Sun City Tri

City of Sunderland Triathlon Club

Triathlon, what is it?

Just in case you don't know, Triathlon is one of the fastest growing sports on the Planet.  It is a single sport consisting of the three seperate sports of swimming, cycling and running...So, once the start gun goes, you would swim then ride your bike and then run without stopping, apart from briefly to change shoes and maybee some items of clothing.  This is called the transition and is actually part of the race, as the clock is still ticking while you change.  Novices can take minutes to change, while experienced Triathletes can change in under 10 seconds!!

The distances for the original Triathlon, held in Hawaii were rather extreme at a  2.4mls swim, a 112ml cycle and a full marathon run to finish off with.  This event is rightly known as 'The Ironman'  However in order to encourage new Triathletes the distances were broken down into the following catagories.

Supersprint.             400m swim - 20k bike - 5k run

Sprint.                      750m swim - 20k bike - 5k run

Olympic Distance.    1500m swim - 40k bike- 10k run

Half Ironman.          1900m swim - 90k bike- 21k run

Ironman.                 3800m swim - 180k bike - 42k run

The term 'gruelling' is often used by the media when describing Triathlon events, and of course some of the longer events can be, howvever, with proper advice and training, Triathlon is more usually described as exillerating, exciting and fullfilling by those who partake in the sport. 

Futher more, you dont have to race to enjoy Triathlon.  Triathlon is also a lifestyle of healthy living, combining exercise and healthy eating.  Once not so long ago people used to want to do a Marathon as a landmark event in their lives, now more and more people are looking to Triathlon to fullfill that challenge. 

Anyone can do a Triathlon, you may not be first but you will challenge yourself.  People in their sixties and even seventies are competing in Triathlons, even completing Ironman events.  You don't have to take it that far, but it just goes to show, 'it's never too late'