The duathlon is a race competition defined as a combination of two running distances with a biking distance in between. The duathlon appeals to multisport athletes who do not excel at swimming, which is included in a similar competition known as a triathlon. The length of a duathlon varies depending on the level of competition. Regional races tend to use the shortest distances, typically a pair of two-mile runs and a 10-mile bike ride. National and international championship races typically use running distances of 5 kilometers or 10K and bike distances ranging from 30K to 60K.
Format
The duathlon is organized into a starting running segment, followed by the biking segment and concluding with another running segment. Participants are timed throughout the three segments, and including the "transition" time used to switch from the first running segment to the biking segment and then from the biking segment to the final running segment. Race results are based on total time.
U.S. Competition
Duathlon competition in the United States is sanctioned by USA Triathlon. It offers two national championship events annually, the Long Course Duathlon National Championship and the Elite Duathlon National Championship and Age Group Duathlon National Championship, which are held simultaneously at the same location. The Long Course event for 2011 was held March 27 at Birmingham, Alabama, using distances of 10K for the running segments and 60K for the biking segment. The Age Group/Elite competition was held April 30 at Tucson, Arizona, using distances of 5K for the running segments and 35K for the biking segment.
International Competition
The International Triathlon Union sanctions world championship duathlon competition, which typically includes the best athletes representing more than 50 countries. The 2011 events are the Short Course Duathlon World Championships, Sept. 24-25 at Gijon, Spain, and the Long Course Duathlon World Championship, Sept. 4 at Zofingen, Switzerland. The Short Course event will consist of two races: a standard distance duathlon with a 10K run, 40K bike and 5K run; and a sprint distance duathlon with a 5K run, 20K bike and 2.5K run. The Long Course event will use a 10K run, 150K bike and 30K run.
National Championship Participation
The Duathlon National Championship typically is the largest U.S. race each year. It offers competition in male and female age groups from 18 to 19 to 85 to 89, with all but the first group made up of a five-year age range. It also has competition in Paraduathlon, for athletes with physical disabilities. The 2011 race had 558 entries and 469 finishers. The record for participants was set in 2010, when nearly 1,300 athletes competed at Richmond, Virginia.
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