The triathlon is a three-part endurance race. It involves swimming, bicycling and running. You get no breaks between events, and the competitor who finishes with the best overall time is the winner. While some elite athletes compete at the international level, most just want to challenge themselves, generally racing against people in their own age group and of their own gender. About 90 percent of triathletes are, in fact, "age groupers," as such participants are called, according to the International Triathlon Union.
History
The San Diego Track Club created the first Triathlon in the early 1970s, according to the International Triathlon Union. 1989 saw the founding of that group in Avignon, France, and also marked the first official world championships. The sport joined the Olympic program for the first time in 2000 in Sidney, Australia.
Types
The three basic categories of Triathlon are sprint, Olympic and ironman. The classifications are based on the distance of the event. A sprint triathlon generally consists of swimming 800 meters or less, bicycling 20 miles or less and running 5 kilometers, according to All Triathlon. In the Olympic category, the swim is 1.5 kilometers, the bike portion is 40 kilometers and the run is 10 kilometers. Ironman involves 2.4 miles for the swim, 112 miles on the bike and 26.2 miles for the run.
Benefits
Triathlon training is a "total fitness package," according to the Los Angeles Triathlon. It helps you to burn calories and increases your motivation to work out. Additionally, triathlons can be fun and serve as a way to meet other people who are interested in sports and fitness.
Top Events
The Florida-based company World Triathlon Corporation bills its Ironman triathlon competitions as "the world's most prestigious" one-day endurance events. More than 80,000 athletes compete for slots each year in the Ford Ironman World Championship, held in October in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, and the Foster Grant Ironman World Championship 70.3, which is run in November in Clearwater, Florida. The average participant in one of the events spends seven months training, 18 to 22 hours per week.
Warnings
All of your hard work in preparing for a triathlon can be for naught if you make one of several possible mistakes before or during the race. Overtraining and ignoring pain are common pitfalls that can lead to injury, according to the Los Angeles Triathlon. Starting the race too fast can make you too tired later in the competition and lead to poor overall performance. Trying something new--such as shoes, a bicycle or food and drink--on the day of the competition also can lead to a bad outcome.
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