If you're living in or moving to Dallas and are among the growing number of Americans training for a triathlon, you're in luck. A number of training clubs and resources are available in to the Dallas-Fort Worth area, a great place to train year-round. Hunter Kemper, a three-time Olympian and elite-level triathlete who raced in Dallas in 2010, noted some benefits of being a triathlete: Those who train are generally very welcoming and inclusive to newcomers, with few traces of the elitism that can make newbies to some sports feel intimidated.
Texas Racing Tips
Once you're prepared to race, you can tackle the Olympic distance race of a 1-mile swim, a 25-mile bike ride, and a 10-km run, or you can start out with shorter races. Recent competitors in a triathlon in Austin, Texas, noted some of the special hazards of racing in the state's significant heat and sun: applying sunscreen can smear your race number and age usually written directly on your skin, and getting enough liquids makes preparing your own drinks ahead of time essential if you want to perform at your best.
Dallas Athletes/Dallas Sports University
Dallas Athletes is a training group that provides introductory classes, open-water swims, weekly workouts, and training programs for races in places like Canada, Louisville and Chicago. The group has been around for 9 years and has nearly 400 beginner and intermediate athletes; workouts are offered 7 days a week. Officially titled Dallas Sports University, or DSU, because they also accommodate single-sport athletes in swimming, cycling and running, the group also helps deliver triathlon training for everyone, even those taking on the Half Ironman and Full Ironman training programs. Extra proud of the "group training dynamic" benefits they aim to deliver, the people behind DSU offer custom training programs as well as semi-custom group programs.
Team Fit2Train
Based out of an office on East Mockingbird Lane in Dallas, Team Fit2Train offers coached workouts, personal coaching for individual sports and triathlon, as well as discounts at local sponsors and various triathlon products and services. Membership costs $150 per year and is good for 12 months.
Dallas-Area Training Courses
For open-water swimming, arguably the toughest training element to find, try the Cottonwood Creek Marina, a 35-mile drive outside Dallas that is used by the Tri-Now triathlon training group led by Frank Cortese. You can also seek advice from Tri-Now, which offers summer triathlon camps for kids, introductory training courses and swimming analysis for adults, as well as many other courses on topics like running rhythm and bicycling for the tri. Prices per course were approximately $45 as of June 2010.
Team in Training Groups in Northern Texas
The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Training (TNT) program bills itself as the world's largest endurance-training program. People who train with TNT raise funds for research to help the nearly one million Americans living with blood cancers and get the benefits of a training group and expert coaching. As of June 2010, the Northern Texas triathlon training group with headquarters in Dallas generally prepares for two races: the San Diego Triathlon, an Olympic-distance race which takes place in North Texas in mid-March; and the Memorial Hermann Ironman Texas 70.3 & Lonestar Sprint Triathlon Half Iron & Sprint Triathlon, which takes place in April in Galveston, Texas.
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