Triathlon vs Duathlon: Predicting Bike and Run Splits

What will your duathlon finish time be if you've completed a triathlon with similar bike and run distances? Based on our analysis of last year's Steelhead half ironman and this year's duathlon on the same course, expect both bike and run splits to be 3% or more faster.

Bad weather conditions led organizers to cancel the Steelhead triathlon's swim leg, reducing the event to a bike/run duathlon, giving us the opportunity to compare duathlon vs. triathlon bike and run splits. Resulting duathlon splits in most age groups were at least 3% or more faster, as shown in the chart below. Notable exceptions were M18-29 bike and run splits, and run splits for W18-24, W40-44, W55-59 and WPro categories.

Behind the percentage differences, here are average bike splits for the 2011 duathlon compared with the 2010 triathlon, by age group.

Here are average run splits for the 2011 duathlon compared with the 2010 triathlon, by age group.

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