Why you should do a triathlon with your friends

Triathlon is not just for elite athletes or fitness fanatics. It’s for anyone looking for a challenge! It’s a sport to bond with friends in a way that’s both exciting and slightly ridiculous.  

Here’s why doing a triathlon with your mates might just be the best idea you’ve ever had.  And one they might eventually thank you for! 

Hi ! I’m Olly. I work as Marketing Co-ordinator at ZONE3. That’s me in the photo above, third from the left (pausing for a team pic on our way from racking bikes in the Transition Zone to the Swim Assembly area), about to embark on my third successive Blenheim Palace Triathlon. Some of the team’s founding members have been entering Blenheim Triathlon since 2019. This year marks the 6th consecutive year at Blenheim for some. Over the years, the team has grown and evolved, by encouraging friends and family members to give it a go.   

Throughout the year leading up to the triathlon the WhatsApp group chat consists of check-ins which begin with wild rumors about who's secretly training and who’s barely moved from the sofa. These check-ins keep us connected and competitive, fueling our motivation, and serve as a great way to arrange training meet-ups, group bike rides, park runs and swim sessions.  

‘Happy smile... must have made a purchase?  Who cut the merch purch from the pic?'

After six years of sprint distance triathlon at Blenheim, we have a huge spreadsheet. We track our times, note our improvements, and argue over who really had the fastest transition. This spreadsheet isn’t just about tracking times; it’s a testament to our dedication, our progress at this distance, and our willingness to laugh at our own occasional stupidity.  It’s also has a telling tale that the years where our times are better than our average are typically those years where we trained more. 

‘Swim assembly… and a last call’

Preparation for our annual triathlon is different for everyone. Some of us embark on structured training regimens, while others consider walking with the dog to the pub or a round of golf adequate preparation. Despite the varied approaches, the preparation phase keeps us in touch, sharing tips, tricks, golf handicaps and a lot of laughs.   

Admittedly, once you’re at the Swim Assembly point, the jibing and leg-pulling simmers down and the reality that you’re about to jump in the water gets the heart pumping.  There’s a moment to reflect: the preparation of yourself, your kit and observe the sportsmanship on display around you. Inside you’re thinking you wish you’d started training that bit earlier.   

And so the event seems to spur us into planning more group bike rides for the summer ahead, more swims at the pool and to soak up those experiences to keep fit and ‘savvy’ for going round the course the following year.  

Making sure you have the right race-day equipment does play a part in preparation, but there’s not much complexity to it: wetsuit, trisuit, bike, helmet, trainers, goggles, racebelt (very handy) and you’re good to go. If you prefer to avoid the upfront cost of buying a wetsuit, ZONE3 offers a great