathlons
Triathlon has seen an explosion of interest over the last 10 years and it remains one of the fastest growing sports in the UK.
In recognition of its increasing popularity within the club London Frontrunners is now affiliated to the Triathlon England within the British Triathlon Federation (BTF), allowing club members to compete under the club banner. If you pay an individual membership to Triathlon England – at a reduced rate as a London Frontrunners member – you can also get discounted race entries and public liability and personal accident insurance for all of your training.
About The Triathlon
For the uninitiated, triathlon consists of three disciplines — swimming, cycling and running. Each discipline is run consecutively and competitors must transition at speed between each leg.
Triathlon has its origins in 1920s France and a race called le trois sports, but the first modern triathlon was held in San Diego’s Mission Bay on September 25 1974. Four years later Hawaii hosted the very first Ironman triathlon when representatives of the Mid-Pacific Road Runners and the Waikiki Swim Club, who had been arguing over which sport produced the fittest specimens, competed over an impressive 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile cycle and a 26.2 mile run.
Don’t panic — the most common version is the classic or standard course (1.5k swim, 40k cycle, 10k run) and this is the distance over which the Olympic event has been held since it was first staged in Sydney in 2000. Other common events are the Sprint and Super Sprint course and these often prove the most attractive to the first time triathlete.
The three disciplines are always run in the same order, first the swim, then the cycle and finally the run. The changeover between each leg is called the transition — often referred to as “T1” for the swim to bike and “T2” for the bike to run. Your transition splits are added to your overall time and so make a mistake here and it could cost you that all important place. For this reason the transition is often referred to as the fourth discipline in triathlon.
Most people will take between 2 and 3 hours to complete a classic distance triathlon and so this is every bit the endurance event. The effort you expend in one leg will deplete you for the next and so pace judgement is central to maximising your successful triathlon.
Beginners, and those less confident swimmers, will find plenty of pool based events, but for the authentic experience an open water mass start is a must. If you are competing in the UK this will almost always involve a wetsuit and plenty of lubrication!
Alternative formats include swim and run – usually called aquathlons – and run, bike, run events – known as duathlons. Some events also allow relay entries, where different competitors taken on different disciplines.
Triathlon Kit
Triathletes have a well deserved reputation for their obsession with kit, but in reality your first triathlon need not be expensive. A road bike is ideal, but virtually any serviceable bike will allow you to compete on a perfectly respectable basis. Below is our guide to the essentials:
- Swim Costume or Tri Suit — the tri suit is quick drying and has a little extra padding were needed. It is worn under your wetsuit and allows you to transition quickly from swim to bike. It is not essential, but it does make life a little more comfortable. Nudity is not permitted during transition and so you must have something on under your wetsuit!
- Wetsuit — A triathlon wetsuit is a little different from a surf or diving wetsuit, usually it has a tighter fit and it will incorporate some features to aid buoyancy and manoeuvrability through the water. Wetsuits can be hired for an event or for an entire season, often with the option to buy if you take a shine to it. Otherwise, perfectly good wetsuits can be purchased for as little as £100.00.
- Swim goggles — Goggles are very much a personal thing. Always try on your goggles to make sure you get a good fit and also try them in the water before race day.
- Swim hat — Most events will provide these free as part of the race entry. Some triathletes like to double up and have their goggles sandwiched between two hats to reduce the risk of losing them courtesy of a friendly foot or fist during a competitive swim start.
- Bike — A road bike is ideal, but pretty much any serviceable bike will get you around.
- Bike Helmet — The bike helmet is compulsory. It must be on your head and clipped under the chin before you touch your bike in T1 and it must not be unclipped or removed until your bike has been racked in T2. The race officials will stop and hold anyone who does not comply and you could even face disqualification.
- Bike Shoes — You will only need these if you are cycling with clip less pedals, otherwise you can cycle in the same shoes that you intend to run in.
- Number Belts — very handy to save sticking pins in a nice tri-suit and also to allow you to move your race number from back (on the bike ride) to front (for the run).
- Training Shoes — one useful and inexpensive addition is to consider elasticised lock laces to speed you through the final transition and to gain those vital few seconds.
- Lubrication — (for under your wetsuit). Liberal use of a suitable lubricant is essential to allow easy and fast removal of your wetsuit. Always use a water-based lubricant — for example baby oil or similar. Do not use Vaseline as this will decay the neoprene in your wetsuit.
That is it, you’re ready to go and so why not join the small legion of London Frontrunners readying themselves to Swim, Bike, Run this summer.
Online Resources
- Tri247 http://www.tri247.com/
- British Triathlon http://www.britishtriathlon.org/
- TriTalk http://www.tritalk.co.uk/
