Bowhill Duathlon Series

Duathlon Events

Training | Rules | Transitioning | Top Duathlon Events

What is a Duathlon?

A duathlon is a an event that brings together running and cycling into one challenge. The format starts with a sprint, before moving onto a cycle section, and then back to a sprint. Before you get started with a duathlon, you’ll need to prepare yourself for both disciplines, becoming a master at running and cycling.

How to train for a duathlon for beginners

Your training for duathlon will be trickier than most, as you have to prepare for two types of sport in one race. You should aim to train at least three times a week to keep yourself on track. You might need to split up your running and cycling sessions, as it can be tricky to plan where you can stop and swap onto the bike. You can find more tips for training here

Know the rules

There’s not too many rules to know about with a duathlon, and the ones you’ll need to pay attention to mostly concern the bike section, or the transitions between the run and cycle sections. Some things to be aware off are:

• You have to keep your helmet on whenever you’re using the bike. So once you finish the first run, you’ll have to put the helmet on before getting on the bike, and keep it on until you’ve finished the cycle section completely.

• You have to keep at least three bike lengths between you and the bike in front. If you want to overtake, you’re allowed 15 seconds to get past the person, otherwise you’ll have to fall back to the three lengths again. Riding too close or alongside another cyclist is known as “drafting”, and you can get disqualified for it.

• There will be marked transition areas between the sections of the race, and there will normally be a transition line before the cycle section, and you mustn’t get on the bike before crossing this line.

Top Duathlon Events in 2020

We have picked out the best duathlon taking place in 2019. We have lots more listings available, just click on the 'Duathlon Events' tab at the top of this page to find them.

London Duathlon

Taking place in September 2020 the London Duathlon is a great event for athletes of any ability so might be the perfect start if you are thinking of doing a duathlon for the first time. It has a run-bike-run format with 4 different distance options all courses will take you around Richmond park and the surrounds closed off roads.

Find out more about this event here