Top 11 Middle-Distance Triathlons

Triathlon competitors have the choice of different lengths to compete in.

No matter what your talents and ambitions are or how much preparation time you have, there is likely to be an approach and a distance that will match your personal objectives.

In summary, there is no limitation in the range of events, length or order of these activities while engaging in the sport.

Events that have been around for a long time, both in the local region and worldwide, often utilize the environment around them rather than attempting to conform to an existing structure. Variety truly is the spice of life!

Equality is a major component of the sport, having both men and women compete in the same specific events and over the same distances and professional athletes typically receive the same winnings.

1. Olympic Distance

• Swim: 1.5km
• Bike: 40km
• Run: 10km

This format of the triathlon, usually referred to as the Standard distance, is what is contested in the individual Olympic Games events.

Events of Olympic distances are usually the most popular kind of races within the best level of professional racing – the World Triathlon Championship Series (WTCS). Whoever succeeds in the WTCS can be referred to as the World Triathlon Champion.

Elite athletes Alistair Brownlee, Flora Duffy, Javier Gomez, and Emma Snowsill have earned international reputations for obtaining numerous world championship titles and significant medals from major competitions.

The times of Olympic distance races are not necessarily the most crucial factor, unlike other competitions, and there is no designated “world record”. However, the fastest competitors in the sport tend to finish an Olympic distance race in approximately 1:45 (Male) or 1:55 (Female). That’s very fast!

Individuals entering the sport with no prior knowledge or experience in any of the three areas may initially take three hours to complete it.

2. Sprint Distance

• Swim: 750m
• Bike: 20km
• Run: 5km

The past few weeks have witnessed the 2022 Commonwealth Games from Birmingham, featuring a growing popularity of short-distance running. Alex Yee and Georgia Taylor-Brown competed in separate sprint races.

For many people, the Sprint triathlon is the starting point for getting into the sport, and it is possibly the most widespread form of racing at an amateur level.

The length of a “Sprint” is typically half of an Olympic/Standard race, but there is some leeway when it comes to defining this distance.

In a pool-based triathlon, the usual distance for the swim section is typically trimmed down to 400m instead of the usual Sprint distance.

This gives coordinators the ability to have a larger number of participants in their competitions while making it even easier for those who are new to the game and may be anxious about the swimming part in particular.

While competitive athletes will finish a Sprint distance race in an incredibly fast time, even those new to the sport can complete the course in close to two hours with adequate preparation. That makes it an excellent beginning for your triathlon experience.

3. Super Sprint Distance

• Swim: 400m
• Bike: 10km
• Run: 2.5m

Triathlon is often portrayed as strenuous and arduous, though in reality, it is significant to make the sport available to everyone.

Not everyone can dedicate a lot of time to exercising every week, and it’s always sensible to test something out and check if you enjoy it before investing a large number of hours.

If that’s true, then the Super Sprint setup is an ideal place to begin – or if you simply prefer to complete tasks in a timely fashion! As always, while there is flexibility, a Super Sprint distance is typically half of a Sprint:

The Super Sprint distance is a great option for beginner athletes to try a triathlon, considering that the running part of the race is only half of the total distance. With the increased popularity of events such as park runs, this is a great way to dip one’s toes into the world of triathlons.

4. Ironman Distance

• Swim: 2.4 miles / 3.8km
• Bike: 112 miles / 180km
• Run: 26.2 miles / 42.2km

Ironman is globally recognized as the top event in the triathlon sphere and finishing such a lengthy competition is seen as a significant achievement for a lot of competitors.

In comparison, some people who are new to the sport have begun with an Ironman event. We would not usually suggest that!

Ironman can be traced back to the end of the 1970s when three events held in Oahu, Hawaii was combined, occurring one after the other, to identify who was the greatest endurance athlete out of swimmers, cyclists, or runners. No one could have predicted that what began with just a few sportspeople would evolve into a global competition!

IRONMAN (this brand name is trademarked) organizes the most long-distance triathlons worldwide, with various races available in which all levels of athletes, including professionals and amateurs, may qualify to compete in the IRONMAN World Championship annually hosted in Kona, the top island in Hawaii.

Other endurance races that are typically referred to as “iron distance” or “full-distance” exist, as the title “Ironman” is trademarked. Besides the IRONMAN series, Challenge Roth in Germany is still seen as one of the most memorable occasions in the sport.

The typical cutoff for an iron-distance triathlon race is 17 hours to be considered complete. It is noteworthy that the most skilled athletes can run lengths much faster than that!

In addition to general completion times, many events will contain deadlines for the swimming, biking, and possibly even the running portions as well. If you don’t miss those, you won’t be permitted to keep going.

At this moment, the quickest record for an Ironman triathlon belongs to Norwegian athlete Kristian Blummenfelt, who achieved an unbelievable 7:21:12 finish at the Cozumel contest in November 2021.

Britain’s Chrissie Wellington holds the women’s record for the longest race distance with a time of 8:18:13, which was achieved at Challenge Roth in 2011.

5. Half Ironman / Middle Distance

• Swim: 1.2 miles (1.9km)
• Bike: 56 miles (90km)
• Run: 13.1 miles (21.1km)

Though Ironman and iron-distance events get the most attention, races longer than half of the distance in triathlon actually have the most participants.

Although it is still a big obstacle, for a lot of people the qualifications needed for that kind of job can be more manageable when trying to move a job and family life forward together. It takes less time to recover after finishing a shorter race, allowing athletes to participate in events more often.

Middle-distance events are a great way to get ready for competing in longer races.

Athletes may opt to compete in a race covering approximately half the distance of their main event approximately 4-6 weeks ahead of the primary event to experiment with gear, nourishment, and pacing plans before doing “the main event”. That is a sensible move.

IRONMAN is the most important worldwide organizer when it comes to long-distance races.

In 2005 they launched a new competition called IRONMAN 70.3, the ‘70.3’ indicating the total mileage of the race. This triggered the creation of the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship, an annual competition in that athletes can qualify.

6. The Gauntlet

• Ironman-distance triathlons: The best European Irons for beginners
• Middle-distance triathlons: The UK’s best half-irons for beginners

This race is a two-loop course that includes trails and bridle paths to and from Chiddingstone. It is difficult and mentally challenging and can be more difficult if it has recently rained, as was the case in 2015.

At the concluding part of each lap, there is a difficult uphill challenge before coming to one of the best finishers’ courses in the United Kingdom, along with some excellent post-race grub.

7. Challenge Walchsee-Kaiserwinkl

Located in the stunning Austrian Tyrol region, Challenge Half Walchsee-Kaiserwinkl is even more picturesque than Challenge Wanaka and is the event organizer’s most eye-catching event. The bike leg of the test, however, just like that unexpected New Zealand experience, has an unpleasant surprise in store.

Following a plunge into Walchsee Lake, a breathtaking view of the Kaiserwinkl scenery was experienced by the athletes, who had to tackle a two-loop 90km bike ride as well as conquer more than a thousand meters of elevation gain.

The 21km route is pleasantly even and traverses around the lake, along the esplanade, and through picturesque highland grasslands.

8. Israman 113

Israman first began in 1999 and is still the only triathlon that is a long-distance event in Israel’s specialized world of multisport.

The Israman kicks off in the vacation destination of Eilat, located between Jordan’s mountainous region to the east and Egypt to the west, with the option for athletes to participate in either a 113km middle route or a 226km long-course race.

The race then takes a jump northward after a dip in the salty Red Sea and faces the grim Negev desert, beginning with a 12km trek directly out of the transition to a height of 600m above sea level.

The desert’s temperature can range from freezing to 30 degrees Celsius, while high winds of up to 60 mph make the conditions even more challenging.

The route elevation gain may appear insignificant, but don’t be tricked (with us adding some extra values), as it makes this middle-distance triathlon course unique considering it has a steep descent for the first 12km, ending with the coastline.

9. The Snowman Legend 

It’s highly improbable to experience snow in July, especially in the Wales region of Snowdonia, yet Always Aim High’s toughest middle-distance race, The Snowman, still delivers on its pledge.

The swim begins in Llyn Mymbyr, which is a shallow lake, followed by a long and exciting cycling ride of 90 kilometres through the centre of the Snowdonia National Park.

This run boasts an amount of ascent comparable to the bike ride, taking runners to the top of Moel Siabod and immediately back down to the conclusion point at Plas y Brenin.

Related posts:

Ironman Distance Origins First Sprint-Distance Triathlon What is the Olympics Triathlon? How to Run Long Distance