Useful Triathlon Definitions

Triathlon - a sport combining any three different athletic disciplines in continuum, such as swimming, cycling and running.

Age Groupers - The term age grouper refers to triathletes in the racing community who do not hold professional or elite status. In race events, age groupers will compete among racers in their age groups, which are typically divided up into five year ranges.

Bike Trainer - A trainer or "indoor trainer" is a piece of equipment that makes it possible to ride a bicycle indoors without moving forward.

Body Marking - Body marking happens during race check-in. It is when information such as race number and age are written on athelete's upper-arms and calfs to assist race officials during an event.

Brick Workout - Workouts where a bike ride is immediately followed by a run.

Drafting - Drafting can occur during the cycling leg of a triathlon. Drafting is the event where two or more cyclists ride close together in an effort to reduce wind resistance. Drafting is usually illegal in most races.

Elite - Elite triathletes are triathletes who are experienced, highly competitive, and meet the series of qualifications of the particular race sanctioning committee. Elite triathletes can also be referred to as professional triathletes, and often times have their own wave during competitions.

Race Distances - Triathlon races vary in distance. According to the International Triathlon Union, and USA Triathlon, the main international race distances are:

• Sprint Distance (750 m swim, 20 km bike, 5 km run)
• Olympic/International Distance (1.5 km swim, 40 km ride, 10 km run)
• Half Ironman (1.9 km swim, 90 km ride, 21.1 km run)
• Ironman (3.8 km swim, 180 km ride, and a marathon: 42.2 km run)

T1 - the swim-to-bike transition

T2 - the bike-to-run transition

Wave - A group of triathletes starting a race. Waves are often staggered and organized by age group and sex.

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