The shortest form of triathlon at an event is generally the super-sprint distance triathlon or what can be called the ‘Starter Triathlon’.
- Why you should do a triathlon
- What are the different triathlon distances?
- How fit do you have to be to do a triathlon?
Held at a wide number of beginner-friendly races, a super-sprint triathlon involves the following:
Swim: 400m
Bike: 10km
Run: 2.5km
You can also find Try-a-Tri/Starter Tri races, often with an open-water swim at the start of the race. At the Castle Triathlon Series events, for example, the Starter Tri consists of:
Swim: 200m
Bike: 15km
Run: 2km
There are, however, triathlons that can be shorter than the above distances, including the nationwide GoTri events created by British Triathlon. These will invariably start with a pool swim and an example format is:
Swim: 100m (four lengths of the pool)
Bike: 5km
Run: 1km
If you want to increase your race distance from the above formats, the next challenge would be the sprint-distance triathlon. These involve the below distances and often include an open-water swim at the beginning of the race instead of a pool swim.
Swim: 750m
Bike: 20km
Run: 5km
- How to train for your first sprint-distance triathlon
- Sprint & super-sprint triathlons: 14 of the UK's best for beginners