US National Championships in Multisport, Omaha NE, June 4 -10 2025

                                                                                

Multisport, what is that?

In the Multisport Festival organized by USA triathlon there is:

Triathlon (supersprint 250m swim - 5km bike- 1km run) (sprint triathlon, draft legal, 750m swim - 12mile bike - 5km run)

Duathlon (supersprint 1km run - 5km bike - 1km run) (standard 10km run - 40km bike - 5km run)

Aquabike (standard 1500m swim - 40km bike) 

Aquathlon (standard 2.5km run -1000m swim - 2.5km run)

Mixed relay (2 men 2 women) in Triathlon and Duathlon, each person completing a supersprint course

I choose to participate in supersprint triathlon, supersprint duathlon, draft legal sprint triathlon and mixed relay triathlon. Because of my recent history of injuries, I was happy to stick to the shorter distances, but glad to be well enough to be able to participate.

First up was supersprint triathlon, 250m swim, 5km bike, and 1 km run. I choose to go without wetsuit and to bike in running shoes to cut time in transition. I don't know if it was the right decision, I have done both tactics (minimize changes versus using wetsuit and bike shoes) with good results. In theory, I can take off my wetsuit in 10 seconds which should make it worth using, but in reality, in a competition situation, the change is slower because I am wet, and I have a timing chip on my leg to slip the wetsuit over. I also run slower in transition with the wetsuit on.

My swim had the 5th fastest time in my age group, and T1 was the second fastest. In bike, I managed a 5th again, in T2, I was the 3rd fastest at 48seconds, but no 1 and 2 had 45 and 47, so it was virtually the same. The run had the 5th best time and that became my final placement. 

My knee did not hurt, and I felt unusually energetic during the competition.

Three hours later, it was time for supersprint Duathlon. All I consumed in between was a nutritional drink and shortly before start, a caffeine gel. This race felt a lot more like hard work, but I managed a third place, and I was really happy to make the podium after all!

After a rest day, followed the sprint triathlon. The bike course was quite technical with three loops and several tight turns. I almost crashed during the first lap. A competitor was at my side, slightly behind, and I could not turn tight enough at the speed we kept. I ended up leaving the road going over the curb while the other lady somehow managed to turn inside of me. Fortunately, I did not fall, and I fairly quickly recovered and rejoined the race. Being a latecomer to competitive cycling, I just don't have extreme technical skills. It did make me more careful during the rest of the race.

My times were quite similar to last year, except for the run that was 3 minutes slower. Last year it was windy, and the bike course was hillier, so in reality I was probably a little slower. The lack of running training showed, but 28 minutes for 5km is not a bad time for a 67-year-old, especially not after swim and bike. I also had no one ahead that I could reasonably reach, and I was not threatened from behind, so I did not push myself to the extreme. Don't get me wrong, I was exhausted, but not near collapse. I had to think of the relay, the following day.

Triathlon mixed relay is probably my favorite event. I was on a new team this year, and that means new friends! It features a mass start with all age groups together, so it is intense. I had the third leg and took up at least one position, and we ended up on 5th place in our age group (60s)!