So what do you newcomers need to know about Triathlon?

Right, lets start simply.

Triathlon = Swim Bike Run

You start in the pool or lake at the chosen destination of that specific triathlon.

You do a bit of swimming, (usually between 400m and 1500m for adults). You can do whatever stroke you want and take as long as you have to.

The you get out of this pool or lake and enter T1 (transition number 1). This is where you will transform from a swimmer into a cyclist... or just take off your wet suit and stick you race number on and hop on your bike.

Off you go on the bike course. It is usually road cycling and the course is always well marshalled by those funny volunteer people in illuminous bibs.

At the end of the bike, you will jump off your bike when a marshal tells you to and enter T2. This is where your cyclist to runner transformation happens. This, at the most, will involve a change of shoes and a quick swig of a drink.

And then you run to the finish, usually via quite an interesting course, sometimes even along beaches and through woods, though you probably won’t really take much notice of these. I don’t know many people that run a triathlon admiring the pretty scenery!

And then you cross the all important finish line. You get water and squash thrust at you from all angles, cheers, hugs and a pat on the back if you’re really lucky.

There will of course be all the super humans milling around, the type that finished ages ago. But there will be plenty of people finishing after you, probably more than you expect.

POPULAR MISCONCEPTIONS

1/ I need to be really good at swimming

Not true. Swimming is arguably the least important of the three disciplines. The swim takes the least amount of time therefore the difference between the best and the worst is less dramatic. For example on a 400m pool swim; the best time will be around 5 minutes and the worst around 12 minutes. So a 7 minute difference on an event which takes around 1 ½ hrs is really not that crucial. Our club being from a swimming background also has numerous swimming coaches and teachers to help bring your swim up to standard or improve a good swim even further.

 2/ All triathletes are super heroes

Definitely not true. Triathletes come in all shapes, sizes, ages, abilities and with hugely varying aspirations. True some are obsessive compulsive maniacs but most are out to challenge themselves. Take marathon runners. Do all those lining up genuinely believe they are going to win? Of course not, each one is running for their own personal reasons; triathlon is the same. Bear in mind that a Sprint triathlon takes under two hours compared to a marathon which takes considerably longer.

 3/ I’ll need to train every day

Not true. You will choose to train as often as you wish. Your results will mirror your training, triathlon is very fair, your success will usually relate to the effort put in during training.

 4/ I’ll need an expensive bike

Not true. Our best junior member competed last season on a 30 year old Raleigh ten speed  which was found in the back of a garage and donated to the club for free. She finished ranked first in the National ranking series. Probably 20 % of competitors at Sprint events compete on Mountain bikes.

 5/ Everyone will be better than me

Not true. The great thing about triathlon is that not many people are great at all three disciplines. We all have strengths and weaknesses; that’s what makes Triathlon so interesting. You can suddenly catch somebody up who you thought was long gone or visa - versa.