When people typically make their first foray into triathlon, motivation is high while fitness is low. It’s a combination that means large gains can be made in a relatively short period, which helps to embed the philosophy that hard work pays dividends. 　　But while it’s true to an extent, those who stick with endurance sport soon learn a harsh lesson:...

　　A brick session is a training set that involves more than one discipline/sport back-to-back. The most common example in triathlon is the bike/run brick, where a bike session will be followed by a run. 　　An example could be a 30min road bike ride followed by a 10min run straight away after (you can steadily build up the duration and intensity...

　　1.MAKE SURE THE BIKE FITS 　　An ill-fitting, high-end bike won’t serve you as well as a correctly fitting, entry-level one. A good local bike shop should be able to at least help you get the correct size of bike and many shops are now offering fit services. If you have the budget, getting a full professional fit before you venture...

　　Worrying about finishing last is a concern many people have when racing a triathlon for the first time but it shouldn’t put you off giving triathlon a go. 　　It really doesn’t matter where you come in the race, it’s just about trying to enjoy it. Also regardless of speed you’re doing better than most people, more than a third of...

　　Born in the early 1970s at the San Diego Track Club, modern triathlon has grown enormously over a relatively short period of time into a variety of popular formats. 　　There are now thought to be around 100,000 active participants in the UK alone, and the sport has seen tremendous growth over the last decade. 　　We’re not bad at it either:...

　　The shortest form of triathlon at an event is generally the super-sprint distance triathlon or what can be called the ‘Starter Triathlon’. 　　Why you should do a triathlon 　　What are the different triathlon distances? 　　How fit do you have to be to do a triathlon? 　　Held at a wide number of beginner-friendly races, a super-sprint triathlon involves the following: 　　Swim:...

　　I might be biased as I’m primarily a cyclist, but, especially in middle-distance and long course non-drafting events, it really is all about the bike. 　　Time-wise it constitutes the biggest proportion of the event and not only can a strong rider make up huge chunks of time on the ride but, if they're able to put in a decent bike...

　　What’s a good time to aim for in my first sprint triathlon? 　　Nick: As it’s your first triathlon, it’s key not to put too much expectation on your performance. Aim to complete each discipline successfully, from the 750m swim to the 20km bike and 5km, while navigating effortlessly through transition and crossing the finish line having given everything. The time...

　　To minimise the risks of coming unstuck at your first triathlon, we’ve asked some top coaches to provide expert insights to take you through that first event, from the nail-biting build-up to the celebratory beverage after the race, whatever triathlon distance it is; super sprint, sprint, standard distance – or, for the crazies among you, something even longer. 　　How fit...

　　The definition of the Swedish word Fartlek is 'speed play' in English and it means running, cycling and swimming at different speeds. 　　What is fartlek running? 　　Using running as an example, fartleck involves no more than picking up speed when and wherever you feel like it on, say, an eight-mile run. There’s no structure and nor should there be. So...

　　The transition phase from winter to pre-season is when you should take some time out to check whether or not you're on target for your first race. Assess how much training you've done, measure how fast you can swim, bike and run, and jump onto the scales. 　　If you've trained as fully as possible, well done. If you haven't, don't...

　　Your first triathlon is a high-speed puzzle that you’re trying to solve while swimming, biking and running. What you’re trying to figure out is how fast you can go without blowing up before the finish. But if you’re taking on your first sprint-distance event, your perfect pace is an unknown quantity. 　　The more you race, the more experience you’ll gain...