There is no shame in a Sprint Tri. Going 100% for an hour+ is not easy and hurts like hell.

In fact, consider this my official plea to everyone to do more Sprints/Olys.

Advantages
(1) you go faster which is just more fun
(2) done quicker with race leaving more time for other things in life that day (and possibly, but not necessarily in training)
(3) cheaper
(4) recover faster

Nope, my comment has nothing to do with the OP. It was just an observation for the sprint races I do with my friends. They kick my butt in Sprint races. I cannot
make up the swim differences or bike with my run.

Your choice to read things negative when it is not stated that way.

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Dave Campbell | Facebook | @DaveECampbell | h2ofun@h2ofun.net

Boom Nutrition code 19F4Y3 $5 off 24 pack box | Bionic Runner | PowerCranks | Velotron | Spruzzamist

Lions don't lose sleep worrying about the sheep

Triathlon in the US is long course oriented for a couple reasons. One, that is where the history is rooted and two, the sport is most approachable to people who can afford it. Those people cant compete at the highest level anymore so the accomplishment comes from LD racing> 140.6 is impressive. Not too many people know what a tri 14:30 5k means. A marathon of anything sounds impressive. Im not knocking any racers, but its simply a different sport almost. Ask Usain Bolt if he feels like his distance was weak sh*t. Rock the sprint tri!

Good point. There's no reason I should feel bad about myself for completing another sprint in 45minutes.


Sprint distance means I can still get home and cut the grass.

All newbs race sprint. But not all who race sprint are newbs.

sprints are good for the physically injured... I'm doubtful my knee will hold for anything longer then an oly and maybe not even one of those. I'm a little sore after a 7k run.

I was going to say that about my back. I can hammer for 1:10 - 1:20 and my back holds up but hammering for 2:20 Plus hours and my back is SH!T

Or finish the race and get brunch. Same advantage as running races.

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The point is, ladies and gentleman, that speed, for lack of a better word, is good. Speed is right, Speed works. Speed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit.

I find in Australia the Sprints can have the fastest guys as the ITU junior development guys race them.


As for racing and training for them, it's a legit world champs distance and WTS distance so why not ? It's only age groupers who have this weird obsession with longer always being better, do you think Bolt gives a crap about marathons ?

"They are not really in shape"
"will lose it for an Olympic"

If I was your friend, I wouldn't be happy to read this. I could list multiple quotes where you write that those who do sprint tris are "faking it." I guess I'm a snowflake, but jusr sayin'

Not necessarily if they are raced in the manner we are advocating here. That's the point many are making. A sprint isn't an easy athletic endeavor if raced hard. Theoretically I guess less time on the course could be less likely to produce an injury but biking and running hard are hard on the body too.

My friends totally agree with me since I do beat them at Olympic, and can easily lose to them at Sprint. They are have been dealing with injuries and have done little training, especially in the run. So not sure why one cannot be honest. The longer a race, the more one really has to be in shape. One of many reason I do not race long distance anymore.

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Dave Campbell | Facebook | @DaveECampbell | h2ofun@h2ofun.net

Boom Nutrition code 19F4Y3 $5 off 24 pack box | Bionic Runner | PowerCranks | Velotron | Spruzzamist

Lions don't lose sleep worrying about the sheep

Yeah great point. Those ITU guys doing the shorter stuff don't train enough and aren't in good enough shape to do long distance.


This is the misconception we are trying to bust here. It's different conditioning, yes. But shorter doesn't necessarily equal easier. And you of all people know this.

If long course is death by 1000 cuts, short course is death by a couple shot gun blasts to the gut!

You totally miss the point, but oh well. .1% folks are not the kind of folks ST is talking about.

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Dave Campbell | Facebook | @DaveECampbell | h2ofun@h2ofun.net

Boom Nutrition code 19F4Y3 $5 off 24 pack box | Bionic Runner | PowerCranks | Velotron | Spruzzamist

Lions don't lose sleep worrying about the sheep

Last race I did they had a sprint and Olympic. I raced the Sprint and lost. I would have easily won the Olympic. It all depends on who shows up and what they want to race. In most cases you need to be in shape to win a sprint. I've never seen a fat out of shape person win a sprint.

Again, that is not at all what I am saying, but if one does not understand it is easier to run a fast 5K when one is not in total run shape than a fast 10K, I do not know what else to say.

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Dave Campbell | Facebook | @DaveECampbell | h2ofun@h2ofun.net

Boom Nutrition code 19F4Y3 $5 off 24 pack box | Bionic Runner | PowerCranks | Velotron | Spruzzamist

Lions don't lose sleep worrying about the sheep

Both are equally hard. A fast 5k is a different pace than a fast 10k. You cant do either if you are not in shape. I don't know what else to say.

Sprint tris have evolved over the decades to the point they now have a world title. Initially, in the '80's, it was considered a race for the newbies before they attempted the regular distance of what was called 'Olympic'. Then, as people became confident at the OD level they eyed off the HIM and IM races as new challenges.

Not only will the sprint distance retain its new found popularity following its wide acceptance as a legitimate distance for a world championship but it will also gain the interest of those who can no longer compete over the longer distances because of injury, age or family/work commitments.

My own $0.02 is that sprints tend to have "odd-ball" fast guys: ex D1 swimmers or runners that don't really know what they're doing but they show up and go fast just on account of the size of their engine.

So I don't get trashed, here's what I mean by "they don't know what they know what they're doing":
-They aren't aero weenies.
-They don't read Friction Facts reports or TomA's crr spreadsheet.
-They don't have their transition setup and execution super refined.
-They've never really "tested" nutrition in training or thought about when to take in nutrition during a race.
-Outside of their specialized sport, they really don't know how to train

After a while of racing against these odd-ball fast guys, some of the sort-of fast adult onset guys that prefer short course gravitate toward the Olympic distance because things like bike setup, transition setup, nutrition, and a proper training structure give them a chance to be competitive against the guys with big engines but minimal tri-specific knowledge. As such, the depth of sprint fields can be erratic.

With all of the foregoing said, sometimes early season sprints see some ridiculously deep fields.

I love sprints, and being an amateur who just does this for fun and as a competitive outlet, I have no problem training hard for sprints. Even this year my 'A' race was a Sprint tri because I liked the course and they had an awesome prize for the winner, way cooler than any Ironman race I've done. For some reason amateur triathletes get stuck in their heads that longer means better, but that simply isn't true. The Sprint and Olympic racing is just as fun (actually more fun because you get to go really fast) and just as competitive if you pick the right races. I guarantee you will get just as good of a big race experience if you do Age Group Nationals vs any regular Ironman, you'll spend way less money, and your family will appreciate not having to run around all day trying to catch glimpses of you going slow.

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Powertap / Cycleops / Saris

You likely hold this view of sprint races since you only have one speed that you go for every race. Your training is perfect for going one speed, no ability to go any faster, regardless of the distance. So, you get beaten in a sprint because other people pick up the pace since the race is shorter. You keep going the same speed (redline from the gun), and lose a sprint but win an Olympic.

I got toasted in the chute by a Penn State Triathlete by less then 5 seconds. He was 21 years old and told me the the is trying to get faster for short course.

HELL YES, TRAIN FOR SPRINTS...TOP END ATHLETES ARE!

A couple of observation:

1) This year my A race is Ironman Kona. My training volume is the highest it has ever been (especially the bike volume).
My results at Olympic Distance events this year have been the best ever.
I suspect I would also do very well at sprints.
My point:
Volume + intensity + recovery = speed (at all triathlon distances)
2) The people my (age 45-49) who can beat me at a sprint (there are not too many of them), could also beat me at an Ironman, with only minor changes to their training.

Sprint triathlon, 200 m Butterfly, Ironman Kona, Tour de France, USA track and field masters 1500m.......
Just different flavors of pain.
All delicious in their own way.

In the early 80's there was a lot more variety of distance in the "sprint" classification. It's good to see it is starting to be a bit more standardized, from what I can tell getting back to tri's after many years off.

The 80's was also the era of the "no nudity in transition" rule (before tri-shorts), and also very odd order of events some times. I remember the Bud Lite Tri series in the 80's had at least one race in LA that was a run - bike - swim. The earlier years of triathlon were certainly interesting...

Personally, I love(d) sprints because they were small, local races. It's like your neighborhood 5k. There will be competitive types, newbies, and those just in it for fitness. But, as I grew in the sport, the longer distances called. First into the Olympic/International distance, and finally a full IM. But, after that challenge... what was left? Enter the couch potato.

Now, I've spent the last couple of years getting back into some state of physical fitness. I'm building my base and plan to get back into regular sprint races. They don't require the training hours that I can't seem to find anymore, and there are a lot of them around. I was never competitive - tri's are just for fun and fitness. I'd like to include one Olympic distance perhaps a year, but mostly stick to sprints.

So, to the OP, do the distance(s) you can enjoy and have time to properly train. If you want to be competitive, find the distance that works best for you. The best 100 yard sprinter won't win a marathon, or vice versa. Same goes for tri's. Specialists, you know...

Now, where was that how to loose weight thread... ? ;-)

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