There are a number of standard triathlon race distances, with most triathlons conforming to one of these first five standards:
1. Sprint Distance Triathlon
- 750 metres swim (500m is also very common)
- 20 km bike
- 5 km run
The Sprint Distance is the fastest growing triathlon race distance in the United States.
2. Olympic Distance Triathlon
- 1.5 km (0.9 mile) swim
- 40 km (24.9 mile) bike
- 10 km (6.2 mile) run
The official triathlon world cup is a series of olympic distance races organised and sanctioned each year by the International Triathlon Union; in 2004 it included thirteen events. These world cup races are conducted in a draft legal format for the bike leg. Many other non-official triathlon races have adopted the olympic distance format.
3. Half-Ironman Triathlon
- 1.9 km (1.2 mile) swim
- 90 km (56 mile) bike
- 21 km (13.1 mile) run
Also called a "70.3" or "Tinman."
4. Long Distance Triathlon
- 4 km (2.5 mile) swim
- 120 km (75 mile) bike
- 30 km (18.6 mile) run
This is the race format of the long distance world series of the International Triathlon Union.
5. Ironman Triathlon
- 3.8 km (2.4 mile) swim
- 180 km (112 mile) bike
- 42 km (26.2 mile) run
6. Equilateral Triathlon
A triathlon, proposed by Wainer and De Veaux (1994), in which each leg would take an approximately equal time. For example, their "Olympic" triathlon, run as a relay, should take three world-record holders each about 28 minutes per leg: 2.7 km swim / 22.4 km bike / 10 km run.
7. Formula One (F-1) Triathlon
An event that consists of a swim-bike-run combination in multiple groups. For example, a swim to bike to run followed by another swim to bike to run combination done in one event or as a group of events.
Another variation example would be a swim-exit-swim followed by a bike to run and another bike to run (looped courses). Typically these events allow bike drafting for age group triathlete entries.
The F-1 frequent transitions between swim, bike and run does not make it a practical format for large groups of bikers to draft as frequently seen in other bike draft legal versions of triathlons, where bike drafting is typically limited to pro level triathletes. The F-1 format was created to maintain a reasonably safe format for the development of drafting skills for age groupers. This is specially true for those at the junior level wanting to compete at the draft legal Olympic level in the future.
8. Ultraman Triathlon
An event held annually in Hawai'i over a three day period and covering a total distance of 320 miles. 10 km (6.2 mile) ocean swim / 421 km (261.4 mile) cross-country bike / 84 km (52.4 mile) ultramarathon run. Ultraman Canada, held in the Penticton area of British Columbia, is another Ultraman event.
