Whether you’ve been inspired by the elite Olympic triathlon action, or been bitten by the multisport bug after stumbling across a local race. Getting into triathlon will see you discover a sport that’s fun and challenging in equal measures. And become part a community of supportive people, helping each other to achieve their goals.
But when you’re new to the sport, knowing where to start with training and getting race ready can seem overwhelming – and that can put you off starting in the first place. To help you take your first step towards becoming a fully-fledged triathlete, we’ve put together a handy guide to help you start training for your first triathlon.
Start with the basics – swimming, biking and running
At the very pinnacle of the sport, triathlon training can be extremely detailed and scientific as athletes and their coaches look to grasp every inch of performance and make marginal gains to get the extra 0.01% over their competition.
And even amateurs (known as ‘age-groupers’) can get pretty serious about training for triathlon as they strive to achieve a new personal best. But when you’re just starting out – you can take things right back to the heart of the sport. It’s just a swim, a cycle and a run… with a couple of quick footwear and accessory changes in between.
To start training for your first triathlon, first just focus on enjoying regularly swimming, cycling and running. Get comfortable with all three triathlon disciplines and then you can start putting the pieces together to start completing more specific training that will get you ready for your first triathlon event.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help – join a triathlon club or seek out a training plan
Once you’re ready to start preparing with more specificity for your first triathlon, don’t feel like you have to go it alone. Joining a triathlon club might sound intimidating – but the majority of clubs are really beginner-friendly. After all, everyone was a beginner once! You’ll most likely find there are other new faces also working towards their first triathlon. And you’ll have plenty of friendly coaches and experienced amateur triathletes to give you support and advice.
Now that you’ve built up some base fitness and confidence across all three triathlon disciplines, it’s also worth looking at adding some structure to your training. For beginners, the dedicated 8-week downloadable beginner’s training plan from Brownlee Fitness is a great option to get expert guidance and training structure.
Start your triathlon journey with Brownlee Fitness
How to start swimming in open water
Plenty of triathlons for beginners feature a swim section in a swimming pool, so you can easily tick off your first triathlon without having to dive into the world of open water swimming. But if the event you’ve got your sights set on features an open water swim – or you want to have the option of taking part in a wider range of triathlon events. You’ll need to get used to open water swimming. Start by building up your swimming fitness and confidence in the pool, as you’ll need to be able to swim continuously without relying on taking a break at each end of the lane once you move to open water.
Look for managed open water swim venues near you to ensure you’re going to swim somewhere safe, and ask your local triathlon or open water swimming club for information on group sessions. Take a look at our full guide to open water swimming for beginners.
Putting all three triathlon sports together – what are brick sessions?
Once you’ve mastered all three triathlon disciplines individually, it’s time to practice putting them together. Most triathletes will incorporate ‘brick sessions’ into their training. A brick session is a training session that involves doing two of the triathlon disciplines back-to-back.
The most common type of brick session is a bike-to-run. This is because when you first start running immediately after cycling, you’ll experience a unique ‘jelly legs’ sensation. The more often you practice running ‘off the bike’, the less strange it’ll feel and the better you’ll get at being able to hold a good run pace with fatigued legs. For beginners, it’s always best to start with a short brick session and build up the duration and intensity as your fitness develops. That might mean you start with a 10 minute bike ride, following by a 5 minute run.
How fit do I need to be to enter a triathlon?
When you watch the PROs, it can be easy to feel like you have to be super human to do a triathlon. But the reality is the sport is far more accessible than you might think – with all sort of triathlon distances available and plenty of events aimed at beginners. The average finish time for new triathletes taking on the super sprint triathlon distance (typically a 400m swim, 10km bike and a 2.5km run – though some events have shorter options) is around 1 hour. But bear in mind that includes the time you’ll spend switching between each sport, too.
Generally speaking, if you have a good level of cardiovascular fitness and you’re able to exercise at a moderate intensity for around 60 minutes, you’ll be capable of completing a super sprint triathlon. And as your fitness improves, if you enjoy your first event – you’ll be able to go faster, or take on longer events!
How long does it take to do a triathlon?
The amount of time it will take you to complete a triathlon really depends on A) the distance you’re racing. And B) How speedy you are! As we’ve mentioned, the average finish time for a typical super sprint triathlon is around 1hr. For the Olympic distance, on average amateur competitors take around 90 minutes or more. But step up to the full Ironman distance and athletes can be out on the course for over 14 hours!
Take a look at our break down of the average, good and elite triathlon finish times across all the various triathlon distances. But remember, for your first event – it’s all about enjoying the process of getting to the finish line, so don’t put too much pressure on yourself to hit a certain time.
Triathlon gear – what do I need to take part in my first triathlon?
With three different sports involved, there’s no denying that triathlon does require a bit more gear than your average sport. But when you’re just getting into tri, you don’t have to break the bank and spend a fortune on every bit of kit going to be able to complete your first triathlon race.
We’ve put together a comprehensive guide to the essential triathlon gear for beginners – including the must-haves, and the nice-to-haves. But the fundamentals include:
- A good pair of swimming goggles
- Swim wear such as a swim suit or jammers (for triathlons with an open water swim, you’ll most likely need a wetsuit, too.)
- A road-worthy bicycle
- A cycling-specific helmet which fits you correctly and fastens securely
- Comfortable, breathable sportswear for cycling and running
- Running shoes
As you get into the sport, you can choose to upgrade your kit to enhance your comfort levels – and improve your finish times.
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