Duathlon is a triathlon for those who don’t like swimming.

Duathlon is a run-bike-run connected by transits as in a triathlon. It works for runners and cyclists. Let’s dig into it using my personal case.

There are 3 main distances: sprint (5 km — 20 km — 2.5 km), standard distance (10 km — 40 km — 5 km), and long duathlon (can be any distance, for example, 10 km — 150 km — 30 km ).

Advantages of duathlon over triathlon.

• It’s perfect to open a season when it’s cold to swim even in a wetsuit
• It works better if you’re good at running and bad at swimming
• It is much less stressful without swimming (if you are not a swimmer).

Even though duathlon is under the International Triathlon Union (ITU) umbrella, it is quite popular globally as a separate sport. It even has its own Ironman — the Powerman series with events around the world. The most famous of them is Powerman Zofingen in Switzerland.

You never try you never know.

I decided to participate in a duathlon to get a better idea. And accidentally registered for the Berlin Duathlon Championship at Briesensee. And although the choice of start was random, something told me that it could turn out well. Probably lack of swimming 😂

I chose a standard distance (10–42–5,5) and arrived at the start. And surprise, a company of young guns with a license from local triathlon clubs was waiting for me. Ok, guys!

No race plan is still a plan.

The start was carried out at +9C and rain. Great weather for running but not for cycling. I realized I had to sacrifice my bike leg since there was no time to get properly dressed after running.

There still were questions regarding the race plan. How hard should I run it? How much power to push on the bike? What will happen to the legs on the bike after a fast run?

Hectic and dynamic race.

With all these questions I started a race and ended up running the 10k in 36min 38sec (about 1.5 min slower than my max running pace). It was the fastest time.

I jumped on the bike with slightly frozen hands but felt OK. At least at the beginning of the bike leg. The first 20 km on the bike was good, but rain and cold temperature slowed me down. I managed 42 km in around 1h 7 min, lost 2 positions, and went on the run 3rd with about 50 seconds gap behind the leader.

The final 5.5 km of running was hard and intense. Everyone had to push hard to the finish line. I managed it in 19 min 52 sec but couldn’t close the gap finishing in the 3rd place 30 secs behind the leader. All in all, it was a bit hectic and a very dynamic race. Loved it.

Not a bad result even compared to youngsters.

The final time of 2 hours 04 minutes 15 seconds is a result that I am satisfied with. 3rd in the overall standings with a minimum gap to 20 years younger guys and 1st in my age group (45–49 years).

Now, apparently, I will pay more attention to duathlon events. If you like triathlon, I recommend you to try it too! Especially if swimming is not your strongest point. In OMY! Sports app there is everything ready to assist you with this — tailor-made workouts for running and cycling.

If you like the story join me on Strava.

Oleg Mazurov, OMY! Sports.