A triathlon is a racing event that usually combines swimming, cycling, and running.
What distances does the club compete at?
An official "sprint" distance triathlon is a 750 meters swim, 12.4 mile (20km) bike and 3.1 mile (5km) run. Many have similar distances.
An "olympic" distance triathlon is 1 mile (1.5km) swim, 24.9 mile (40km) bike and 6.2 mile (10km) run.
The club mostly participates in races similar to one of these distances and sometimes does other events like duathlons (run, bike, run) and/or running events.
But I can't swim.
Good news! Many of our club members are on the university's swim team and work at the swimming pool. They'll be more than happy to help you out. Just ask! We'll also have group workouts at the pool to help your technique and stamina in the water.
Well, I couldn't bring my bike to school.
Good news here too! Senior Eric Pfaff spent the summer organizing a bike co-op to make sure students can always have access to bicycles for fitness and transportation. The article about it can be found here. Also, students have found it useful to search craigslist for a cheap bike.
I only have a mountain bike.
Students have had success on both mountain and road bikes. More important than the bike, you have to put in the time and work behind the handlebars. I'm afraid that everyone will be faster than me.
Don't worry about it. Our members come from all sorts of backgrounds and there is bound to be someone at your level. Also, our leadership will work with you to find a reasonable pace to train at.
Cool, so how do I sign up?
The first thing you should do is email us at triclub@plu.edu so we can add you to our email list. Second, before you can participate in training, we need you to sign a waiver and bring it to the Clubhouse or to one of our meetings. Hope to see you soon!
