I want to, but don’t think I’ll ever do a triathlon
If you are excited and intrigued by the idea of doing a triathlon, but think it is just for the super fit, think again. In this blog Coach Denise takes a look at the whole sport of triathlon and may just change your mind.
When someone says triathlon, what comes to mind? For most people it is either an image of superfit, young athletes, flying around a swim, bike and run course at the Olympics, or the amazing endurance feat that is the Ironman. In both these cases, those taking part are top-level athletes who spend hours every week training. For many people, the thought of doing a triathlon is incredible, if not impossible.
While this is an image of triathlon, it is not the complete picture. Far from being an elite level sport only for those in the top 1% of fitness, triathlon can be, and generally is, a very inclusive sport with events to suit any level of competitor. People of all ages, sizes and fitness levels are regularly taking part in local events which aim to encourage anyone to give it a go. Competitors in these events, at any level, are also so encouraging of all who take part; it is fantastic to see.
Let’s take a look at available events for the first time triathlete. The usual distances for triathlon events are Sprint, Standard (or Olympic), Middle (Half Ironman or 70.3) and Full (Ironman or 140.6). In addition, many local organisations will run a novice, or Come and Tri event, often alongside other events. Although there can be some variations, usual distances for all these events are:
One of the first perceived barriers in doing a triathlon is that many people don’t think they can swim well enough. In fact, the large majority of triathletes come into the sport with swimming as their weakest discipline. According to Swim England, a third of the adult population cannot swim one length of a 25m pool. This means that two thirds of the population can swim at some level. If this is you, then you have something to build on. Triathlon does not define what stroke you need to swim, though some are more practical than others, and some events do preclude backstroke. However, if you can swim just a little bit of breaststroke, then with some practice in your local pool, you can build up to the minimum distance of a novice event of 400m, 16 lengths of a 25m pool.
If you can’t swim at all, then taking lessons to develop an important life skill, is a great way to get started. A good place to start is at a local community pool, where there may well be an adult learn to swim program. Alternatively, local masters swim groups may run a learn to swim session.
Next, onto the bike. A quick look on the internet will show a bewildering array of highly technical, and expensive, options for bikes. This can be totally off putting for the new comer. There is nothing in the rules of triathlon that stipulates the type of bike you need to use. If you own a general purpose bike you can definitely use this. You do not need clip in pedals, bike shoes or tri bars. A daily commute bike is absolutely fine for your first event. At any local short distance event you will see a full array of bike types. The final stage is the run. Again, there is no need for any fancy equipment, or ability to run like Mo Farah. You can ride your own bike wearing the trainers you run in, saves time in transition, and as long as you can move forwards for the race distance, you are good to go. Local Parkrun events are a brilliant way to run regularly with a friendly crowd. If you’re entering a novice event then you don’t even need to be able to run the full park run distance, though it is good cardio vascular training.
If all this sounds like a pipe dream, I am a testament to the fact that it can all work out. I entered my first triathlon in 2009, at the age of 45. It was a Sprint event at Stirling, and my goal was to raise money for charity. At the time I could not swim more than 200m breaststroke and had not ridden my bike for years. I did have a few years of running experience, which I had started when I was 40. I went to the pool a couple of times a week to increase my swim distance, cycled to work, coming home the long way, on my old, general purpose bike, and ran off the bike a few times to get used to how it felt. I completed that event, despite being really worried about doing it all, and got hooked.
I went on to competing in the local Border Series of events, winning my age group category in the series, while still swimming breaststroke. After a couple of years, I put in the effort to learn front crawl properly. Since then I have completed numerous triathlons of all distances up to the full Ironman, which I did twice in the UK. I’ve also been part of the GB team in the European Championships. And in 2019 I gave up corporate work, and now coach triathletes professionally.
So, if you are interested in triathlon, give it a go – what have you got to lose. Be warned though, it can be both addictive and life changing.
Denise has been coaching triathletes since 2019 as a coach at her local triathlon club in West Lothian. Between 2019 and 2022, Denise was the Head coach in the club, working with a team of coaches to support and develop triathletes with a wide range of capabilities, completing her BTF Triathlon Level 2 coaching qualification in 2021.
Denise joined Tri Training Harder as a coach in 2021, building on the qualifications through the experience and knowledge passed on by the coaching team.
In 2019 Denise set up and continues to run her own Jog Scotland running group, a mixed ability group of runners who meet weekly. This delivers on her passion for helping people to do much more than they think they can.
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