Are triathletes better athletes than runners?

It's been fun, but there is just too much negative energy here and too many new assholes who post bullshit and lots of great people who used to post all the time who have left or gone underground. I'm out. Life is too short. I'll be in kona. Hope to see some of you there. Paulo knows how to find me.

You all forget that a lot of good triathletes where at one time good runners. If a good runner can swim, then all they have to do is work on the bike.

Fatties are everywhere. Marathons, 5K's, sprint triathlons, and especially IRONMAN, since if you are fat and do IM, you might get on TV for being not only fat but stupid. Oh and it's easy to cheat in tris if you're fat because nobody cares you are already slow.

Damn whore.

I qualified for Kona. The details don't matter (sure, a few people died or slept in - who cares).

Paulo knows how to find me.

That shit never gets old...

The best triathletes are the faster runners acutally.

They are jack of all and master of none.

IE the womens Olympic Champion Emma Snowsill. She can run and run extremely well.

I am a triathlete second and runner (track) first but I had to take up the sport of triathlon out of necessity because running was taking it's toll at the age of 55. I still hurt most triathletes coming off the bike. My take is that most recreational trithletes are too hung up on having the latest gadget and not enough on the actual hard work that goes into the sport. That said, most recreational marathoners don't want to work that hard either. Triathlon has grown from the 6-hour (UAS Fit etc...) marathoners that have been there done that and now want to be called "Iron-man".

Runners may not realize it, but they are in fact triathletes... who dont swim and bike.

There are two competing general definitions of a good athlete:

1. someone who can step out and do well in an athletic event that they do not specialize in.

2. someone who possesses certain physiological benchmarks indicating high physical fitness

Runners - especially distance runners - are USUALLY pretty bad at other sports or athletic activities. Paradoxically the more elite they become under definition 2, the worse they are more likely to be under definition 1.

The better athlete question is somewhat bogus. How do you define better athlete. Testing someoneoon a series of tasks involving strength, enurance, reflexes, eye/hand coordination, tracking, ability to learn new motor tasks, balance, body control etc. etc.

Actually the average tri guy is older. I added tri's when I got older and running started to cause many little nagging injuries that took some of the fun out of it. I still race though just a bit slower.

If there is drafting allowed in the cycle phase, it becomes a race based on who can waddle a short 10k the fastest.

It's hard running a 10k (even a short one) with thighs like that.

The top few ITU triathletes are indeed good runners, but there are some embarrassingly slow triathletes who call themselves "pros".

trollism wrote:

If there is drafting allowed in the cycle phase, it becomes a race based on who can waddle a short 10k the fastest.

It's hard running a 10k (even a short one) with thighs like that.

I'm not a fan of ITU races where they draft...but even in the draft for an hour and plus the swimming, it's still takes a good runner to do 30 or 31 min 10k after that.

As someone already pointed out, the top Triathletes are the generally the best runners too. You don't see guys go out and open a big lead on the bike and then just "hang on" during the run. Ask ol' Normann Stadler about that. He's been "run down "in seemingly every race he has done the last few years.

Triathletes are better swimmers. That's it. Of course there are all different abilities (as there are with runners). But in general, if you didn't grow up as a swimmer then you won't be a great triathlete.

Great swimmer + mediocre biker + mediocre runner = good triathlete. Go figure...

I work for a race timing company and we work with Tris alot...

USAT rules state you can't draft... big penalty for that among other things... it's not that easy to cheat in a well organized tri... "just because your slow"... and if that's the case it's probably easy in road races too...

as for who's more athletic... elite tri vs. elite runner no question... tri

Ex world mountain running champ finished eighth in the latest ITU race.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/2590319/McIlroys-rise-to-the-top-continues