I may do a duathlon in 2018 because A. the idea of paying money to go race in USAT tri nationals in Cleveland sounds dreadfully unappealing, B. Bend, OR is a much better destination and C. I am a terrible swimmer. But I guess I haven’t done it to date because I like the concept of swim/bike/run even though I suck at swimming.
I do a lot of both. 9/10 times I’ll race the DU if both options are offered.
We are pretty lucky here in the North East. We have 3 GREAT stand-alone ones (Fly-by-Night, AZ DU, West Point) and a bunch of good ones and some others as well as a bunch of Tri’s that also offer du’s.
I’ve found that the stand-alone ones get some very good (great) talent and are usually well run. Sadly, this year the weather was terrible for a few of them. They also tend to have “better” courses as you are not forced to be near water.
As for when there is a tri and du:
Talent - It seems the winner of the DU would usually not win the Tri.
“Value” - Some RD’s are awesome at valuing the tri and du equally: i.e. same awards, same announcements etc.
However, Some RD’s treat the du as “extra cash”
2 examples:
One du I did, the shirt mentions the tri and not the du (I don’t care, but some might - probably the ones that the sport needs to “hook”),
Another one this spring the 1’st person across the finish line was a duathlete. As he approached the finish line, the announcer said “Here is your winner, o-wait, never mind, he did the duathlon”
Worse with the Aquathlon. I have been first over the finish line many times, and they never ever talk about the Aquathlon winner.
The only duathlons I’ve done are the ones that are forced upon me by a canceled swim. (Note: most of my local tri’s have a du option, which are poorly attended compared to the tri). I have absolutely no idea how to pace or race a du. And, I think I’m in the majority of the folks who du them. I have this illusion of how fast I should be on the R1, which is always too fast. Then the bike suffers, which is sucky. Then you have to put on wet running shoes, still dripping from the first run and the R2 is slower than expected, making the whole day a disappointment. All in all, I’ll stick with the swim.
I did a duathlon once. 2014 IMFL cancelled the swim. I was pissed about.
Honestly, I think it’s unappealing because nobody does them. I joined a friend to do Eisenhower marathon in KS this year. 150 people did that marathon. It was the most desolate race I’ve ever done. Compare that to the Chicago marathon and you feel like you’re in the Colloseum.
The only duathlons I’ve done are the ones that are forced upon me by a canceled swim. (Note: most of my local tri’s have a du option, which are poorly attended compared to the tri). I have absolutely no idea how to pace or race a du. And, I think I’m in the majority of the folks who du them. I have this illusion of how fast I should be on the R1, which is always too fast. Then the bike suffers, which is sucky. Then you have to put on wet running shoes, still dripping from the first run and the R2 is slower than expected, making the whole day a disappointment. All in all, I’ll stick with the swim.
Seems to be how many people pace a Du.
I’ve done a couple club Du races in winter and most people hammer the first run and crumble into a heap. I paced the first shorter run the same as i was going to pace the second run and smoked so many people on the bike and second run. R1 had people going 3;40/km then the same person was 5;00/km on R2, funny as.
The only duathlons I’ve done are the ones that are forced upon me by a canceled swim. (Note: most of my local tri’s have a du option, which are poorly attended compared to the tri). I have absolutely no idea how to pace or race a du. And, I think I’m in the majority of the folks who du them. I have this illusion of how fast I should be on the R1, which is always too fast. Then the bike suffers, which is sucky. Then you have to put on wet running shoes, still dripping from the first run and the R2 is slower than expected, making the whole day a disappointment. All in all, I’ll stick with the swim.
Seems to be how many people pace a Du.
I’ve done a couple club Du races in winter and most people hammer the first run and crumble into a heap. I paced the first shorter run the same as i was going to pace the second run and smoked so many people on the bike and second run. R1 had people going 3;40/km then the same person was 5;00/km on R2, funny as.
For all the duathlons I have done, including the DU Nationals in Bend where I did all three races in 24 hours, I 100% went full tilt for all the runs and bike.
Now I am amazed how many crumble on the second run, but I guess this gets back to training. The mental aspect of that second run, when one is dying,
is so so critical.
For all the duathlons I have done, including the DU Nationals in Bend where I did all three races in 24 hours, I 100% went full tilt for all the runs and bike.
Now I am amazed how many crumble on the second run, but I guess this gets back to training. The mental aspect of that second run, when one is dying,
is so so critical.
You can’t physically go 100% full tilt for any long duration, there has to be pacing involved or you’ll crash and burn. If by full tilt you mean going a pace that is fast and known to be sustainable for you then yeah, that’s the point. If you treat the first run as a TT and go into the red zone you’re screwed, you have to resist the urge to out with all the people who sprint the first KM.
The Du i did was 3k/22k/6k, by the second lap of the first run people were slowing down when you’re better off emptying the tank on the second run if it’s not draft legal.
For all the duathlons I have done, including the DU Nationals in Bend where I did all three races in 24 hours, I 100% went full tilt for all the runs and bike.
Now I am amazed how many crumble on the second run, but I guess this gets back to training. The mental aspect of that second run, when one is dying,
is so so critical.
You can’t physically go 100% full tilt for any long duration, there has to be pacing involved or you’ll crash and burn. If by full tilt you mean going a pace that is fast and known to be sustainable for you then yeah, that’s the point. If you treat the first run as a TT and go into the red zone you’re screwed, you have to resist the urge to out with all the people who sprint the first KM.
The Du i did was 3k/22k/6k, by the second lap of the first run people were slowing down when you’re better off emptying the tank on
the second run if it’s not draft legal.
I run the first run as hard as i can. Usually sub 40 10k. Second run i try to break 20 for 5k. Both are what i call a full effort there is no pacing
For all the duathlons I have done, including the DU Nationals in Bend where I did all three races in 24 hours, I 100% went full tilt for all the runs and bike.
Now I am amazed how many crumble on the second run, but I guess this gets back to training. The mental aspect of that second run, when one is dying,
is so so critical.
You can’t physically go 100% full tilt for any long duration, there has to be pacing involved or you’ll crash and burn. If by full tilt you mean going a pace that is fast and known to be sustainable for you then yeah, that’s the point. If you treat the first run as a TT and go into the red zone you’re screwed, you have to resist the urge to out with all the people who sprint the first KM.
The Du i did was 3k/22k/6k, by the second lap of the first run people were slowing down when you’re better off emptying the tank on
the second run if it’s not draft legal.
I run the first run as hard as i can. Usually sub 40 10k. Second run i try to break 20 for 5k. Both are what i call a full effort there is no pacing
But suppose you were at a Senior Olympics and someone asked you to run a leg of the 4 x 400 m relay. Now you’d be running that 400 m prob at least 10 sec faster than your average per 400 m in your tri or du 5K or 10K. That 400 m would be much closer to “all out”.
The only duathlons I’ve done are the ones that are forced upon me by a canceled swim. (Note: most of my local tri’s have a du option, which are poorly attended compared to the tri). I have absolutely no idea how to pace or race a du. And, I think I’m in the majority of the folks who du them. I have this illusion of how fast I should be on the R1, which is always too fast. Then the bike suffers, which is sucky. Then you have to put on wet running shoes, still dripping from the first run and the R2 is slower than expected, making the whole day a disappointment. All in all, I’ll stick with the swim.
A wee bit of friendly advice to the tri crowd: Bring two pairs of running shoes to your next race. That way, if they cancel the swim and it turns into a RBR type du, you are set.
More power to you, but a duathlete that doesn’t know about Powerman Zofingen is like a triathlete that doesn’t know about Ironman Hawaii. It’s not a label but more the absence of one. Call it what you will - living in a bubble, woefully uninformed, or perhaps just completely uninterested in the pinnacle of the sport … whatever you want to call it. You’ve already done more duathlons in the last few years than this triathlete has in his entire life, but I knew early on that Zofingen, Switzerland was a key bucket list race that I had to race. I would hope more duathletes (and triathletes) would learn about the race, how hard it is, and then, hopefully, want to actually do it.
There’s nothing much here that I didn’t already address in my last post.** Knowing about other races doesn’t make you faster**. It doesn’t make you a better athlete. It’s just knowing about the existence of a given event. Your triathlon comparison is exactly the same. Plenty triathletes couldn’t care less about Hawaii. The sport isn’t primarily about history, prestige or bucket lists, it’s about doing the sport. While the rest makes for amusing conversation it’s not fundamental to being an athlete. I think however, your view may be shared by many on ST. Perhaps it’s a cultural US thing. Or maybe it’s influenced by our presence on ST.
I still don’t see why anyone should be labelled as woefully uninformed because they’re not aware of a given event, even if it is considered the most prestigious in a sport. It’s not relevant to competing unless it’s the event you’re doing or you’re looking for such an event. We’ll have to agree to disagree.
Who said that knowing about a sport makes you faster? Wasn’t me. Who said it makes you better? Wasn’t me? Sure, lots of folks could not care less about Hawaii but that doesn’t change the fact that Kona is the most prestigious and most competitive long course triathlon in the world…same with Powerman Zofingen for long course duathlon. A well known championship that athletes aspire to is essential to any sport. Powerman needs better marketing and the fact that many duathletes have no knowledge that there is a world championship at a very high caliber is perhaps one of the reason why duathlon continues to struggle…i.e., not many people ‘doing the sport’. What’s so controversial about that?
Power Zof simply needs to get some NBC coverage and “arrange” for a cute female pro duathlete/triathlete to collapse about 50 m from the finish line while leading the race, then get passed for the win while crawling towards the finish line. Once they get this on something like “Wide World of Sports”, then their race entries will double or triple the next year, and they too will become a household name. This is a relatively easy solution but requires strict secrecy so that its “arranged” nature is not revealed.
But suppose you were at a Senior Olympics and someone asked you to run a leg of the 4 x 400 m relay. Now you’d be running that 400 m prob at least 10 sec faster than your average per 400 m in your tri or du 5K or 10K. That 400 m would be much closer to “all out”.
But suppose you were at a Senior Olympics and someone asked you to run a leg of the 4 x 400 m relay. Now you’d be running that 400 m prob at least 10 sec faster than your average per 400 m in your tri or du 5K or 10K. That 400 m would be much closer to “all out”.
I’m not sure Dave understands pacing.
Ya, I kinda gathered that. A few years ago the company I was working for had a “sports festival” that included a road 5K but also a swim meet and a track meet. So I ran the 5K, was the swim meet director (and won the 500), and ran a leg of the 4 x 400 m relay. That 400 was some very hard running the last 150 or so meters!!!
For all the duathlons I have done, including the DU Nationals in Bend where I did all three races in 24 hours, I 100% went full tilt for all the runs and bike.
Now I am amazed how many crumble on the second run, but I guess this gets back to training. The mental aspect of that second run, when one is dying,
is so so critical.
You can’t physically go 100% full tilt for any long duration, there has to be pacing involved or you’ll crash and burn. If by full tilt you mean going a pace that is fast and known to be sustainable for you then yeah, that’s the point. If you treat the first run as a TT and go into the red zone you’re screwed, you have to resist the urge to out with all the people who sprint the first KM.
The Du i did was 3k/22k/6k, by the second lap of the first run people were slowing down when you’re better off emptying the tank on
the second run if it’s not draft legal.
I run the first run as hard as i can. Usually sub 40 10k. Second run i try to break 20 for 5k. Both are what i call a full effort there is no pacing
Come on Dave, stop being intentionally dense.
You aim for proportionately equal times (just sub 4min/km) for both runs and have a name for that pace “full effort” and yet you claim you do not do pacing? What exactly do you think pacing is?!?!
“Full effort” is not max effort if you’re doing it for more than a few seconds, so what does it mean? It obviously means the max pace you think you can sustain. i.e. you’re pacing yourself.
More power to you, but a duathlete that doesn’t know about Powerman Zofingen is like a triathlete that doesn’t know about Ironman Hawaii. It’s not a label but more the absence of one. Call it what you will - living in a bubble, woefully uninformed, or perhaps just completely uninterested in the pinnacle of the sport … whatever you want to call it. You’ve already done more duathlons in the last few years than this triathlete has in his entire life, but I knew early on that Zofingen, Switzerland was a key bucket list race that I had to race. I would hope more duathletes (and triathletes) would learn about the race, how hard it is, and then, hopefully, want to actually do it.
There’s nothing much here that I didn’t already address in my last post.** Knowing about other races doesn’t make you faster**. It doesn’t make you a better athlete. It’s just knowing about the existence of a given event. Your triathlon comparison is exactly the same. Plenty triathletes couldn’t care less about Hawaii. The sport isn’t primarily about history, prestige or bucket lists, it’s about doing the sport. While the rest makes for amusing conversation it’s not fundamental to being an athlete. I think however, your view may be shared by many on ST. Perhaps it’s a cultural US thing. Or maybe it’s influenced by our presence on ST.
I still don’t see why anyone should be labelled as woefully uninformed because they’re not aware of a given event, even if it is considered the most prestigious in a sport. It’s not relevant to competing unless it’s the event you’re doing or you’re looking for such an event. We’ll have to agree to disagree.
Who said that knowing about a sport makes you faster? Wasn’t me. Who said it makes you better? Wasn’t me? Sure, lots of folks could not care less about Hawaii but that doesn’t change the fact that Kona is the most prestigious and most competitive long course triathlon in the world…same with Powerman Zofingen for long course duathlon. A well known championship that athletes aspire to is essential to any sport. Powerman needs better marketing and the fact that many duathletes have no knowledge that there is a world championship at a very high caliber is perhaps one of the reason why duathlon continues to struggle…i.e., not many people ‘doing the sport’. What’s so controversial about that?
I’m still trying to figure out why you think that one can’t call themselves a duathlete or triathlete if they haven’t heard of Zofingen or Kona respectively. I’m just elaborating on why knowledge of events has little or no relevance to proficiency in a sport. Being a fan and being an athlete are separate things. Many people are both but one is not dependent on the other.
