Conquer triathlon

Triathlon isn't just for super-fit athletes. With a wealth of shorter distance events for all ages and abilities, there's no better time to get started on your multisport journey

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What is triathlon?

Although there's evidence of triathlon taking place in 1920s France, the modern-day swim, bike and run sport as we know it began in 1974 in California. Ironman - triathlon's most iconic race organiser - followed in Hawaii in 1978, before tri reached British shores in 1983. Its Olympic Games journey began at Sydney 2000 and Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee became household names after winning medals at London 2012.

Broad appeal

My Sunday football career, if that's the right word, left me with “the knees of a 70-year-old” by the age of 30. Enter triathlon. I've since trundled (see above) through 40 multisport events of every distance, all with less than five hours of exercise a week, an adversity to gyms, a love of pies and a relaxed approach to aerodynamics (again, see above). My friends are always surprised at the array of shapes, sizes, ages and fitness levels of the triathletes on the start line and the friendly atmosphere - proof that tri isn't just for sculpted and ultra-serious superhumans. Unlike their dad, my children are now budding triathletes, too.

Tri race distances

Here are the regular distances, with the average finishing times following.

Starter tri 200m pool swim/5km bike/1km run; 30 mins.

Super-sprint 400m swim/10km bike/2.5km run; 60 mins.