Duathlon: understand and prepare for the event

The duathlon chains running → cycling → running. Without swimming, it's an ideal entry point into multisport for runners and cyclists, and a demanding discipline in its own right (often in winter, off-season triathlon).

Common distances

• Sprint format: ~5 km run / 20 km bike / 2.5 km run.
• Standard format: ~10 km run / 40 km bike / 5 km run.
• Shorter discovery formats exist for beginners.

The specific difficulty: the first running segment

Unlike triathlon, the duathlon starts with running, from cold and often too fast under the effect of adrenaline. Starting too hard on the 1st run ruins everything else. Discipline and pacing management are essential.

The double transition

The bike → final run transition uses the legs more than you'd think. As in triathlon, training in bricks (chaining disciplines) is the key to getting your body used to it — see also nailing your transitions.

How to train

• A solid base of running and cycling.
• Interval sessions in running and quality sessions on the bike (threshold).
• 1 brick session/week in specific phase (e.g. 20' bike + 10' run at target pace).

A balanced multisport plan

Sports Coach AI manages the disciplines you practice and balances running and cycling according to your goal and your data, with bricks placed at the right time in your preparation.