Triathlon is a multi-discipline sport consisting of a swim, followed by a bike ride and ending in a run with two transitions to contend with too.  Here are the different distances you can race with WVTri:

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Sprint distance

Only in triathlon would a race that will take on average 90 minutes to complete be referred to as a sprint! This is how most of us will experience our first taste of triathlon. The swim is usually in a pool (400m) or can be open water (750m), the cycle course is usually around 20km and the run almost always 5km.  Sprint events tend to be low-key, inexpensive and local affairs, ran by local event organisers held in a sports centre or school, and for this reason the length of the courses can vary from one event to another.  With the shorter swim it is feasible to hold this part of the race indoors, hence sprints tend to be held early in the season, and serve well as warm up or refresher event for the upcoming longer races of the summer.   Often, a Super Sprint distance is available, which tend to be 200m pool swim, 10km bike ride and 2.5km run. These are a great introduction and confidence booster for the absolute beginners, where you will learn good skills to carry forward to a longer distance.  WVTri's Sprint Club Championship is held at Race Harborough's Sprint Triathlon every September in Market Harborough.

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Olympic/standard distance

This is the most commonly raced triathlon distance and consists of a 1500m swim (either in a lake, river or sea), a 40km bike ride and a 10km run. In the UK - between the end of May and mid September - it is possible to find at least one of these races every weekend, so some consideration is required as to which race you plan to target as your ‘A’ race.  Tapering sufficiently for your events is very important throughout the season, as is the recovery time taken (coaches can assist with various tapering/recovery advice, dependant on the length of the triathlon you are doing).  WVTri's Standard Club Championship is the Pitsford Standard held every June/July.

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70.3/middle distance

More commonly known as half-Ironman distance, covering a total of 70.3miles, this triathlon is comprised of a 1.9km swim, 90km bike ride and a half marathon (21.09km). There are fewer of these events on the calendar, for obvious reasons, but the races are well attended and supported.  There will often be a standard and even a sprint at these events as well, excluding the larger Ironman and Outlaw races. WVTri members attend multiple 70.3 races throughout the year, and often promote club group outings which can be in the UK or Europe.  From 2019, WVTri's Middle Distance Club Championship will be Grafman, held at Grafham Water during May.

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Ironman/long course

This distance triathlon requires the most training (up to 30 weeks) as you will need to swim 3.8km, cycle for 180km and then run a whole marathon of 42.19km, all within a cut off time of usually 17 hours.  You will always find WVTri members training and competing at this distance, whether it is for IM UK (Bolton), IM Wales (Tenby) or one of the popular European courses, such as IM Frankfurt, IM Zurich, IM Austria or IM Maastricht.  Advice and recommendations are always on hand from experienced, long course members.

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