What Is A Duathlon?

A duathlon is a two-sport race which involves running and cycling in three stages (run-bike-run). A duathlon is great for those looking to move into multi-sport racing but may not be comfortable with an open water swim or for triathletes who cannot get in the open water over winter. 

Duathlon Distances

Similar to its counterpart triathlon, duathlons come in multiple distances to suit all competitors from beginners to seasoned athletes.

Duathlon Training

If you can run and you can cycle, you are more than capable of completing a duathlon.

When training for this multisport race, whilst it’s great to focus on the individual sports, you need to get familiar with training one sport after another. This is called a brick session. Brick sessions prepare you for what it feels like to run after having jelly legs from cycling and visa versa. They are also great for building endurance and testing out your transitions, which can be tricky on race day if you are new and nervous.

The first run of any duathlon is where you’re going to be the least fatigued, so you’re going to want to set off at your fast pace, whilst retaining energy for the bike and second run ahead. This is particularly important to practice, as you don’t want to use all your energy speeding off in the first leg, and have your other transitions suffer. If you can’t get outside and train, you can always complete a brick session at the gym.

Duathlon Kit

One of the bonuses of duathlon is that you don’t need as much kit as you do for triathlon events as there’s no call for a wetsuit. When it comes to duathlon clothing, the jury's out. Some people will argue that cycling shorts and a bib are fine, whilst others will suggest this is like running in a nappy and terribly awkward. Those with a tougher bum or padded seat may opt for a regular running short - which typically will be okay for shorter distances. The most popular option is to go for a tri suit or tri shorts and top. The tri suit is designed with a lighter chamois pad making a comfier ride, but without distracting your run. You can view our Sundried Tri Suits crafted with the finest Italian fabrics for the ultimate comfort here via our triathlon shop.

When it comes to footwear, it’s best to wear what you’ve been training in. In order to limit your time in transition, if you have a pair of trainers you can bike and run in, you may save time, however some people will want to wear their cleats in order to pick up the most speed on the ride. If so ensure you have speed laces and socks which are suited to both trainers - or go sockless. 

Once you get a taste for a multi-sport discipline, we guarantee you’ll be wanting to check out our guide to triathlon.

Think duathlon might be for you? You can find some races you might like to enter on our events page.