Talk to me about duathlons

[roadie gal]

It's official, I'm not allowed to swim anymore, so my tri "career" is over. Now I'm looking at duathlons. But I don't know much about them. So, those of you who do know, talk to me about dus.

Where do you find them? Trifind has some, but not many. How do the transitions work? Do you set them up like a tri transition? What else should I know?

Thanks

[zoom-zoom]

I've never done a tri, but have done 1 du and am planning on 3 this year (one is not a "true" duathlon, as it only has a single run leg).

Transitions are the same, I think. Instead of a first swimming leg you'll have a run leg, then bike, then back to run. We have one organization that manages the majority of duathlons around here...I've also found some on runningintheusa.com and by word-of-mouth. You might find something on duathlon.com, too. I can't recall what was listed there for my area when I checked, but I'm pretty sure they have an event calendar of some sort.

[spindizzy]

It's all I "du"!

I'm sorry you're not able to do your chosen sport(s). It is hard to reframe your training and expectations. But it's fantastic that you have options.

You run. Transition. Bike. Transition. Run. You'll totally love the first transition. No wet stuff to peel off; no sand/gravel/grass/dirt on your feet. It is tough on the legs though. But some good training should help with that. After the first run, it's just like a tri. There is only one race that I do where we go off in waves. Other than that, it's a mass start. There may also be some differences in the run distances. An "International" du usually has the longer run first, the bike leg, then the shorter distance run. There are sprints, Olys and halfs.

The series I run in in Southern Ontario offers duathlons at all of the tri races. So I would check with all of the tris run in your area; they may offer dus as well.

Have a great season- don't forget to post your race reports.

[zoom-zoom]

The series I run in in Southern Ontario offers duathlons at all of the tri races. So I would check with all of the tris run in your area; they may offer dus as well.

So envious...I wish more tris did this. Doesn't seem like it would be all that logistically difficult to do it this way.

[jef09]

I am doing my first Du this summer after realizing I am not a strong enough swimmer to really enjoy triathlons. I found my races in Competitor and on Active.com.

I am so sorry you won't be able to do your Tris anymore and I hope you can find some pleasure in duathlons. Losing basketball was tough for me, but I am grateful everyday I am still able to compete in some way.

[tomaskova]

I am just going to do my first Du this summer, I found some on trifind.com, but the one I am most excited about is the IronGirl Du in Bloomington MN. That will be my first big one, hope to do a sprint beforehand. I am not a strong swimmer, so Tri's are not something I would want to do!