Just as the TriWoman events about real triathlon, the duathlon component is about real duathlon. This year the TriWoman triathlon series will be adding a duathlon series, for real women.
The world's largest duathlon to date is the inaugural London duathlon , which took place on 17 September 2005 in Richmond Park, Surrey. Approximately 2,500 people took part. The main race consisted of a 10km run, 20k cycle ride and 5km run.
The World's premier duathlon is Powerman Zofingen, in Switzerland. It's a hilly 10K run, mostly on trails, followed by a very hilly 150km road bike consisting of 3 50K loops each of which feature the feared Bodenburg ascent (scene of Kenny Souza's famed DNF in a snow storm when he raced in a neon speedo and small tank top), and finally a very hilly 30km 2 loop trail run the descents of which pound the quads into quivering jelly. Mark Allen, 6 times Ironman Hawaii champion, has been quoted as saying Powerman Zofingen is the hardest race he ever participated in.
The longest continually running duathlon series is still organized by the NY Triathlon Club (www.nytc.org) in and around NY City, USA.
With the popularity of extreme sports, a new form of duathlon has become popular in the last few years. Referred to as an off-road duathlon, or "Dirty-Duathlon , it consists of an off-road or trail run, followed by a mountain bike leg followed by a final off-road or trail run.
The Dirty duathlon off-road duathlon series, held in Texas, was made famous by Lance Armstrong, who won it in 2003. |
