Iron distance triathlon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An Iron Distance Triathlon is a triathlon performed over the following distances:
- 3.8 km (2.4 mi) swimming
- 180 km (112 mi) bicycling
- 42.2 km (26.2 mi) running (the length of a standard marathon)
The historically first and most well known example is the Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii. The term "Ironman" is trademarked by the World Triathlon Corporation, which runs a series of races under that name but which are not sanctioned as official competitions by the International Triathlon Union (ITU). The ITU organizes a series of official races called Long Distance Triathlons. The distances for these races are close to but slightly different from the specifications for the Ironman Triathlon. An event that covers the same distance is an Ironman Triathlon is referred to as an Iron Distance Triathlon. Dozens of these events are held each year throughout the world.
A variety of double, triple, quadruple, quintuple, and deca (10x) iron distance events are also held each year. In a deca iron distance event, for example, a 38 km swim is followed by an 1800 km bike race and a 422 km run. Astrid Benöhr holds the women's world records over the triple, quadruple and quintuple iron distances.
In 1998, a double deca triathlon (20x iron distance) was held in Monterrey, Mexico. The winner, Vidmantas Urbonas of Lithuania, completed the race in 437 hrs 21 min 40 sec.
