Your experience with duathalons
 

I have come to realized I just wasnt built to swim long distances. In my area, (NJ), there are many duathlons (run-bike-run)
what are your guy's experiences with these races and why do they make you run after and before biking? I feel i can last longer when i run and bike compared to having swimming in there.
thanks
byron

I have done 1 duathlon so far and it was in the pouring rain. I too am not cut out for the water thing. I did do a half ironman but realized I will never be in the top 50% due to my lack of swim ability. I liked the duathlon I did 5k-40k-5k. I'm not sure why they do it in the order they do but I like it. Just wish I had more in my area. Most out here are tri's.

a bike start would be hairy, because either you'd have to have a mass start, or you'd have to separate the riders by intervals, like in the time trial stages of the TDF. because the pack is spread out by the first run, you don't have to worry about staggering the racers as they start the bike portion. a mass start run is MUCH safer than a mass start bike.

a bike end would be hairy because of the speed and the tiredness of people coming across the finish line. a running finish is safe because you can have people really close to each other without worrying about people running into each other from fatigue. that's the logic of the order of the triathlon also.... swim first because if you get tired on the swim you'll drown. bike second because if you get tired on the bike you'll crash. run last because you can be as tired as you want and it's pretty hard to hurt yourself... you can just stop running. and plus running after the bike is a huge challenge.... one that must be trained for.

i did the pine barrens duathlon this spring. and i'm planning on doing the fall version again this fall. do you want to join me? it's probably only about 1 hour from princeton.

PS: are you doing the princeton freewheelers event this saturday? I'm planning on doing it - it will be my first organized bike ride.

deliriou, im not signed up for it yet, but i might ride the 100mile route. what are you doing?

I've only done one, the Granite Bay Duathlon in Folsom, earlier this year. I think it was a 4mi/18mi/4mi, but I'll have to go check my t-shirt drawer. It seemed a lot harder than a tri. I think it's because you don't have a chance to save your legs in the first portion. You run hard, hit the bike and spin hard, then OMG! you're running hard again.

Also, my HR gets up and stays up higher when I run so I was up near LT pretty much the entire time. I was wiped by the end.

Do you have a link for that?? I've been running a lot this summer for cross country and I'd like to do a duathalon, but can't find any!

you can see some pictures of me and my friends at http://www.pbase.com/pinebarrensdu

Cool, maybe if I can make it I'll PM ya.

I have done the Great pumpkin duathlon in Estelle Manor Park in Atlantic County.It's 2.2, 15, 2.2 .It's a great race, especially for beginners. This year it will be on October 4th.You can register on line at www.active.com

I have done a few duathlons because I also am no swimmer. This October, I am going to do a "Reverse Duathlon". So named because they do the bike first, then run, and then finish with another bike leg. They do start in age groups to avoid problems of mass start. This is the 4th year they have done it, but my first time there, so it will be interesting to see what kind of problems are encountered toward the finish line.