Thinking of joining a tri club? Do it. I could just end this article there, but I sense this might leave you feeling a tad short changed, so let me impart some wisdom to you all on what it is that makes tri clubs the place for you, and what you should look for in a good one.
Triathlon clubs are essentially groups of people in identical garish leotards whose obsession with tri has moved past the stage where they started keeping their training plans on an excel spreadsheet, and have decided to join like-minded people to do races together and try to drop each other on Sunday morning training rides.
When you see club athletes at races, they can appear intimidating with their in-jokes and their carefully selected chest-bragging T-shirts.
But people in tri clubs are, almost always without exception, welcoming and friendly, and not at all the kind to laugh at your non-elasticated laces and race number pinned straight to your top. And when you speak to them it's more than likely they'll immediately try to recruit you to join, not least because with a fresh arrival they'll have someone new to brag to about their PBs.
So with so many great things to choose from, what should you look for in a good tri club? Well, here's my handy A-Z...
AWARDS NIGHT
All good clubs should have an awards night with prizes for the fastest, longest, most dedicated and, ideally, the most hapless (I speak as two-time winner of Coventry Triathletes' 'Who got Hammered' award). Awards nights are great opportunities to gloat if you've won a trophy and nurse grievances if you haven't, and really help to make up for the inevitable hell of the AGM.
Denne historien er fra July 2022-utgaven av 220 Triathlon.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Denne historien er fra July 2022-utgaven av 220 Triathlon.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
How to Carb Load - Packing your working cells with carbohydrates in the build-up to your big race is a proven strategy to race stronger and faster...
Whichever distance triathlon you're racing, the intensity and duration of your activity will see your body tap into its stores of carbohydrates (in the form of glycogen) to power your effort. While it's possible to top up your tank on the go, it's better to start your event with your stores full to the brim.
The Olympic Champion - On 31 July, Great Britain's Alex Yee put together arguably the greatest one-day performance we have ever seen at an Olympic Games to win gold. And we were there at the finish line to speak to tri's new poster boy...
The opening line of the race report read how 20 years on from New Zealand’s first and only Olympic triathlon gold medal, Hayden Wilde had put in a careerbest performance to regain the title for his nation. Then Alex Yee comes around the corner.Yee’s charge, seemingly from nowhere on the final lap of the 10km run in Paris, didn’t just help him become the most decorated Olympic male triathlete of all time, and didn’t just cap a rivalry that has been building for six years, it left seasoned watchers of swim, bike, run in awe. It will go down as one of the greatest triathlon races; Yee, still just 26, as one of the greatest triathletes. His medals from Paris added to the two from Tokyo, leaving his haul at two gold, a silver and a bronze, and counting.
"I HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO INFLUENCE THE GROWTH OF TRIATHLON"
British Triathlon CEO Ruth Daniels talks Paris, her plans to grow tri and her own personal goals... knees allowing
ZWIFT RIDE
£1,199.99 Zwift's new Ride is an indoor bike that might help you break your PB... but won't break the bank
PARIS SHOWED THE VALUE OF OLYMPIC EXPERIENCE
With the spotlight on triathlon like never before at these Games, debutant athletes talked about being overwhelmed by the unique environment
GAMES AT THE GAMES
After watching and enjoying the Olympic triathlon events, Brunt amused himself by playing the 'guess how far into each event I would die' game...
WHERE EAGLES DARE
With little heat prep, the wrong gear choice and a course-recce mistake, would experienced extreme triathlete Sean McFarlane soar like an eagle or drop like a stone in Italy?
HOW TO INCREASE RUN PACE WHEN FATIGUED
The ability to dig deep in the latter stages of a race helped Alex Yee achieve Olympic gold. Here Ben, a member of Team GB's coaching staff in Paris, explains how you too can find that extra gear...
BUYER'S GUIDE: BIKE COMPUTERS
Log your rides, find your way and monitor your multisport training with a quartet of impressive bike computers...
POLAR GRIT X2 PRO
\"You can't be anything other than impressed with the GPS, whose design is one of the significant changes to the V3\"