Zuzanna Kościuk Triathlons and Quadrathlons

Those who don’t fear challenges, usually opt foropt foropt for triathlonstriathlons [triathlon]triathlons or quadrathlonsquadrathlons [quadrathlon]quadrathlons. Why?

A triathlon is a relatively new racerelatively new racerelatively new race (originating in 1974) consisting ofconsisting of [consist of]consisting of three disciplines: swimming, cycling, and running. A participant must first swim through open wateropen wateropen water after which he or she moves to the designated transition areadesignated transition areadesignated transition area to engage inengage in sthengage in the cycling part of the race. Then, the participant gets to the second transition area and starts running. The length of each category depends on the event and may range from 100 meters to 4 kilometers for a swim, 5 to 120 kilometers for cycling, and 1 to 30 kilometers for running. At the Olympics, the distances are respectivelyrespectivelyrespectively 1.5km, 40km, and 10km.

A quadrathlon involves one more discipline: kayaking. Usually, the order of the disciplinesorder of the disciplinesorder of the disciplines is swimming, cycling, kayaking, and running though it’s not a hard and fasthard and fast rulehard and fast rulehard and fast rulerule. Quadrathlons may differ from sprint to long distances, depending on the organization. While it’s not an Olympic discipline, there exists a quadrathlon World Cup, with each participant being allowed to enter as many races as they choose.

As one can imagine, both of the events are extremely physically taxingphysically taxingphysically taxing with the quadrathlon being the more demandingdemandingdemanding one. Those willing to take part in it, go through extensive trainingextensive trainingextensive training and, usually, take part in marathonsmarathons [marathon]marathons, biathlonsbiathlons [biathlon]biathlons, and triathlons as well. Still, the strainstrainstrain a quadrathlon puts on a body is unprecedentedunprecedentedunprecedented and many participants, even those who are otherwise very athletic, are often surprised by how intense it is. Triathlons are easier and, according to experts, can be completed just after six weeks of training. It doesn’t mean they’re a walk in a park, but out of the two, they’re the better choice for beginners.

With the overall difficulty of both races, one may ask why people bother with them. The answer is simple: many people love a challenge. Finishing a triathlon or a quadrathlon is likely to leave you extremely satisfied and may open you up to more challenges in the future. Furthermore, both of the races are social events with people of different ages and expertise levelsexpertise levels [expertise level]expertise levels competing against one anothercompeting against one another [compete against one another]competing against one another. In fact, while participating in any of the events, you might be faced withbe faced with sthbe faced with professional athletes as well. While it might seem intimidatingintimidatingintimidating, in practice, it proves that no matter your background and training, you can still enjoy a famous race. Finally, triathlons and quadrathlons can help facilitate personal growthfacilitate personal growthfacilitate personal growth. Many of the challenges throughout the race aren’t physical at all. A lot of people aren’t fans of open water or have never cycled on a road. A triathlon or a quadrathlon can help them overcome their fearsovercome their fears [overcome one’s fear]overcome their fears and come out better for it.

So, are you interested in any of the races now?

1 Źródło: Zuzanna Kościuk , [na podstawie:] https://www.quadrathlon4you.com/quadrathlon/beginners-guide/ [dostęp 20.09.2022], https://wqf.quadrathlon.com/quadrathlon/ [dostęp 20.09.2022], https://www.trichicks.com/blog/10-reasons-why-is-triathlon-is-so-popular [dostęp 20.09.2022], https://www.nytimes.com/guides/well/triathlon-training [dostęp 20.09.2022], licencja: CC BY-SA 3.0.