Q. What is a triathlon anyway?
A. A triathlon is a race made up of three elements: a swim, a bicycle ride, and a foot race, usually in that order. There are different distances, but the most common for adults are the sprint distance and the Ironman and Half-Ironman distances. There are also different types of triathlons such as a reverse tri (run, bike, swim) and indoor tris (pool swim, stationary bike ride, and indoor track). Distances for youth triathlons vary widely and are much shorter.
Q. What do I have to have to race in a triathlon? Isn't there a lot of expensive equipment to buy?
A. Not at all, but as with most hobbies, you can spend as much as you like. For any tri, you must have a well-fitting cycling helmet. You can get decent ones at Target and Wal-Mart. You will also need a bike (training wheels are fine), shoes to run in (please no sandals or Crocs), and a swimsuit and goggles. You will see kids with very expensive and specified equipment, but it is not necessary, and for the first few tris, not recommended. You also need to have a water bottle and bottle cage on your bike; there will be water stops on the run portion.
Q. What do I wear during a youth triathlon?
A. You will see people wearing all types of racewear at youth tris. A helmet is required for the bicycling portion of the race at all times. At the basic level, you should have a swimsuit that you can run and bike in, goggles, good shoes to run in, socks (short ones are best), and either a tshirt with your race number already pinned on the front or a race belt that you can put on in a hurry. You will also see kids wearing triathlon suits; these are nice but not necessary.
Q. What does "transition" mean?
A. Transition is both a noun and a verb. The transition area is where your bicycle, helmet, shoes, socks, and race belt and number are waiting for you to put them on after the swim. You also leave your swim cap and goggles in transition after the swim. Your own transition area is marked with your towel. Transition as a verb means moving from one element of the race to the next.
The transition can be a very confusing place and time for a newbie triathlete. If you practice your transitioning, it will make this part of the race easier for you.
Transitions are usually timed in separate splits from your swim, bike, and run times and do count towards your total race time.
Q. What is a "brick?"
A. A brick is a term used to describe a training practice that involves 2 elements of the triathlon: either a swim/transition/bike practice or a bike/transition/run practice.
Q. Why do we have to supply a swim time?
A. Most youth tris take place in swimming pools. The athletes will start one-at-a-time in 10-second (or close to it) intervals, beginning with the fastest swimmers and moving down through the age group to the slower swimmers.
Don't provide what you wish your swim time was: be honest. This will keep pacing even and prevent the first wave of swimmers from being overtaken by the second wave. This is important for safety purposes.
If you don't know what your swim time is, have someone time you as you swim 4 lengths (2 laps) of a 25-yard pool.
Q. What is body marking? That sounds scary!
A. Body marking is simply when you get your race number written on your upper arms, upper legs, and back of one leg with permanent marker. This is to help identify you during the swim. It also is a really cool souvenir that will stick around for a few days and you can show it off to your friends.
Q. What is a timing chip?
A. Timing chips are not used at all youth triathlons, but the Tri-to-Cure uses them. It is a device that is tied or strapped to your ankle and is worn through the entire event. It records when you finish your swim (swim start times are recorded by volunteers), start your bike ride, finish the bike ride, start the run, and finish the entire race. It will be removed and must be returned when you finish the race. This is why, even if someone crosses the finish line ahead of you, it does not mean he or she has necessarily won the race.
Q. I still don't understand the process. Help!
You will be assigned a swim time or start position based on your submitted swim time. (Day-of-event registrees usually have to swim last.) You will complete your swim, jump out of the pool, and run to the transition area. There you will take off your goggles and swim cap, put on your helmet, socks, and shoes, and walk your bike to the bike start line, where you will start your ride immediately. You do not dry off or change clothes! After the bike portion, you will walk your bike back to your transition area, take off your helmet, and start your run. When you cross the finish line, you are done!
Before the race, you will have a chance to set up your transition area. We will go over how to do this at practice. You will also get body marked and receive and attach your chip. There is also usually a pre-race meeting, Pledge of Allegiance, and a prayer or moment of silence. Afterwards there is a lot of food, fun, and the awards ceremony, so stick around.
Q. This sounds fun! What other endurance events for kids are available?
A. Here is a link to a list of youth triathlons in the southeast: http://www.freewebs.com/cytc/otheryouthtriathlons.htm
Also, kids are usually allowed to run sprint distance triathlons -- running as part of a relay team is a fun way to get the whole family involved and share the responsibilities and accolades for helping the team reach the finish line.
Duathlons (run, bike, run) are also popular for kids or relay teams with kids. And adventure racing, usually involving trail runs, canoeing or kayaking, and/or mountain biking, are becoming more accessible for kids.
Finally, although it is not recommended that children participate in full marathons, well-trained, very fit older kids do well in 10K (6.2 miles) events through half marathons (13.1 miles). Younger children might enjoy training for and running 5K races or "fun run" races often held in conjunction with longer events.
Here is a link to other Qs and As: http://www.tritocure.com/faq1.htm
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