Why Your First Triathlon Shouldn’t Be a 70.3

Social media and great marketing from IRONMAN have convinced a lot of people that the only triathlon worth doing is a 70.3 or longer. If you search “triathlon” on Instagram or TikTok, you’ll get countless videos of people training for or racing 70.3s or full IRONMANs, but comparatively, very few people are promoting their journeys in sprint or Olympic-distance competition.

For new triathletes looking to get into racing, this representation can lead to the assumption that a 70.3 is a good starting point for a rookie, but that’s really not true at all. Entering a 70.3 for your first race isn’t wrong by any means, but the shorter races exist for a reason, and they can help you progress in the sport at a steady rate. If you’re new to the sport and looking to get into racing, here is why you should test the waters with shorter races first before diving into middle- and long-distance triathlon.

A Gradual Progression

If you were new to the gym and you made your way over to the rack of dumbbells, where would you head first? The lightest dumbbells are at one and of the rack and they increase in weight until reaching the heaviest at the other end. You might not need to start with the lightest, but you certainly wouldn’t go right for the heaviest. Instead, you would find a weight to lift comfortably and then work your way further down the rack over time as you got stronger and gained confidence.

It’s not exactly the same in triathlon, but it’s close enough. Why jump into the middle of the distance range when there is an obvious starting point? There are sprint (or even super-sprint) races that can give you a taste of the sport. From there, you can work up to Olympic (which is double the distance of a sprint) and then maybe a 100-kilometre race or a 70.3. These race distances provide a pretty natural progression for any new triathletes as they grow in the sport.

Don’t Let the ‘Half’ Mislead You

For some reason, there’s a strange stigma against the “half” races in endurance sports. A half-IRONMAN or a half-marathon is looked down on, as though it is only part of a whole instead of its own entity. Anyone who has done a 70.3 knows that it is in no way diminished simply because it is halfway to an IRONMAN, but you may have noticed people who are not in the sport smirking or belittling the achievement of a half-distance race.

Because of this, the public perception of a half-IRONMAN may be that it’s actually not all that hard. That’s wrong, and you’ll realize that pretty early on in your first race. Don’t let the race title mislead you — 70.3s are hard. There is no shame in starting shorter and working up to those longer distances.

The Cost of Going Longer

The longer the race, the more expensive it will be. The resources required to cover half a mile of swimming, 12 miles of biking and three miles of running are far less than those needed for 70.3 miles of racing. We’re not saying a 70.3 isn’t worth the money, but it could be a good idea to dip your toe into the world of racing with a shorter, less-expensive event.

Cheaper doesn’t mean worse, but it will definitely be easier to swallow a poor or less-than-stellar result at a race that costs under $100 compared to one that’s more than $300. You may crush your first race, but most people won’t, and although that doesn’t mean it won’t be a fun experience, a faster time is always more enjoyable than a slower one. Why not get your not-so-great result out of the way at a cheaper race before diving into the pricier ones?

The Experience

No matter what you choose for your first race, it will likely leave you shattered. Triathlons are hard, especially your first, and whether you’re racing a sprint, a half, a full or any other distance, you’re going to be exhausted by the end. You’re also likely to make a lot of mistakes in your first race (or first few races), so why not gain a bit of experience before tackling something as big as a 70.3?

Racing a sprint or Olympic will prepare you mentally for the walls you’ll hit in future races. I personally know several triathletes who started off with a 70.3, and each of them told me after the race that they wished they had raced a shorter event first. Racing 70.3 miles is a huge undertaking — there’s no shame in building up to it.

Get Used to Training

When you first get started in triathlon, the training can be overwhelming. You’re trying to find your way in three sports, you need to fit hours upon hours of training sessions into each week and you’re working to fit everything into your already busy schedule. Frankly, it’s going to be tough to fit training for a sprint into your life at first, and the hours of work required to race well in that distance are far lower than the minimum you’ll need for success in a 70.3. That’s not to say you can slack in sprint training, but your long sessions will be much shorter than if you were working toward a 56-mile ride or a half-marathon.

Instead of jumping into middle-distance training right away, take some time to get used to triathlon training in general. Carve out time for sprint training and figure out what works for you and what doesn’t. This will help you to eliminate any junk mileage before taking the step to the next distance, meaning you’ll be able to train more intentionally when more work is required of you.

What’s the rush?

Unless you’re planning to buy all of the gear, do all of the training and then doing a single 70.3 before retiring from the sport, you’ll have plenty of time to level up in triathlon. There is really no rush to get into racing 70.3s or longer, so why force yourself to bite off such a large chunk?

IRONMAN has done an amazing job with branding, and when you pair that with the attention those races have gotten on social media in recent years, it seems like anyone who’s anyone is racing M-dot events. That’s not the case at all, and no matter what race you choose for your first, it will give you everything you need to fall in love with the sport of triathlon.

Tags: