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5 Ways To Train For A Sprint Triathlon.

By Coach Raeleigh | Dec 2, 2022

As the name implies, a sprint triathlon is the shortest of the race categories. This makes it a good entry point for beginners, those with limited training time, or even more experienced athletes looking for a change or to test a new approach out. That said, you don't prepare for a sprint triathlon the same way you prepare for a full-distance tri! Here’s why!

1. Energy systems

A sprint triathlon usually comprises a 750-meter swim, a 20 km bike ride, and a 5 km run, although this might vary slightly from race to race. In the overall scheme of things, this is on the shorter side with the race being completed by most athletes in an hour to an hour and 45 minutes. As the race time is on the shorter side, the percentage of time spent in higher-intensity zones is greater and your training should reflect this. Consider spending more time in training in Zone 4 otherwise known as threshold. This will train your body's speed endurance including your ability to utilize glycogen while also training you mentally for being in that “comfortably uncomfortable” zone during your race. You will still want (and need) to incorporate a high percentage of Zone 2 training, otherwise known as endurance training, as this has its own set of important adaptations that ALL endurance athletes need. 

2. Duration

Your training sessions don’t need to be as long as they would be if you were training for an Olympic or long-distance event, but here is the clincher. Because you will spend more time training at a higher intensity for a sprint triathlon, you will also need to focus more on recovering between sessions. Effectively as time spent in training goes down and intensity goes up, recovery time becomes more important. This is a fine balancing act between optimizing training adaptations and avoiding injury or overtraining, and one area a coach will help a great deal. In general, swim sessions will be in the 20 to 30-minute range, bike rides will be anything from 40 to 90 minutes and runs will fall in the 20 to 60-minute range depending on intensity. 

3. Fueling and hydration

In a sprint triathlon, the percentage of glycogen required to generate energy increases, and your fueling has to support this. The time spent in a race in a sprint triathlon is about half of the Olympic distance. So rather than focusing on the longer “in-race” strategy, it becomes more important to be well-prepared prior to your event. This includes a complete breakfast 3 hours before your race start, topping up your glycogen stores between breakfast and your race start, and maintaining your hydration during this window. Experiment with this during training, also making sure you have practiced your hydration and nutrition strategy during higher intensity sessions. Come race day, your heart rate will be high, blood flow to working muscles is prioritized and your gut will be more sensitive to anything you take in. By practicing and refining your hydration and nutrition during training (especially the higher-intensity sessions) you will set yourself up for a great sprint race! 

4. Recovery time

This is closely related to point 2, above. There is one other factor to consider over and above recovery between training sessions, and that is the recovery time after races. Due to sprint triathlons having a lower impact on your body, it doesn't take as long to recover from racing and you can race more frequently allowing you to improve your racing performance reasonably quickly over a season. In contrast, most athletes will race 1 full-distance triathlon or 2 to 3 half-distance events, but a sprinter can race up to 4 or 5 times in a season. 

5. Equipment   

There is one major advantage to this shorter race when it comes to bike choice. A road, or even touring bike (the choice for many a beginner triathlete regardless of distance) will be less efficient than a time trial bike. The impact of this is magnified as race distance increases. Say for example a TT bike is 2 minutes quicker over the sprint distance. This gap gets magnified as the race distance goes up. Running efficiency might go down by 2% running off a road bike versus a time trial bike, but again, over the sprint distance, this is minimized. There is no question, a TT bike will always be quicker in a non-draft legal race than a road bike, but this advantage is limited due to the race being over a shorter distance. This is a clear advantage for racers new to the sport, for those who have a road bike (not a TT bike), and for those who generally feel more comfortable on a road bike.

These are just some points to consider when training for a sprint triathlon. There are many nuances and specifics to drill into as you prepare for a sprint triathlon. For example, intensity ramp, specific recovery modalities and techniques, strength and conditioning, mental training, and more to master. Getting a coach just might be my #6! 

Happy racing!