Hundreds (perhaps thousands) of individual triathlons are held around the world each year. A few of these races are legendary and favourites of the triathlon community because they have a long history, or because they have particularly gruelling courses and race conditions. A few are listed here.
- Hawaii Ironman World Championship, Kona, Hawaii. First held in 1979, only five years after the sport of triathlon was founded. The cycling stage of the race covers more than a hundred miles over lava flats on the big island of Hawaii, where mid-day temperatures often reach over 43 C (110 F) and cross-winds sometimes blow at 90 km/h (55 m/h). The race is often challenging even to competitors with experience in other iron-distance events.
- Escape from Alcatraz, San Francisco, California. This non-standard-length race begins with a 1.5 mile (2.4 km) swim in frigid San Francisco Bay waters around Alcatraz Island, followed by an 18 mile (29 km) bicycle and 8 mile (13 km) run in the extremely hilly terrain of the San Francisco Bay area. The run includes the notorious "Sand Ladder" - a 400-step staircase climb up a beachside cliff. In recent years, the race has included a fourth event: a one-mile (1.6 km) "warm-up" run between the swim and bike leg to reduce the incidence of hypothermia.
- Wildflower is a Half-Ironman distance race held on or near May 1st at Lake San Antonio in Southern California since 1983. Known for a particularly hilly course, it has expanded now to include three races of different lengths and is one of the largest triathlon events in the world, with 6,000 athletes attending each year.
- Life Time Fitness Triathlon. Offering the largest professional prize purse in triathlon, this event draws international triathlon talent in large numbers. Pros and amateurs alike are welcome to Minneapolis, MN in late summer to enjoy this exciting race conducted in "equaliser" format.
- HP Norseman Xtreme Triathlon. The race is the world's toughest iron-distance. It is also the northernmost iron-distance, taking place at the same latitude as Anchorage, Alaska. The race travels through some of the most beautiful parts of Norway, and is far from a regular circuit-race. HP Norseman starts in one of the beautiful fjords on the West Coast and finishes inland at 1,850 metres above sea level. Total ascent is 5,000 metres.
