![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.merlincycles.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Bex-Ironman-finish.jpg\")
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On the 15th July, the majority of people in the UK were gearing up to watch the World Cup final between France and Croatia from the comfort of their homes or the local pub.<\/span><\/p>\n But our very own Bex Rimmington had a different day ahead. Just before 6 am, she was standing at the edge of the lake in Pennington Flash alongside thousands of others, all of them in wetsuits and swimming caps. They were about to brave a gruelling 2.4 mile swim through the cold waters\u2026 and that was just the start.<\/span><\/p>\n Why? Because Bex was taking on one of the toughest triathlons in the world: the Ironman. Each year, it comes to Bolton, UK to challenge hardcore endurance athletes \u2014 and this year, we\u2019re extremely proud to say that Bex finished the top of her group in her first-ever Ironman race!<\/span><\/p>\n Her favourite part of the Ironman? \u201cOn reflection, I enjoyed every single second of it. It\u2019s something I\u2019ve always wanted to do, and the atmosphere and support was just incredible!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Looking ahead to the Ironman finals in Hawaii (where Bex will compete in October), we looked into the growing buzz around triathlons \u2014 and why they should be your next challenge.<\/span><\/p>\n The popularity of triathlons in the UK is growing with impressive momentum. Between 2009 and 2016, there was a 134% growth in memberships with Triathlon England, Triathlon Scotland and Welsh Triathlon. <\/span><\/p>\n The Olympics in Brazil inspired even more people \u2014 there was a further 57% growth in the triathlon industry since Rio 2016.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI think the triathlon is becoming popular because it is a challenge to conquer the three disciplines,\u201d says Bex. \u201cIt also caters for everyone, from first-timers to elite athletes. Plus, you can complete the same event and course as the elite athletes, which is pretty unique to the sport.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Bex joined hundreds of women in taking on the Ironman this year who together are making great steps forward for diversity in the sport \u2014 and it\u2019s happening elsewhere, too.<\/span><\/p>\n In the last two decades, there\u2019s been a nearly 250% increase in the number of women taking on the London Triathlon, for example. There\u2019s also been a huge growth in the number of women over 55 that are doing triathlons in the UK, an increase of 521% since 2009. <\/span><\/p>\n Women around the country are proving that they can take on these significant physical challenges and excel, a trend that is doing wonders for making the sport accessible to more and more people.<\/span><\/p>\n The peak age for Ironman competitors was between 34 and 35 years old. As elite athletes get more experienced, they tend to branch away from the Olympic-length triathlons that they dominated in their twenties and seek a greater endurance-based challenge. Comprised of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and then a marathon to finish it off, there are few races quite as challenging as the Ironman<\/span><\/p>\n Earlier this year, Bex beat thousands of others to be selected for the 2018 Specialized Zwift Academy Triathlon Team. The team is comprised of just four amateur athletes \u2014 with Bex representing Great Britain alongside athletes from Germany, Belgium and the USA \u2014 who will be supported by Zwift with the goal of competing for the age-group podium at the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii.<\/span><\/p>\n During last year\u2019s final in Kona, the average bike speed was 33.39 km\/h for men and 29.57 hm\/h for women. Competitors sustained these speeds over 112 miles of hills and heat beneath the tropical Pacific sun \u2014 no mean feat!<\/span><\/p>\n Ever wondered how Olympic triathletes compare to the average competitor?<\/span><\/p>\n Data from triathlons around the world shows that, on average, it takes about 3 hours to finish an international or \u201cOlympic\u201d distance triathlon. The stats from Rio 2016 show that the average overall time is just 1 hour 55 minutes \u2014 that\u2019s 36% faster. <\/span><\/p>\n Expect another impressive showing at Tokyo 2020!<\/span><\/p>\n We wanted to find out from the people that had done it themselves what a triathlon was like to undertake, so we asked our customers for their input. <\/span><\/p>\n Nearly 50% of respondents said that the hardest leg of the triathlon was the run at the end. Bex had a similar experience during the Ironman: \u201cThe hardest part was the last part of the marathon, I had never run a marathon before so to complete it after the other disciplines was possibly the toughest bit.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n So who has the main advantage of runners, swimmers and cyclists? Well with the largest leg of the whole race, cyclists had the best chance of catching up for lost time on other disciplines \u2014 and our respondents agreed. \u201cIt\u2019s interesting that people think that cyclists have the biggest advantage,\u201d said Bex. \u201cI guess it is because it makes up the longest leg of the race. Having said that, being able to run off the back of a strong bike is an art.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Perhaps the most encouraging for newcomers to the sport is that over 40% of respondents said it took 3-6 months for them to train for their triathlon, so the time investment required might not be as high as some people might think.<\/span><\/p>\n Thinking of taking on a triathlon yourself? Bex has some advice for you.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cJust enjoy it! It\u2019s a great sport and community to be a part of. There are triathlon clubs and individual discipline clubs that you can train with or ask advice from, and people are more than happy to help you in every step of the way. It’s great to be able to share your journey with others.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On the 15th July, the majority of people in the UK were gearing up to watch the World Cup final between France and Croatia from the comfort of their homes or the local pub. But our very own Bex Rimmington had a different day ahead. Just before 6 am, she was standing at the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":22664,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[4636],"class_list":["post-22634","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","author-bringdigital"],"yoast_head":"\nThe rise of the triathlon<\/span><\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.merlincycles.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Cylist-to-triathlete-01-resized.jpg\")
<\/p>\nRunning against gender stereotypes<\/span><\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.merlincycles.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Cyclist-to-triathlete-02-resized.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe fitness factor<\/span><\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.merlincycles.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Cyclist-to-triathlete-03-resized.jpg\")
<\/p>\nGoing for gold<\/span><\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.merlincycles.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Cyclist-to-triathlete-04-resized.jpg\")
<\/p>\nChanging perceptions<\/span><\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.merlincycles.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Cyclist-to-triathlete-05-resized.jpg\")
<\/p>\nAdvice for budding triathletes<\/span><\/h2>\n