Ahead of the world’s largest Duathlon, the London Duathlon that takes place in Richmond Park on 4th September; LimeLight Sports Club answers some of the most common questions.

Team GB Triathlete Yiannis Christodoulou and level 2 triathlon coach Alex Carington also share their top insider training tips!

What is a Duathlon?

A duathlon is a multi-sport athletic event that consists of a run, a bike ride, followed by a final run.

What are the distances?

The London Duathlon offers 3 distances from the 32km Half Duathlon to the almighty 107km Ultra Duathlon! The most popular challenge; the Full Duathlon includes a 10km run, 44km cycle, followed by a 5km run.

What is the world’s most popular Duathlon?

The London Duathlon is considered the world’s largest duathlon with thousands of enthusiastic duathletes set to Run, Bike, Run their way around fully closed roads of Richmond Park.

When is the London Duathlon?

Sunday 4th September 2022.

Where is the London Duathlon held?

The beautiful surroundings of South West London’s Richmond Park, London, TW10.

DUATHLON TRAINING TIPS

Alex Carington is a Level 2 Triathlon coach for London Frontrunners and whilst he’s qualified to represent Team GB in European and World Championship triathlons in 2021 and 2022, Alex generally prefers more whacky and unique races to pure competition. His most memorable duathlon finished with a mountain marathon over Ben Nevis in rain and fog.

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Brick sessions. Try to incorporate some “brick” sessions into your training where you cycle and run back to back. Make it easy and have your running gear ready to go at home. The second session should not be hard. For example, a longer easy run or a very short fast run (c. 1 km) which will get you used to the feeling of running off the bike and importantly your heart rate increasing for the run.
Elastic laces. These will save you time tying up your laces when you can slip on your shoes and go. Try them and you’ll never want to tie laces again!

Train with your nutrition. It’s likely you will want an energy drink or other nutrition during the race. Make sure you train with it before race day so you are confident it won’t make you feel sick. Everyone is different so use what works for you. Check what nutrition the event provider is supplying and try it in training beforehand. Sips of water/energy drink little and often are usually best.
Familiarise Yourself with the Transition Area. On race day, there will be a lot of bikes and people in transition and it’s easy to forget where you left your bike, costing you time. Before the race, walk the transition routes and make note of landmarks to help you remember your way as you run. Just make sure the landmarks you pick are not likely to move!
Nothing new on race day. It’s very tempting to panic buy some new kit just before race day but you don’t want to discover your new kit gives you blisters or does not work as expected. Make sure you test everything you want to use in advance and that you’re comfortable using it.
Enjoy the finish line. You might be keen to record your time on your watch but no one wants their finishing photo to be of them staring at their wrist! Trust the official timing and as you come down the finish line, lift up the sunglasses, smile and take in the applause – you’ve earned it!

Yiannis Christodoulou will be taking part in this year’s London Duathlon and representing Great Britain in the 2022 World and European Triathlon Championships.

“I really enjoy taking part in multi-sport events as they enable you to train for different disciplines! Running is my favourite sport, so being able to run twice in a Duathlon is a huge bonus. Out of all the multi-sport races I complete, this is the most rewarding!”

80% of your training sessions should be at a slower pace. Building up your training slowly will enable you to build up your engine and become more efficient when it comes to the day!
Work on your weakest area first, so if your cycling is weaker than your running, work more on improving this as you will gain more from improving your weakest area which in turn can give you maximum gains!
Recovery is key, don’t neglect it! Rest days are so important, not only for recovery but also to keep injuries away which in turn will help you to perform to the best of your ability.
Go at your own pace and build into the race. Don’t try chasing the fast ones, let them go off and just start the race the way you trained.