General Discussion Triathlon Talk » Sprint Triathlon - what is a good finishing time? Rss Feed  
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2009-09-16 9:06 PM

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Subject: Sprint Triathlon - what is a good finishing time?
Just completed my first sprint (was advertised as a "mini) tri - 400m/8mile/3k and my unofficial time is 1:15.  Here are my times broken down -

swim - 12 minutes
bike - 40 minutes
run - 23 minutes (hilly, cross country run)

I know my running time was pretty horrible as I am normally a long distance runner and this was my first tri.  But I'm wondering, how good (or bad) is a 1:15 finish for this length tri?  Thanks!


2009-09-16 9:22 PM
in reply to: #2410740

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Subject: RE: Sprint Triathlon - what is a good finishing time?
One thing I learned early on this year was that 'Sprint' is not a defined length so seing that you listed distances helps.  

Results are hard to say depending on the course.  Times look like they may be back of pack.  It also depends who shows up that day to the race.  
2009-09-16 9:26 PM
in reply to: #2410740

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Subject: RE: Sprint Triathlon - what is a good finishing time?
Are there published race results you can look at to see how you did in comparison to others?  Just looking at the times/distances themselves don't say all that much, really.

The paces in and of themselves look like back of the pack paces.  Keep working and you'll get faster.

Edited by newleaf 2009-09-16 9:46 PM
2009-09-16 9:26 PM
in reply to: #2410740

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Subject: RE: Sprint Triathlon - what is a good finishing time?
Actually I thought your run was probably a front of the pack time.  I'll take a 23 minute 5k.  Fro a 5K i run a 27.27 in my last race.

For a 4OOm swim you probably are back of the pack to be honest.  I am not sure what that figures out to be for a 100 yd pace time.  How did your times compare to others?  Have you checked this out?  What was the name of the race? 

For the bike it really depends on the course.  I did a 12.4 mile bike leg and it was pretty hilly and had a 44 min. time and was middle of the pack.  For a flat race I had a 38 min 12.4 mile bike leg and was also middle of the pack on a flat course.   I'd say you are probably back of the pack for your bike as well.  Please don't be discouraged by what I am saying.  Figure out what you need to improve on to decrease your times and implement it.

Train hard and smart and your next race will be better times.  Good luck. 
2009-09-16 9:42 PM
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Subject: RE: Sprint Triathlon - what is a good finishing time?
FYI looks as it was a 3k run for the above posts.
2009-09-16 9:45 PM
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Subject: RE: Sprint Triathlon - what is a good finishing time?
How did you do compared to the other athletes.  That will give you a clearer picture of how you stack up.  Also, any time you finish, it's a successful race.  So congrats on your first finishing your first triathlon!


However, if you really want a take on your times...  Base on an average course, and a middle aged person (I have no idea how hard your course was o how old your are are even if you are male or female).

An average swim would be less than 2:00/100, so 8 min to do 400 is average.  A fast swimmer will do it in about 5-6 minutes.

An average biker can do a sprint I'm guessing around 20 miles per hour.  So they would finish the 8 mile bike in about 24 minutes.  A fast biker can go over 25mph, so they could do the 8 miles in less than 20 minutes.

An average runner will run under 8:00 miles in a sprint.  It would take them less than 15 minutes to run 3k.  A fast runner can run 6:00 miles so they would be done with the 3k in about 11 minutes.

Add 3-4 minutes for transitions.  An average adult on an average course should be done with that sprint in about 50 minutes.  A leader would be done in 38-39 minutes if I did my math right.

But this doesn't really matter since it's making a lot of assumptions on course/athlete/weather.  It makes no difference.  How you did compared to others racing on that course and on that day is all that matters.


2009-09-20 5:01 PM
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Subject: RE: Sprint Triathlon - what is a good finishing time?
Thanks to all the replies.  I was able to look up all results and I came in 12 out of 14 in my age group.  Since this was my first triathlon however, I accomplished what I set out to do.  Number one, to finish.  Number two, to set a baseline that I could improve from.  My official times turned out to be 12 min for the swim, 35 (not 40) for the bike, and 23 for the run.  My transitions were a little slow (3.5 min for T1 and just over 2 for t2) but those can definitely be improved on. 

Again, thank you to everyone for your replies and encouragement.  I look forward to many more triathlons! 
2009-09-20 5:15 PM
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Subject: RE: Sprint Triathlon - what is a good finishing time?
Great job! Welcome to BT and triathlons! We look forward to hearing about your performance and your improvement, so keep us updated.
2009-09-20 6:27 PM
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Subject: RE: Sprint Triathlon - what is a good finishing time?
First of all : congratulations. You finished in very respectable times

What I found hard the first times was finding the right pace. I was afraid to go out too fast and finish poorly. But I ended up not going hard enough first time around.

It was only  on my 4th race I had a better idea. Doing an Olympic allowed it to gel since I was able to maintain my sprint times through an Oly, obviously I wasn't pushing enough in the sprint.

I re-adjusted my pace and improved over 5 minutes on a full sprint (750m, 12mile, 3mile) when I figured this out.
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