I did one reverse tri last year. It was sprint distance, with a 400m swim in a 50m pool. The water felt great, and minimal risk with several lifeguards present. But I would not do it in open water. I'm an experienced but not fast swimmer, and would not take the risk of swimming while already tired, even after sprint distance run and bike.

I always find it hilarious when the old timers here in the Tri forum complain about mass starts going away. But, most local tris take place in the pool...no mass starts there
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Most old timers complain about the mass starts going away because we really like mass starts. They've completely removed that format from our list of options.

Also, I don't know where you're from, but out around these parts the overwhelming majority of local sprint/ oly races are ows. Mostly wave starts by AG.

To the OP- I'm on board with the majority in that putting the swim at the end of a race might make it more interesting, but it certainly will not make it more safe. Swimming is already a major concern/ barrier to the sport so we want our fellow athletes at their best during that discipline.

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Take a short break from ST and read my blog:
http://tri-banter.blogspot.com/

Phoenix. 80% of races held here are pool sprints.

You may "enjoy" mass starts. But even without mass starts there are hundreds of rude triathletes in the water at every race that has had an OWS that I've been in. It honestly surprises me that there aren't more drownings because of this. It also surprises me that there aren't fights in the water as well. Mass Starts are not something that is necessary for this sport at all.

The closest thing I've had to a "mass" start has been deep water wave starts in Tempe Town Lake. Those are good enough for me.

I swim at a minimum 2x week when I'm training. Usually a third day that is OWS at a lake. So it's not like I'm uncomfortable in the water. What I'm uncomfortable with is people swimming over me instead of around me.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

Remind me to stay out of Phoenix. Sounds like they don't know how to play nice out there. In upstate NY, we know how to get along. Finally, I found something about this region to be proud of!

Listen, I get that you don't like a mass start and I get why. If there's a mass start, you have the option of not signing up for that race. But, if I want to have a mass start race, there's no real option for it anymore. Diversity is good and extinction is bad.

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Take a short break from ST and read my blog:
http://tri-banter.blogspot.com/

I understand you are from Hong Kong, so you may know this guy Mayank Vaid who did the fastest ever time for this out of order triathlon the "Enduroman": Run from London to Dover 140km, swim across the channel, bike 290km to Paris. Took him 50 hrs 24 min, which was the world record as of last Sept, so a "bit longer" than the Eurostar:

https://www.hindustantimes.com/...fCAL1xq5NkustdO.html

He probably would have smoked Mark Cavendish on the sprint finish on the bike in Paris had Cav done all legs too

How the hell are these races going to be wetsuit legal with the swim later in the day. Sounds like a recipe for disaster. Overcooked bike and run segments with dehydrated athletes jumping in for a non-wetsuit legal swim.

It would be hilarious to see some poor guy trying to get his $1,000 Deboer wetsuit on with sweaty ass legs, realizing he just put his entire leg through the calf area of his high end suit.

This has to be a wind up thread... but depending on how you timed making it back to the beach after the run and bike, theres a fair chance on a tidal course the sea would be out and youd be able to jog around the swim course, and it would definitely be safer in this case!

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@the.lazy.triathlete

https://www.strava.com/athletes/18691068

It's been done races in the past. At American triple T you had to decide if you wanted the extra time to put a wetsuit on a damp body or not. I do it all the time riding or running to open water swims. I have my transition down from arrival at tree beside beach, unpack my stuff, lock bike and bike gear and out on westuit and into water in 3 minutes (yes I time it because it's training for free speed....I was 2010 combined transitions world champion in my age group in Kona and 70.3 world's but it takes practice)...and 2 min the other way.

But on a no wetsuit sprint tri, I would skip the wetsuit in all but the coldest temps. As long as body heat is built up from other two sports its hard to lose 2 min over 750m. No way a wetsuit will give me 16 seconds per 100m but on an olympic 8 second per 100m is worth the wetsuit if it is really cold. If water is warm then it's a toss up.

Again, as I said many times in this thread it's doable on Olympic or sprint at small races. It may not attract people who rely on wetsuit only. It's ok. It would be a different type of race.

Look at swim run races. They have swims after runs all the time and you have to figure out what equipment you want to use for fastest race for you.

Swimrun is ALWAYS wetsuit legal. Why would anyone want to do this type of race? Outside of Superleague which features the top ITU young guns nobody runs triathlons like Triple Mix Style. I don't think many average joes are built or trained for this style of racing. That's probably part of the reason you don't see it.

Hey, what I am trying to suggest, is there is room for all kinds of formats. The sport has had them in the past and can have them any time we want. They don't need to be 2000 person events. There is room for 50 person events, with pool swims or small contained open water swim legs. Without the congestion of the early part of the race, having the swim in a sprint or olympic format at the end in a contained area becomes something that is pretty doable from a logistics angle. Even a short 200m out 200m back loop parallel to shore and the race is not bothering anyone in many venues

I’ve done run bike swim tris

I prefer them

Also have done swim run bike

Like those even more

We have swimrun in our country but wetsuit is never used because the water is too hot.

I'm interested to do swimrun orienteering which route choices involve either going on land or going in water. This is freaking more fun than traditional swimrun.

It's just fortunate that the swim is in the water. Sounds like if it wasn't, would've been a gun pulled on someone by now.

In the mid to late '80s in Aust, we had Aquathon events. They were a reasonably popular diversion on the growing tri scene.

The events involved a 5 km run followed by an 800 metre open water swim. You'd run in your speedos and carry your goggles, then shoes off as you hit the sand and adjust your googles as you sprinted into the water.

Some races were held in the morning, some in the afternoon allowing you pick up a second race for the day after doing something longer that morning, and there was a Wednesday evening series you could race after work. Pretty much no infrastructure for most, just a volunteer at the run turnaround, a single buoy to swim around in the ocean, river or lake, and someone writing down finishing times.

Hurt like hell, red-lining all the way for 30+ minutes, but awesome fun!

Ever tried to swim 2.4 after a marathon? Or even after a hard effort 10k? It’s very difficult for most triathletes.

You keep using 200m as a reference. If you’ve done any local events, you would appreciate that 200m from shore is a long way away for inexperienced swimmers that rule such races. I could maybe see like 15 meters out and swim along shore line, but 200m is not “safely” close to shore.

Maybe I did not explain it well. 200m out and back but both our and return legs parallel to shore. Makes the monitoring easier.

Years ago, I did a 5k with a 500 yard or less ocean swim at the end. Went into the water feeling great and went into my stroke and realized my heart was beating out of control. Never got it under control and can remember body surfing a wave in and thinking I might drown in the wave.

I have done a few aquathons which involves swims after runs, including swim-run-swim-run or even swim-run-swim-run-swim-run. It was really fun.

With all due respect this is a terrible idea. I award you no points and may God have mercy on your soul.

In all seriousness people would drown.

SwimRun is an actual event.

That's how Magnum did it, which is fine for me [although he DID get DQd for turning around on the bike, and going the wrong way to catch the bad guys in the Botanical Gardens ... but TC got the Island Hoppers logo on the news, so it all worked out OK]

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

Sorry, but who is magnum ?

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Advanced Aero TopTube Storage for Road, Gravel, & Tri...ZeroSlip & Direct-mount, made in the USA.
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I wrote this, you should read it:
https://www.slowtwitch.com/...n_Swimming_6700.html

And do you bike in a swim run?? Yea lets bike 112, run 26.2 and then swim 2.4