General Discussion Triathlon Talk » Sprint, intermediate, Olympic please explain Rss Feed  
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2016-06-06 9:54 AM


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Subject: Sprint, intermediate, Olympic please explain
There are so many different types of races I get confused as to what is what. I did a sprint so I know what distances it consist of but can someone explain to me the distances on all the other style Triathlons?


2016-06-06 10:26 AM
in reply to: choppadude

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Subject: RE: Sprint, intermediate, Olympic please explain

Olympic: 1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10k run

Half Iron: 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run

Ironman: 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run

Sprints are not really standardized. Pretty much every sprint tri I've ever done was some varying distance,

2016-06-06 10:27 AM
in reply to: trijamie


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Subject: RE: Sprint, intermediate, Olympic please explain
Thanks Trijamie!
2016-06-06 10:35 AM
in reply to: choppadude

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Subject: RE: Sprint, intermediate, Olympic please explain
Also you will see international distance listed a lot.

These are usually close to an Olympic distance, but for what ever reason(usually available roads/paths) could not be the same.

Example:
I just did an international distance that was
  • 6 mile swim
  • 31 mile bike
    5.1 mile run
    2016-06-06 10:45 AM
    in reply to: choppadude

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    Subject: RE: Sprint, intermediate, Olympic please explain

    Only a few race distances are well defined. Olympic, Half (70.3), Full (140.6). There are all sorts of race distances:

    Super Sprints, no true definition. Typically < 1/4mile (440y) swims and a lot have pool swims,

    Sprints, no true definition; 400y to 800m swims, >10

    Olympic; 1500m, 40k, 10k. Sometimes if there's a sprint with the race distance the sprint is 1/2 distance and the Oly has 2 loops/laps for each event

    Half (ironman); 1.2mi, 56mi, 13.1mi.

    Full (ironman); 2.4mi, 112mi, 26.2, again if there's a Half with this race distance its typically a 2 loops/laps for each event

    I've done "intermediate" distance races such as one that was basically 1.5x Oly with 1.2mi swim, 60k (38mi) bike and a 15k run. In central FL there's a fall race that has a Full distance setup in 3 laps for each event and they offer 1/3 and 2/3 distance events at the same time.

    2016-06-06 10:58 AM
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    Subject: RE: Sprint, intermediate, Olympic please explain
    Originally posted by trijamie

    Sprints are not really standardized. Pretty much every sprint tri I've ever done was some varying distance,




    A "true" sprint is supposed to be 1/2 of an Oly: 750m swim, 20k bike (12.4 mi), 5k run.

    In practice, there's a lot of variability. The swim leg, in particular, seems to regularly be less than that. Most sprints around here seem to have a swim leg of around 400 meters. It's not uncommon to see them as low as 300 yards if the swim is in a pool as this is the most distance you can do in a zig-zag in the common 6 lane, 25 yard layout. Half marathon (13.1 miles) is a common alternate bike distance. I've seen as high as a 19 mile bike leg on a triathlon that called itself a "Sprint," but rarely is it over 15 miles. The 5k run distance is pretty typical, although there's some variability there, too.

    Edited by gary p 2016-06-06 11:03 AM


    2016-06-06 2:27 PM
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    Subject: RE: Sprint, intermediate, Olympic please explain
    When I describe race distances I like to use miles and not kilometers, since we are in the US and most folks can't visualize what a kilometer/meters distance is but can immediately understand miles/yards. You have the ITU International Triathlon Union who organizes World Cup, World Triathlon Series and organized Triathlon into the Olympics program. This is the Pro/Elite level of Triathlons. Then you have the USAT, USA Triathlon which sanctions most of the amateur races that we mostly compete in. (Including the Ironman races)

    Finally you have ever popular Ironman series. Ironman is a trade name of the WTC, World Triathlon 'Corporation'. This is a private corporation for profit, most recently sold out to a Chinese company for $650 million dollars. They use a mix of ITU and USAT rules, although ITU does not support nor sanction WTC races.

    A Ironman is really just a 'Full' (140.6) distance Triathlon, a 1/2 Ironman is considered a 'Half'(70.3) distance or 'Medium' course. An Olympic is considers a 'Short' course, or International distance. Sprints are good entry level or warm up/practice races for the Olympic courses.

    For more information on Triathlons and established distances, look here:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triathlon

    I am doing 3 races (My Triathlon Triple) in August and none of them holds true to any set distance.

    'Semper Tri' Camp Pendleton Marine Corp Base, CA Aug 6th
    Sprint 500yd ocean swim, 18mile bike, 3.1mile run (short swim, long bike)

    Hansen Dam, Sylmar, CA Aug 21st
    Olympic .9 mile pond swim, 22mile bike, 6.1mile run (short bike)

    Santa Barbara Triathlon, SB, CA Aug 29th
    Long Course 1mile ocean swim, 34mile bike, 10mile run (transition distance to 'half' distance races)


    So that is the 'long' and 'short' of that, lol

    Edited by rjcalhoun 2016-06-06 2:29 PM
    2016-06-06 4:53 PM
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    Subject: RE: Sprint, intermediate, Olympic please explain
    Hmmm...I have done two "international distance" races with a 1.8 km swim, 62 km bike, and 12 km run. That is fairly standard here in Asia--Laguna Phuket is the best-known race of that distance. Sprints do tend to vary--my last one had a 950m swim, 18 km bike, and 5 km run. I was not complaining about that--a lot of people were! The year they made the bike 25 km, I was the one who was unhappy!

    Edited by Hot Runner 2016-06-06 4:54 PM
    2016-06-06 7:32 PM
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    Subject: RE: Sprint, intermediate, Olympic please explain
    A way a like to explain it to others is that an Ironman distance is a full distance triathlon. Then you have a half ironman which of course is half the distances. Then you have an Olympic which is typically 1/4 the distances of the full, and then a Sprint which is typically 1/8 the distances of a full. So 1/1, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8. Although the Olympic and Sprint distance vary widely. For example, some local Olympic events have a mile swim which is more than 1/4 of a full ironman 2.4 mile swim.

    Edited by AquaWolf 2016-06-06 7:34 PM
    2016-06-06 8:23 PM
    in reply to: choppadude

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    Subject: RE: Sprint, intermediate, Olympic please explain
    Distnaces about double for each level race.
    Sprint is usually 750m, 20 km, 5 km
    Olympic is 1500 m, 40 km, 10 km
    Half Iron is about 2000 m, 90 km, 21 km
    Ironman is about 4000 m, 180 km, 42 km
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