I would only do sprints if I didn't want to get to Kona. It's like the 5k vs. Marathon argument. Both can be difficult if you take it seriously enough. There are always super fast guys at most sprints so just go for it.

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not so much, while it is a gateway to the sport for some... Its the distance Jr Elites race. Some of the ITU WTS are sprints as well.


its also the distance for most AG draft legal races.

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Sprints around here are primarily noobs. That's not by design, but by choice.
Pretentious triathletes all want to race long(ish) it seems.
Doesn't mean you can't show up and race as hard as you want and have fun.

I do only sprints now that I have work and family responsibilities. The days of very long hours on the road for IM and 1/2IM are long gone. I like my hour of power on the trainer and my very fast 5km and 8km runs.

Same goes for me, too. I only have a few hours a week to train given family and work responsibilities, so i like hammering those workouts and then showing up on the weekends and trying to stay on the pointy end of the race.

Best part about sprints is that, if local, you can race back to back days over the weekend and be home before the family even wakes up

Nah, some really good athletes are out at every sprint I have done. I bet the same proportion of newbies to focused performers between HIM distances and sprints is not too different. In a branded HIM, I am generally a mid 30-ish finisher in a division of around 200. In a sprint or Olympic, I am generally top 3 AG in a division of 20 - 30. So, percentage wise, I am a little better in a sprint or Olympic, but not a great deal different.

My experience is I know I lot of folks who will race a sprint when they are not really in shape. They can kick butt in a sprint, but will lose it for an Olympic.

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

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ITU holds a World Championship for Sprint distance. Why wouldn't it be acceptable to focus on that distance? Everyone has different levels of ability and prefers different races. I wouldn't be concerned until Usain Bolt is frustrated by not being able to keep up with Galen Rupp. Also, stepping up in distance for most triathletes seems to be a path to a bucket list item. Your bucket may vary.

The irony may be that as you train specifically for and race more repetitively at the sprint distance, you may find your competitiveness growing for the one-off Oly distance race you might do. Sprint distance takes a different focus, but it provides a helluva base for any other distance, as well! Moving the other way is often more difficult, since you don't do as much work on top-end speed. Your average IM athlete does not do 400m repeats...at least, not outside the pool.

My experience with sprints is that they are attended by two groups of very different people. There are the obvious newbies just getting into the sport, and there are the super fast people who are there to smash it and win. I see very few people that would otherwise be considered "mid-pack" as they are all racing longer stuff.

I haven't done one in a while but I always found them fun. They hurt bad too when you are trying to squeeze every drop of performance out of yourself that you have available. Also they are over early in the day and you can even get stuff done that afternoon.

I will be putting a lot more focus on sprints next year. From a time commitment, and also, just the feeling of going fast. Plus an hour race isn't going to wreak you for the next 72 hours.

I wish there were more super competitive sprint races that were accessible.

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Totally fine to do sprints, and there are some really fast people doing sprints.

However, it is def true that sprints attract more newbs due to the shorter swim (and bike/run). So you'll place higher in sprints in your AG relative to the total field, but the fast guys tend to be similarly fast so it's still tough to win OAs in most sprints.

The situations (which are pretty common) where the sprints are typically significantly less competitive are when they are run concurrently as an Oly or HIM on the same day and same course. Most of the real monster athletes will do the Oly or HIM distance race rather than the sprint, at least that's what I'm finding. It's still no pushover to win the sprint race outright, but the winners of the concurrent Oly/HIM race will typically be significantly stronger.

Not a douche move. You're still racing for 45-60 minutes. Look at how hard elite runners train for the 5000 meters to race a fraction of the time. Race for yourself don't worry about other people. As someone pointed out you can race a local sprint and still be home in time to have a whole day with the family.

Not douchey at all.

It's a race, right? Where you try to go as fast as you can and as a result, beat other people?

I have 7 hours a week, at best, that I can devote to training. I can either 'finish' a long course event, or race a sprint or olympic with that constraint. I like to race.

I get that we're not supposed to 'shame' slow people at the local 5k...but I sure as shit don't want to be shamed for trying to go fast at a sprint/olympic.

<--might try a long course next year, but loving the standard stuff now.

not a douche move at all. sprint will always have a fair number of beginners but the ones I've done there are plenty of super fast people as well.

As long as you're not racing in the "first time triathlete" division when you're not a first timer, or doing the kids fun run as an adult, there's no need to worry about finishing too fast in a race being a douche move. It's a race! I've competed at all distances and prefer the sprint distance currently for several reasons. A couple of times this summer I've thought about moving back up to the Oly distance next year because the training and racing wouldn't hurt quite as much, but we all know that when you are trying to go as fast as possible the pain is just different at a longer or shorter distance.


Backhandedly putting down a poster who asks a sincere question. Classy Dave.

No. I spend the vast majority of my time on sprints and love it. There is Triathlon life beyond long course.

I just race harder/faster than most (hopefully all but probably not!) noobies. Is it douchy to race 5k or 10k just because you can "finish" a marathon??? Hell no. You just do so at a faster pace. I personally find the long stuff boring and just find myself thinking the whole time "I wish I were going faster". Both types of racing present different challenges though.

More people need to realize this. No one seems to celebrate going fast anymore. They just think you are a real triathlete if you go long and slow.

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I agree and wish more did. Not that I'm stomping the competition at sprints/olys but I wish there was a deeper field in those local race distances

Could not agree more. If I am going to beat myself up let it be for 1-1 1/2 hours max. More to life than just triathlon.

You are not missing anything. Maybe when you start getting a couple of overall wins and/or regular top 3 overall podiums you might want to think on focusing on longer distances. Sure, there are noobies in Sprints but around here there are also a lot of established fast finishers as well. Do what you have fun doing.

I couldn't agree more about the Junior Elites and sprint races.

My wife and I just raced a sprint distance triathlon this weekend. It included...

USA Junior Elite Squad {The winner came from this group and finished in 56:00. He's one of the top 16-17 year olds In the country}

University of Pittsburgh Triathlon Team

Penn State University Triathlon Team

I completed the course in 1:05:29...and beat 2/3 of those "kids" in the above groups. Very stiff competition at some of these sprint races. Go get it!

I've taken it a step further: loving triathlons but hating/sucking at the swim, I'm doing sprint duathlons all next year!

Haven't been this excited to race in a long time. Not dreading that first leg...

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Interestingly, when this came up years ago I recall the consensus mostly going the other way (or maybe the naysayers were just REALLY loud).

Someone's going to win every Sprint. It might as well be you. If it is, great! Hopefully you're a gracious winner; I used to be one of the biggest Sprint-targeting bottom-feeders you can imagine (I find them really fun and you can race every week, and if you do that means you're signing up for Bob's Local Sprint Triathlon with not that many people and most of the serious people not in attendance), and that meant a schlub like me won a few outright. Everyone else just asked questions about training and racing and I answered them all as best I could.

People will tell you they're "easy". People will tell you to "move up to a real distance". People will tell you that you're a jerk for bringing out all your aero toys for a Sprint. Don't listen to them - you do you. Just be ready for those comments, and the fact that a whole lot of people won't give you any credit for it, even if you go sub-hour.

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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.