I am 16 and did my first olympic after one year of sprints (I did two total last year), and I had a pretty good race. I am almost done growing but not done yet. Should I have waited before I started moving up? What would be the proper age for a half ironman
The proper ages are 15 and 20. Because I turned out fine.
Honestly though, I don’t think you have anything to worry about. An olympic isn’t going to have any negative long-term consequences. I wouldn’t go insane training for it quite yet but thats another discussion
You’ll be fine, forget anything that has “half/ironman” in it, and look up the “draft legal” scene and try those races. That’s where the best of the best youth and junior athletes are in the sport in the U.S. If you cant hang (means you cant swim, keep working your butt off, you shouldn’t even be thinking or dreaming about half irons at your age), then look to get into a great collegiate club program. There are some outstanding uni’s that have strong non-draft programs (Univ. Colorado-Boulder).
Great thanks for all the advice!!!
I did my first triathlon, an olympic, at 17. I was the only competitor out of a few hundred without a wetsuit. It was pretty easy for my friends to spot me in the swim start and coming out of the water :).
You’re probably fine to try a half ironman, but consider this. At your age, you’re probably best suited for sprints and olys. You can train so much harder, and recover faster, then older people. That favours faster short course racing. However, to do well at longer events it takes an endurance that is built up slowly year after year, season after season. There is simply no short cut to developing that deep endurance base. That’s why most people kicking ass at longer races are in their late 20’s up in to their 40’s!
I’m not saying you shouldn’t give it a go. Aside from getting injured, what’s there to lose? Maybe sign up for a half marathon first and see how that feels. I’ve seen the odd 17-18 year old at half ironmans, and I think this year at IMC they were saying the youngest competitors were 19 for both female and male.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t give it a go. Aside from getting injured, what’s there to lose?’
I think it’s a stupid idea to give it a go. There’s a ton of speed development that you lose, but hey you’ll be able to pat yourself on the back that you “finished” an half ironman. Yawn, if you want to race halfs or Olympics to completion, then by all means go for it. But if you want to get the best out of yourself, you’d be wise to shelf the half idea for a while, and focus on speed development.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t give it a go. Aside from getting injured, what’s there to lose?’
I think it’s a stupid idea to give it a go. There’s a ton of speed development that you lose, but hey you’ll be able to pat yourself on the back that you “finished” an half ironman. Yawn, if you want to race halfs or Olympics to completion, then by all means go for it. But if you want to get the best out of yourself, you’d be wise to shelf the half idea for a while, and focus on speed development.
He wont lose anything by giving a few months to do one half ironman.
There’s so much wrong in this, I don’t know where to begin. If you want to tell someone to race a race just to complete it and walk the last 5 miles (or run so slow at 8min/miles), go for it. But you cant train yourself at 16 years old to race an half effectively in a few months (that will be a disaster and either lead to walking half the race and finishing with average time or lead to injuries). So if your pushing kids to do races for “fun” and patting themselves on the back, go right ahead, but don’t talk about their development in the next sentence.
I think you’re in a very good route. I am 15, and started doing Olys last year. I have done 5 in the past two seasons, with sprints thrown in, and I’m doing fine 
Yes I know that any unforeseen side effects will not be immediately indentifiable, but I feel safe and don’t mind recommending 15 as a good starting age.
As per 1/2 iron, I too was waiting for about 20/21 years old.
All the best, Aaron.
I started doing sprints when I was 16 and did my first Olympic when I was 17 and I was just fine with that. I am now 19 and did my first half ironman against my coach’s wishes. I did it just to do it and see how it went; I did not train specifically for it at all just stuck to training for sprints and olympics. The half marathon at the end of the race was the farthest I had ever ran to date. I qualified for and am racing Worlds in a few weeks though and am doing the same thing, not training specifically for the 70.3.
Train for the shorter stuff. Your prime for sprint and Olympics is going to be your mid 20s so why not work on that while you have the time? Your long distance prime can last up to your 40s. Plenty of time to do the longer stuff. As cool as it sounds to say you completed an ironman or half it is much more worth it to go after what your body is meant to do at the age you are at.
There’s so much wrong in this, I don’t know where to begin. If you want to tell someone to race a race just to complete it and walk the last 5 miles (or run so slow at 8min/miles), go for it. But you cant train yourself at 16 years old to race an half effectively in a few months (that will be a disaster and either lead to walking half the race and finishing with average time or lead to injuries). So if your pushing kids to do races for “fun” and patting themselves on the back, go right ahead, but don’t talk about their development in the next sentence.
Sorry, I didn’t realize we were prepping this kid to podium at 70.3 worlds. Please.
If he’s already doing olympics, doing a half isn’t a huge deal, especially if he’s just giving the distance a shot. Should you only attempt a new distance when you know you’re capable of racing it to the best of your ability?
You’re being a real drama queen and putting words in my mouth. I’m not pushing anyone to do anything. All I suggested was that if he wanted to, to give it a go. You may be obsessed with shaving seconds off your oly time, but some people prefer the challenge of doing something longer. For some people, attempting a longer distance is more of an accomplishment then going a little faster at a distance they know they can already do.
In one sentence you talk about development, and then the next you tell him to go for half ironman training, and I simply think that’s absolutely stupid. What you should have said is, “hey want to do a half ironman, go for it. Your not going to be racing it, you’ll be completing it.” And leave it at that, that’s why these kids want to do these races for anyways. Kids these days want to simply say they did one is far more important than actually being able to race it smart/fast. (see the kids response after my post for him wanting to do an half)
ETA: Which is fine, you want to do a race, go for it. But don’t then come on here talking about development, etc. Just admit you want to do the distance, to do it, but don’t reason with anyone why you should be doing it. It’s absolutely stupid to be racing a half ironman at that young of age, other than to “say you did it”. The training isn’t there on the body at that young of age to support the speed and strength that is needed to properly/successful “race” that distance. Want to finish it, to say you did? Go for it, you’ll probably “win” your AG!!! Whoppeeeee
ETA #2: We aren’t prepping the kid for Worlds podium (or even to complete races just to complete them); we are expected to give out the best sound and “proper” advice for a kid of that age. Way too many parents have the mindset of “oh well he can just do it, to do it”. Yawn
I’m 17 and been racing since I was 15 years old. As long as you put in the proper training racing Olympic Distance at your age is fine in my opinion. At our local triathlons I see couple kids usually racing Olympic distance. As for half ironman, I don’t think you can even do an official ironman event until your 18 years old. I find sprint distance to be fun just because how fast the races are. Get crazy fast at Sprints/Olympic distance than move up to 70.3 when your 18 or so. Just like you don’t see to many HS athletes running marathons but rather they have fast 5k times.
Well I’ll be sure to consult you on what I should say next time I post something.
Seriously dude. Where did he mention anything about wanting to race/develop? Do we know anything about his athletic history? His goals? He asked simply if he should try a new distance, and you replied to him telling him to focus on draft legal racing so he can go up against the best and then mentioned colligate programs. Where did he mention ANYTHING about wanting those things? Maybe, just maybe, he’s asking if he should try a new distance simply because he wants to try a new distance? So what if he can’t run the whole run?
Yes, in one sentence I said at his age he would be better suited to stay in short course. In the next I said, if he wants to try a half, go for it, as there is little to lose. I stand by that statement. Sorry you can’t see past your development plans to see the value in simply trying something different. Some people actually do triathlons ‘for fun’, and for the challenge of the unknown, you know.
You say we are expected to give out the best sound and “proper” advice, but you have no idea what this kid was actually asking. Your advice would be sound if his question was “I want to develop my speed and potentially pursue triathlon in college, should I keep doing shorter races or try a half ironman?”. He asked “Am I too young to do a half ironman”. The correct answer is simply ‘no’. Depending on his goals, that answer could obviously change.
Yep, let’s push kids to do whatever race distance they want to because that’s what they want to do. Teaching kids the “proper” way be damned.
ETA: I see far too many people wanting to tell kids to “do it”, just because they can (in the US, you can do a half at age 15 I believe, and I think even 13 for some race production companies).
I know 3 guys that did a half iron this year at age 18 after about 6 months of training. Granted they were all in decent shape from high school sports but sounds like you are too. I’d say do what you feel comfortable doing.
I honestly can’t tell if you’re being intentionally obtuse or if you are actually that bad at reading. Either way, we will have to agree to disagree on this one.
Good thing we have rules that prohibit bad decisions by younger racers up here.
The stubborn ones go to the US and enter races they shouldn’t.
For what it’s worth, in France you need to be 18 or more to race olympic distance, and 20 to race anything longer. At 16, you need a special derogation by the national federation to race olympics. It’s only done for young talents, and they are limited to 3 olympic distance race per year.
Brooks,
I don’t disagree with you at all. However, you seem to approach it more from a competitive perspective. My kids are hitting that age range and of course you want them to excel moreover a greater wish for them is that they develop a healthy fitness lifestyle that they can perpetuate throughout their life. So, I counsel them on races to choose and help them with fitness, technical, and training questions but I allow them to choose the course. They have been doing “adult races” (sprint) since 9 years old and are frequently the youngest in the whole race, but they are just having fun. My 13 year old is now talking about doing a 1/2 when she is 16 with plans to do several Olys next year. She has no interest in draft legal triathlons - “Dad, that’s not an entirely individual effort so it’s not really a triathlon” - I swear I didn’t program her to say that!
So, to the OP - be sure you are doing what you want to do (not pressured), be sure to progress very slowly, enjoy many activities (theater, dance, etc), and most of all have fun. You are very young and have plenty of time to progress. Remember that one of the greatest keys to success and lifetime fulfillment is the lesson of consistent execution over and extended period of time - this applies to all aspects of life including faith, family, fitness, and professional aspirations.
Best wishes,