The Scary Swim

The first leg in Triathlon is an open water swim of 2.4 miles. Many people who do triathlons cite swimming as their least favorite leg. With a shotgun start you can have swimmers on top of you and underneath you. This strikes fear into many triathletes as a majority of participants didn’t grow up competing in swimming.

So why has triathlon taken off rather than Duathlon? A Duathlon gives you biking and running without the headache of swimming. Take a look at the picture on the left. You can see how much is going on in the picture at Ironman Canada 2008. It is an exciting image that certainly adds to the allure of the event. Despite my own inadequacies in the water, I am drawn to it. This is why the triathlon has taken off despite the fear by many of the swim.