ULTRA X-TRIATHLON: 2000m SWIM OR 16km CANOE?

[SwissVan]

i dont agree totaly JGR there is a big difference between being a "good" swimmer and being able to swim two km's,there are alot of people that find the swim leg of a sprint tri daunting let alone a ultra event, i know alot of serious canoe triathletes that stopped competing when the swim tris took off. i do however agree that people that own canoes are not scared of the water and are decent swimmers but to swim long distance is a different animal

 

LOL, my first canoe tri turned out to be both a swim and canoe....you know how hard it is to get back into a canoe if you fall out and the side of the dam is nowhere in sight.....

[SwissVan]

Thats the hope Swiss! so what you doing in December?

 

Unfortunately I'll be in Switz on the 01.12, would have considered it seriously if it was somewhere between Xmas and New Year but I guess that's not the best time to host an event like this.

[silvertemplar]

One of the Sasol Triathlons held in Vereeniging earlier this year also did this . I did the canoe (or rather K1/Kayak) rather than swim. The timing is definitely alot different in terms of swim vs canoe, you'll pitch up at the first transition and everyone will be gone, cycling on your own for the most part.

 

I guess the biggest catch with the canoeing is , you can't just pitch up there and wing-it without actually having sorted your balance in a K1 out . However once the balance is sorted, i'd think it's easier to canoe longer distances without having to have actually did it before hand (kinda like not having to cycle 70km, to do a 70km event) . Swimming makes me nervous in that regard, and it's tricky to train 2km swims in a pool ;-) .

[Face Plant]

very good point Silvertemplar doesnt matter how well you swim it would be silly to try to do a swim this far without training for it, with regards to the timing, its always a trick to get the canoes and swimmers into transition at the same time, although that is what we aim for there are so many variables on the day, current, wind etc. we have worked out the times and hope that we can get the lead canoes and swimmers into transition together

[Shebeen]

I could do both quite easily but I might opt for the swim as a 2km swim will take a bit shorter than a 16km paddle, +- 35min versus +-1hr20min.

 

top swimmer 22mins

top canoe 1:15.

 

boats should get at least an hour headstart.

 

quantum adventures had the tri challenege for a few years recently at theewaters.

the triple challenge in maritzburg has been a big race for a while now too.

[Jewbacca]

Learn to swim... Transporting kit is surely also a factor...

 

Speedo, cap and goggles vs a paddle thingy, boat, roof racks, pfd, silly hat that people wear when they paddle....

[SwissVan]

Learn to swim... Transporting kit is surely also a factor...

 

Speedo, cap and goggles vs a paddle thingy, boat, roof racks, pfd, silly hat that people wear when they paddle....

 

What silly hat?

 

I remember Henk Watermeyer wearing his cycling helmet a few times, that did look a bit silly but then he was winning races so I suppose he had a license to do what he likes

[Memnon]

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