
One of world’s largest duathlons : London

Back to my roots: I’ve just signed up for the London Duathlon, not having done the event for several years now. It’s 100% based inside the Royal Park at Richmond and the whole park is closed for the day of this large event. I live very close to the Park and know the course extremely well.
The courses favour someone who is a better runner than a cyclist, in my opinion. Run distances are based on multiples of a standard 5k but each lap of the park when cycling is just over 11km, so each course has multiples of that distance.
The events have typically been correctly Age Banded and are competitive. I got an age-group podium once so, on that basis, they’re probably less competitive than the ITU/ETU events;-)
The bike course is considerably safer than at most other events and in the past, everything has been well marshalled. Changes to the course this year will have to take into account new road changes introduced by the Royal Parks Authority which has turned the roads and roundabouts into somewhat of an obstacle course with various hump and gates adding to the fun. That should all be fine on race day though.
I’ll add some course-related insights as new content in August for anyone that’s interested, so watch this space.
London Duathlon
The London Duathlon is the leading run, bike, run race in the UK, with 4,000 people expected to head to Richmond Park for the 3 September event. It used to be the biggest Duathlon in the world and was once part-owned by Ironman. Now it’s owned by Limelight.
Last year’s duathlon proved incredibly popular, with participants keen to experience competing amid the picturesque surroundings of the capital’s largest royal park on a closed route. It is also one of only a small number of closed-route duathlons in the UK, making it a must-attend for people looking for personal best times.
Organisers LimeLight Sports Club, which also runs the hugely popular Wizz Air Hackney Half Marathon and ASICS London 10k, is already experiencing high demand for this year’s event and is encouraging anyone who would like to take part to register now to avoid disappointment.
People can choose from two distance options and a relay race:
- Half Duathlon: 5km Run – 22km Bike – 5km Run (Similar to a Spinrt duathlon except the last run leg is 5km, not 2.5km, making it favour better runners)
- Full Duathlon: 10km Run – 44km Bike – 5km Run (Very similar to the Standard Distance or Olympic as called by some people even tho there is no Olympic duathlon)
- Ultra Duathlon: 20km Run – 77km Bike – 10km Run (Broadly similar difficulty to a Half Ironman event)
- Duathlon Relay: 10km Run – 44km Bike – 5km Run (2 or 3 people)
The event is aimed at people of all levels and as well as a superb stand-alone event, it is also seen as a great way for runners and cyclists to begin to build their way up to taking part in a triathlon. Locals to Richmond Park are best advised to try the Sprint/May sprint triathlon at Hampton Pool as a first step into triathlon as it only involves a 400m+ swim with cycling on generally safe roads)
Craig Dews, CEO of LimeLight Sports Club, said: “This is becoming a very popular event and we’re confident we’ll see even more people taking part this year than in 2022.
“The London Duathlon is a really accessible race for people who have never done a multi-discipline event before and there is always a welcoming, encouraging, and family-friendly atmosphere on race day.
“It is also a great opportunity for more experienced participants to challenge themselves on a closed route in an absolutely stunning location.
“We’ve seen a real increase in demand for the relay category and it is brilliant to see people who perhaps traditionally only cycle or run signing up with friends and taking part together.
“There can’t be many more beautiful settings for a mass-participation race; we’re very lucky to be able to put this event on and it’s brilliant to see so many people keen to join us and enjoy the day together.”
Places are available now, with prices starting at just £44, and can be booked online at: www.londonduathlon.com.
In Hungary there were two duathlon events in 2012 and 2013, 10+150+30km, so almost an Ironman without swimming. It was the official annual duathlon national championship, but there were so few professionals that these events were open for full amateurs like me. Moreover the time limit was so gracious, 12 hours, that it could be completed even without strong skills, just with some sound training for a couple of months and with some force of will. As I remember the number of participants were like 40, and it seemed that I was the only guy not having the official duathlon/triathlon sport pass (permission?).
During the race I was not in a hurry, eg. my T2 time was like 20 minutes, because in a tent I was simply eating some bananas and creaming my body, so the loudspeaker echoed my name encouraging me. He thought I was struggling and hesitating whether to continue. While I simply behaved hedonistically, I also changed my whole dress slowly, comfortably. 🙂
My finish time was like 11 hours and 30 minutes.
I did not want to hijack the article, but I thought that my story was so atypical.
Think you got your distances muddled?
Should be:
– Full Duathlon: 10km Run – 44km Bike – 5km Run
– Ultra Duathlon: 20km Run – 77km Bike – 10km Run
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