Very-long-distance triathlon
An ultra-triathlon covers more distance than an ITU 'long course,' or Ironman™ triathlon. The term generally refers to all triathlon events with a distance that is a multiple of the Ironman Triathlon, which consists of 2.4 miles (3.86 km) of swimming, 112 miles (180.25 km) of cycling, and a full marathon (26.2 mi or 42.2 km) of running.[1] The most common distances are the double, triple, quadruple, quintuple and deca triathlon.[2] Unlike a standard triathlon event, an ultra-triathlon event may not necessarily involve the three component disciplines of triathlon (swimming, cycling and running) in direct consecutive order, but may instead consist of multiple consecutive individual triathlons performed on consecutive days,[3] or may involve disciplines out of the usual order, such as the Enduroman that goes run-swim-bike to allow crossing of the English Channel.[4]
The first ultra-distance race was held as a double in Huntsville, Alabama (USA) in 1985, and since then the distances have been expanding.[5] While 20x and even 30x events have been held, the DECA, or 10x event, either in the 'continuous' version (swim-bike-run), or in the 'one-per-day' version is typically the longest distance that can be found on the race calendar every year.[2] In 2020 and 2022, the swissultra DECA continuous was the IUTA World Championship over that distance.[6][7]
The IUTA (International Ultra Triathlon Association) is the official governing body of Ultra Triathlon.[8]
Standard distances
Distances |
Swimming |
Cycling |
Running
|
Single Ultratriathlon |
3.86 km (2.40 mi) |
180.25 km (112 mi) |
42.2 km (26.2 mi)
|
Double Ultratriathlon |
7.6 km (4.7 mi) |
360 km (220 mi) |
84.4 km (52.4 mi)
|
Triple Ultratriathlon |
11.4 km (7.1 mi) |
540 km (340 mi) |
126.6 km (78.7 mi)
|
Quadruple Ultratriathlon |
15.2 km (9.4 mi) |
720 km (450 mi) |
168.8 km (104.9 mi)
|
Quintuple Ultratriathlon |
19 km (12 mi) |
900 km (560 mi) |
211 km (131 mi)
|
Deca Ultratriathlon |
38 km (24 mi) |
1,800 km (1,100 mi) |
422 km (262 mi)
|
Deca One-Per-Day (10 days) |
every day 3.8 km |
every day 180 km |
every day 42 km
|
Ultraman 3 days |
Day 1 - 10km (6.25mi)
|
Day 1 - 145km (90mi), Day 2 - 276.1km (172.5 mi) |
Day 3 - 84.3km (52.7 mi)
|
Ultra 355 3 days
|
Day 1 - 5km (3.1mi)
|
Day 1 - 120km (75 mi), Day 2 - 180km (112 mi)
|
Day 3 - 50km (31.25 mi)
|
Double Deca Ultratriathlon |
76 km (47 mi) |
3,600 km (2,200 mi) |
844 km (524 mi)
|
Triple Deca Ultratriathlon |
114 km (71 mi) |
5,400 km (3,400 mi) |
1,260 km (780 mi)
|
World records
Men
Women
References
External links