It seems that while triathlon is growing by leaps and bounds, duathlon is relatively stagnant in terms of participation and profile. Similar to triathlon, with the WTA/ITU divide, there appears to be a division at the elite level between ITU and the Powerman series. There’s a close parallel with triathlon, with the ITU allowing drafting at the elite level and Powerman sticking with a non-drafting format for all competitors.
While the choice to race either format is down to personal choice, the lack of Olympic status for duathlon means that the ITU can’t dangle that carrot in the same way it can for tri. As a duathlete I prefer non-drafting, as I think it’s a ‘purer’ test of fitness in both disciplines, but I’m pretty new to all this and I’m interested to hear where the more experienced guys think the sport is headed - in North America and in Europe.
As a duathlete I tend to agree with you! On the other hand, my post wasn’t intended to start a du vs tri debate, but rather to stimulate discussion about the direction du is headed as a sport in its own right.
“Better Athletes” , don’t get carried away.
Duathlon is a tougher sport , no doubt. It’s a shame the sport doesn’t get it’s due recognition. A good friend and great duathlete once told me that duathlon is triathlon’s red headed step child. I would hope to see the sport in the olympics someday and always wondered why there couldn’t be a duathlon season/triathlon season.Duathlon in the early spring and late fall and triathlon in the summer and early fall?
Coordinate all the championships to coincide with each other so all the good duathletes and triathletes do the same events.
This is more or less what happens in Portugal. In the beginning of the season we have only duathlons, by summer time the “duathlon season” is over.
As being a tougher sport, I don’t want to go that far specially because I’m a lousy swimmer. But one thing is for sure, racing a standard distance duathlon (10km/40km/5km) leaves my legs by far more thrashed than racing an Oly.
But anyway, a fact is that today duathlon has almost no visibility worldwide, and we no longer see the big names showing up, even in the few international races that still exist. If we compare to what happened a few years ago, we could see some of the big tri guys showing up to race duathlons and surprisingly (for a few) winning races.
i like that idea. I think one there needs to be more prize money to get pros doing it. Also, the dus that attract the rest of us are usually cool settings like american zofingen.
This is one of my favorite topics. I’ll tell you that on the East Coast the Richmond (VA) Sportsbackers (www.sportsbackers.org) organization has decided to give Duathlon a try. Sportsbackers currently produces the Richmond Marathon, the Monument Avenue 10K (24,000 pariticipants), the Adventure Games (includes the Xterra East Coast Championship), and the McDonalds Cross Country Festival (quickly becoming a premiere east coast event). In October 2007, they will produce the World Championship Long Course Duathlon Race and starting in 2008 they will produce the National Championship Short Course Duathlon for three years. The approach that is being planned for 2008 through 2010 is a weekend long festival with several races including the National Championship, a “citizens race” and an offroad duathlon. All events will be held on great downtown courses that mix quiet riverfront roads with challenging city streets.
This will be an interesting experiment for the Central Virginia area and Mid-atlantic region. Sprint and Olympic distance triathlons in this area fill up months in advance, a great 5K-30K-5K duathlon in April has trouble drawing 100 participants. Hopefully with an increased number of events locally, we’ll be able to increase interest in this area.
McDonalds has jumped on as the Title Sponsor for the LC Duathlon Worlds this year. Their participation creates a huge opportunity for Duathlon, if someone will step into the void. IMO, I don’t think triathlon grows in the US as quickly without IM. An international level organizer that creates momentum which then trickles down into the local level. If an entity would step up and develop a national series of races that are “medium” distance, then maybe you start to create interest. You need that “IronMan” aura. With increased interest comes demand for local races. At this point the large Duathlons in this country are grueling events. The PM Ohio course is punishing, American Zofingen is punishing (I hear). These are great tests but there is a lack of shorter, easier events that will attract more people. PM North Carolina (easier course) was cancelled this year without explanation. That was a great race last year that attracted about 150 participants. There’s not enough local Duathlons to get people interested and I think a national level promoter is necessary to create and sustain the buzz.
I agree that the current Duathlon schedule on average attracts better athletes. However, the small number of participants makes comparing Triathlon fields to Duathlon fields mental masturbation. I’m not sure Duathlon can stand on its own but the split season as suggested above would be a very interesting start.
Duathlon has a great future, it is all about spreading the word. Mention Ironman and people know more or less what you are talking about. Duathlon tends to draw blank stares or even questions about how I find a venue to ski AND shoot targets. It is a small thing, but every time I get the “is that a bike?” question in the airport, I explain that I’m an elite duathlete and how the sport works etc. I then ask them if they ever work out (everyone appreciates this) and then rattle off the duathlons that take place in their area. I think a lack of awareness is an issue. Why not duathlon? I don’t buy the “duathlon is too hard” argument. All races are hard, if you go all out. Most people know how to run and can keep a bike upright. We are in a bit of a chicken and egg situation right now. RD’s don’t want to have a duathlon because the interest in not there, the interest in not there because there are not enough races. I think the sport is at a tipping point in 2007. With a major sponsor (Mc Donalds) signing on, this is the year. Find a low key race and bring a couple of buddies. Hang out in the finish area and talk to the little kids and the 80 year old guys. I raced the desert classic last weekend and was encouraged to see the strength of duathlon. Some guy named Simon Whitfiled (along with several other top elites) was there, and apparently he is pretty good at tris as well.
Those of us non-swimmers in Ohio are lucky because there are duathlons at least once a month from April until October and in July/August one could race almost every weekend if so inclined. Most other parts of the country don’t have near this many options from what I understand. Here, most are added on to triathlons and have small fields, but it doesn’t seem small because of all the triathletes on course. The stand alone duathlons can get a little lonely in the second half of the race. Even so, for me it beats wasting a third of my training time trying to swim when as it is I can’t fit in all the running and cycling I would like to do.
As for where the sport is headed, I don’t know. To me it seems like a more natural sport than triathlon, as running and cycling just seem to fit together better than SBR. It would nice to see some more options, particularly at longer distances and a little larger fields, athough personally triathlon is a little too popular for my tastes.
I’d say that duathlon has seen a resurgeance this year not seen since about 2001-2002 in the US. Hopefully we can continue that trend forward for the next 5-6 yrs to establish duathlon more solidly as the race to go do, not a race to go do.
I’m sort of amazed that more LC triathletes are not trying to qualify for LC worlds since they are in Richmond VA this year. Actually I’m amazed that more LC triathletes don’t race the LC duathlons (especially if they want to train themselves to run on tired legs - this is a joke please no flaming).
I know a ton of bike racers who run but hav no clue what a duathlon is, part of the problem lies in poor marketing of this sport to others. I’ve said in the past that there is a 20% growth in the sport if USAT could figure out a way to repeatedly market duathlon to bike racers to increase awareness.
I’m a off the FOP swimmer when I’m actually swimming but I actually prefer duathlons to triathlons.
Duathlon is just fine. Some things are better, smaller.
There seem to be millions of joggers when you go out to cycle, and in a way that makes you seem more unique, special in a way.
And among the thousand of Lance wannabes, rolling along in their packs, avoiding pain, there are the few, the proud - time trialists and cyclocross racers.
I enjoy triathlon, but perhaps it has become too popular to be “cool”. Perhaps duathlon is to triathlon what cyclocross is to bike racing, a crazy, passionate cult. Where there’s passion, there’s always a future.
I’ve never really understood the viewpoint of those who were upset that duathlon is dying or were overly excited at the thought of triathlon getting into the olympics for growth. Why is this important? I’m not grumpy about the growth of triathlon, just apathetic. I’ll still race and have a great time; I just appreciate the experience for what it is: I like the small races just as much as the large ones.
I feel duathlon has dropped in popularity a bit mainly due to triathlon’s growth. There are plenty more sbr races (earlier and later in the calendar). I also feel Lance’s influence has swayed some athletes towards cycling. Lastly, duathlon is friggin painful… and you know how americans love to avoid pain!
I find that a lot of people in triathlons are there to participate, whereas at duathlons most are there to race. Duathletes are a different breed. And I’m not knocking triathlon or triathletes; in fact, I’m thrilled that more and more Americans are shutting off the TV, and getting off the couch and into the pool and onto the roads and trails. Not everyone needs to really race; in fact, at the highest levels, racing really isn’t healthy.
a lot of very good observations here. i am a long time duathlete and intermitant triathlete and i do prefre du’s for some reason. as some have already said here i think du lacks the proper marketing to make it the “cool” thing that tri is in the eyes of the masses. the best thing tri has going for it in my opinion is Ironman and not the Olympics. Ironman has the allure of being the pinnalce of endurance athletics so that trickles down even to the sprint athlete who aspires to Ironman someday.
every winter i get back in the pool but end up only racing du’s because i kinda of feel like only a sheep in the herd when it comes to triathlon. it sounds strange but triathlon is too popular for me to want to do it.
I find that a lot of people in triathlons are there to participate, whereas at duathlons most are there to race. Duathletes are a different breed. And I’m not knocking triathlon or triathletes; in fact, I’m thrilled that more and more Americans are shutting off the TV, and getting off the couch and into the pool and onto the roads and trails. Not everyone needs to really race; in fact, at the highest levels, racing really isn’t healthy.
I started dabbling in multisports as a duathlete back in the hey day of the Coors Light Series (late 80’s). I was living in Southern California at the time and could do a race within driving distance every few weeks for about 10 months of the year. Even after Coors pulled out, there were still a lot of races at first. Then, they gradually faded away until there were just a few left in SoCal and some in Arizona. The Desert Princess Series and Ontario,CA races brought out the top pro’s in tri as well as duathlon due to the prize money and press coverage.
Once those races fell by the wayside, duathlon - at least in SoCal - pretty much died and, despite a brief respite from the Dannon Series, has never recovered. It is still a viable entity in a few locales - AZ, WA, OH, etc., but with no national series, very little press coverage (TV or print) and no big purse races - it is a mere shadow of its former self. I think a national series with a big corporate sponsor is the answer for a rebirth if one is to happen.
Unfortunately, I do not see any big corporate sponsors jumping at the chance to “own” duathlon. So, the future is still grim compared with the Ford IM machine/ITU/Danskin/70.3/Tri-California and all of the regional tri race series. The Powerman franchise is extremely small in comparison with very few US races.
Also, USAT is not helping things any. Just take a look at the location/lack of qualifying races for the World’s and overall support. If they truly supported duathlon, there would be qualifying races within driving distance for everyone in the US. I
I agree with the other posters that duathlons are much tougher. I felt more beat up a after a Coors race than any Oly distance tri. Even the second run splits were much faster than most tri’s.
Message for RD’s of struggling independant irons or halfs, boost your turnout a little with almost no extra effort by letting us do a few laps around the parking lot during the swim then join the rest at T1 (listening 101?).
So YOU were the guy responsible for taking the pace out like a madman. I sign up for the Elite race to get a entry fee break and then the pace is nuts.
I’m too old and feeble to start out a duathlon at sub-five minute per mile pace. What were you thinking?
I don’t think duathlons is small because it is too hard. Duathlon is small because it has no ‘buzz’. Triathlon has it, especially Ironman. Just like the movies with no ‘buzz’ don’t get nominated for Oscars, duathlon will remain small until it finds a way to generate some interest on the part of the masses. Or it will just stay small. With the pool closed all winter, I’ve just about decided to skip the water entirely this year. I always hate swiming anyway and at 36 there is no point in trying to learn now. I already know how to ride and run. Long live Duathlon!
