I am one of the many triathletes out there who really ought to be a duathlete (love cycling, love running, not so keen on swimming) but has been doing triathlons primarily because that is what is out there if you want to do multisport races. I have sworn not to touch the pool this winter, so I think next year I will actually attempt to race duathlons only for a season and see how it goes. We have 2 little ones locally, but I would like to have an “A” race or two to build my season around. What are the “big” duathlons out there? The must do’s? The classics? I am aware of Am Zof, which looks like a great race but the timing is problematic for me. What others should I look at? I prefer longer distances, but am open at this point.
I am in the NW (Boise, ID to be exact) but am willing to travel for a true “A” race. I just don’t want to haul all the way across the country to race for an hour.
PowerMan Alabama - not what it used to be but still competitive and decent size
USAT nationals - strong field and good size
AZ - 225 cap so not tri size huge but if you want long, here you go
Virginia Du - have always heard good things
Does the Apple Du still exist in Minn
if you really want to experience Duathlon head to Europe, just Awesome
AmZof is the ultimate bucket list race for me. Might not be able to make it next year, but I’m willing to buy one of those newfangled foundation spots if I can…
The 2nd Powerman Muncie Triathlons and Duathlons will be held on Oct. 1, 2011 and is filling fast! We already have more registered than 2010! This is the USAT MidEast Regional Duathlon championships and offers 2 Triathlons; Oly/Sprint and an Aquabike, 3 duathlons; Sprint/International and Powerman LC: 10k/61.8k/10k along with great October-fest food, a pancake breakfast and adult beverages!
I have to vote for PowerMan (10k/60k/10k) in Alabama too. I did it this year thinking it would be a final “big day” before my 3wk taper for NOLA70.3.
This thing is a good race.
There were times when I would look down and see that I wasn’t even making a shoe length forward progress due to the grade of the run. I actually thought there were spots that I could have used a ladder.
The bike is no big deal. It has some hills, but there aren’t any monsters. Just a few big rollers that keep the splits respectable for an event called PowerMan. Sucky thing about it is a couple of big downhill spots where you have a 180 or a big turn, and its 3 loops.
My calves were shredded afterwards. I couldnt train for 6 days. The powerman absolutely destroyed my legs for the first week of taper.
I remember thinking that the Du should be easier than tri’s when I got there. I left thinking I was glad these Du-guys weren’t swimmers too.
PowerMan Alabama - not what it used to be but still competitive and decent size
I did powerman alabama for the first time lat March. What do you mean its not what it use to be? I thought it was pretty decent field. Did it use to be really extravagant?
Powerman Alabama was/is one of the iconic Duathlons. It was like Daytona in Nascar. The big prestigeous event that kicked off the year
Strong European and American Pro Field. A whose who of American Age Groupers
The original course could destroy people. Nothing like a turnaround at the bottom of a killer hill. You knew you were screwed when Mike Pigg was struggling ascending back up
And come on what is better then cheap mexican food as the post race dinner, yeh thats right, mexican. that’s 11 degrees of awesome right there
Team Magic still do an awesome job, they are one of the best in the biz… Its not their fault the sport is not what it used to be
I am one of the many triathletes out there who really ought to be a duathlete (love cycling, love running, not so keen on swimming) but has been doing triathlons primarily because that is what is out there if you want to do multisport races. I have sworn not to touch the pool this winter, so I think next year I will actually attempt to race duathlons only for a season and see how it goes. We have 2 little ones locally, but I would like to have an “A” race or two to build my season around. What are the “big” duathlons out there? The must do’s? The classics? I am aware of Am Zof, which looks like a great race but the timing is problematic for me. What others should I look at? I prefer longer distances, but am open at this point.
Give me your recommendations.
I’ve heard great things about the fly-by-night du. The race takes place on the Watkins Glen NASCAR track - not sure how it gets better than that. I think they even allow rubbing during the race.
I would really recommend kicking off your season with the Desert Duathlon in Phoenix. They have a new RD and they have extended the distance on the bike from 21 to 30 miles and the runs now come out around 12K (total, not each) vice 10K. I having this as my goal all during the off-season, as it provides motivation for me to be really fit at the end of February.
The problem with duathlon only comes when triathletes decide it is time for them to swim. Some du fields can be very competitive early on, but during the summer especially, du’s are hard to find or run as the ugly step sister to an adjacent tri. TriFind has 8 du’s in Idaho for adults, but 4 of them are combined with tris. Washington shows 27 du’s, again mostly combined with tris. If you want competition, I would plan for Nationals in April in Phoenix. It looks like Muncie really has a good end of the season race going as well, now.
Auburn long course Duathlon in CA
Mile high Duahtlon series (Barking Dog, Big Sky, & West Side) in CO (great races!!)
Apple Duathlon in MN
Any of the European Powerman Duathlons
Zofingen is the Kona of Duathlons.
so glad to have kicked that terrible swim habit…
jh
Yes, and it is still a good, well-run race. The quality of the field has slipped in recent years however, which is a bit dissapointing. As recently as a few years ago, out of staters would dominate the top end of the results becuase it was just that big of a draw.
