Triathlon - are olympic tri distances skewed towards runners?

just registered for my first tri and the swimming and cycling distances look relatively short compared to the run - not in terms of time but just general effort.

does a runner feel similarly about a 6 mile run as a cyclist feels about a 25 mile ride? like you'd get a response like "6 miles? yeah that's my short loop really - i hardly ever do less than 6 miles and i don't even need to stretch aftwards really unless i push myself."

.. because i can imagine a swimmer saying that about the 1.5k swim and i could say that about the bike and i'm relatively slow compared to most folks here.

just curious.

Me:

25 mile bike - 1 hr, 15 minutes or more
1500 yard swim - 25:59
10k run -- a very, very long time.

Fast people

25 mile bike - about an hour
1500 yard swim - fifteen minutes
10k run - 30 minutes or so.

So if any event gets the short end, it's the swimming. But an hour swim is really long. Alcatraz to SF takes about 45minutes to a half an hour.

Me: swim is 30 mins, bike is 80 minutes and run is 45 mins.

I started as a runner - but not a very fast or competitive runner - and got into triathlons this past season which then got my into cycling.

So... 10Ks are a long enough distance for me (casual runner that likes to enter races) that I don't usually run them except when I'm in training (my weekend runs are usually 5 miles), but i know i can knock down a 10K without dying even when i'm in crappy shape.

I feel like a 25 mile ride takes longer than running a 10K, but it is not much different in terms of being hard. In my only olympic tri (this past September on Long Island), the run actually felt easy after the bike, but it was a gruelingly windy day so the biking (and swimming) was brutal.

just registered for my first tri and the swimming and cycling distances look relatively short compared to the run - not in terms of time but just general effort.

does a runner feel similarly about a 6 mile run as a cyclist feels about a 25 mile ride? like you'd get a response like "6 miles? yeah that's my short loop really - i hardly ever do less than 6 miles and i don't even need to stretch aftwards really unless i push myself."

.. because i can imagine a swimmer saying that about the 1.5k swim and i could say that about the bike and i'm relatively slow compared to most folks here.

just curious.

They are comparabable distances. 25 miles for anyone that considers him or herself a cyclist is not even my short loop. I would never ride such a short distance. It works both ways! I have always thought that strong swimmers have an advantage because that is most competitors that I have known weakest event

I am a much better cyclist (top 10% in a tri) than swimmer (Bottom 30%) and I feel like you are exactly correct. In the Oly distance, the 1.5 k swim is hard to overcome in the 25 mi or 40 k bike. I think the 1/2 IM is a much more balanced distance, and the swim is 25% longer and the bike is more than double. The 1/2 IM obviously has the same ratios as the IM. I think that shows the Oly distance favors the swimmers more than any other.

But I am biased since I sink like a rock.

As someone who occasionally runs more miles a year than bikes, I'd say 25 miles on a bike or 6 on foot are similar 'recovery day'/warm up type distances for someone who is serious about the sport. Unless it's intervals or I haven't got much time, I usually don't stop at 6, sometimes I'm barely started.
The swim? I haven't any idea, I might be able to keep my head above water to save my life, but not much more.

Olympic distance tri's are biased in favor of the bike. I'm equally adept (or slow, depending on your viewpoint) in all events. I'm 54 years old and my times are just about like Pfoots above. SImply look at the time spent in each event. Increase your ability 5% in the bike portion and you gain the greatest time advantage.

Many local tri's are even MORE heavily biased in favor of cyclists. Glad I enjoy that segment, too. However, if the swims were generally lengthened, my final placement would improve dramatically, because many competitors are not very proficient swimmers, many having taken it up late just to compete in tri's.

Tyson

Olsen's dream triathlon -

2k swim
30 mile bike
1/4 mile jog

My dream triathlon-

swim- take a shower
bike- 50 miles of hills
run- an out and back 10k

Olsen's dream triathlon -

2k swim
30 mile bike
1/4 mile jog

1

:lol:

thanks for the info everybody (oh and hello to the tri subforum that i didn't even know existed here!)

it must just be that i'm not much of a runner so 6miles seems long to me. i know people go "god, 25 miles!" when i tell them about a ride and they don't relate to just how short a distance that is for someone who rides regularly.

... still though, i feel like if i asked the runners i know "what's your standard short loop?" the answer would be more like 5 or 6k and less like 10.

i'll look into it..

My last Tri was...

Swim - 1/2 mi
Bike - 10.5 mi (scheduled for 11 mi)
Ambulance - 3 mi

I'll never complain about the run again.

My short loop for running is 5 miles. My long days are 12 miles up and back down a hill.

Like Pfoot, I could run a 10k without training. In fact, I have ran them 3-4 months cold. 10k is pretty short for me. 1/2 mary, that is pushing my distance.

I don't think the running portion of a triathlon is too difficult in comparison to the other legs. Swimming is my weakness. I am dead tired after an Oly distance swim. But, I am working on that during this winter break.

Olsen's dream triathlon -

2k swim
30 mile bike
1/4 mile jog

My dream tri:

50 mile bike
5K or 10K run
30 mins picking up my award on the podium

yeah, the main reason i signed up for this my first tri is that i wanted something to keep me honest with running and swimming during the winter since i knew i wouldn't be riding enough.

thanks again everybody!

Look at the other end of the spectrum of olympic distance triathlons - pro/elite races. Draft-legal olympic distance tri's are, in my opinion, extremely skewed towards runners. As long as you can hang with the top swimmers, you'll get in the first pack of cyclists where you can either recover or work to make the group move faster as a whole, but the problem with that is that the strong runners/weak cyclists conserve energy during the bike so they're able to hammer on the run.

But if the strong cyclists can work the strong runners while on the 40K bike, they can make them hurt quite a bit...however, the strong cyclists burn off a lot of energy doing so, and they're still at a disadvantage when it comes to the 10K run. That's just my opinion from personal experience and from watching those races on multiple occasions.

The half IM distance is great though!

Ya, ITU Draft legal races are definitely skewed to the runner. But those guys run like 5:10s or for a 10k. Nuts!

I like the half distance as well. it kinda balances out the work hard athletes vs. the genetic ability athletes. You see alot of guys doing Olympics and doing well just because of soccer or other sporting backgrounds or are generally fit. At the half distance though, in my opinion, you can't just rely on general fitness or athleticism. You have to train regularly and specifically for those distances, so i find myself in a higher percentile for my age group at the half than at the olympic.