Danskin Triathlon

If you are a woman and never tried a Sprint Distance triathlon (½ mile swim, 12 mile bike, 5K run or walk) and want to this is the one to TRI. And let me tell you — ANYONE can do this. No matter what your fitness level or size you can do this. Just dedicate some time to the pool and the bike, gain some support of the fellow participants and ANYONE can do this!
It is a very supportive, «you go girl» kind of environment where the goal is to help each other achieve this goal.
Two words of advice…
1) Make sure you allow yourself time to train, especially if you need to get comfortable swimming ½ mile in open water.
2) It is a very full event with many participants so you will need to keep in mind the actually weekend of the event is going to be full with a required pre-​race Expo and then the race the following day, so don’t plan anything else the weekend you plan on doing it.

Don’t be intimidated by triathlons. You can easily become a triathlete, regardless of prior experience!
GOOD NEWS
The Danskin race itself is fun. It’s all women and great for any skill level, age, ability, or size. It’s empowering! It’s exciting, especially because of its size! And they give great medals and shirts and other swag!
BAD NEWS
Danskin fills up quickly, often on the first day of registration, which is in February. If you do get in, there will be about 5500 women racing with you. It’s crowded. Last year’s expo (my first) was a long mess. Allow lots of time to register on the day before the race. If you don’t get in, don’t worry. The Trek Tri is the same route and also women-​only, run by the women who used to run Danskin; it’s better anyway and not as full.
It’s commercial – you will be innundated with advertising for Danskin everyime you turn around. And they love to promote straight, pink femininity. Sometimes it feels like women’s triathlon organizers and those who market to us are trying to compensate for the fact that we’re athletic by dressing us in pink flowers. Yuck.
TIPS
Find a good training program online or in book and follow it. Check out some of the great workshops offered by the Lunachix (all money goes to charity).
Get out and swim in a lake, ride a bike, run outside. And ask other people for tips – you don’t have to be an expert or have lots of fancy stuff to do a tri.
Most of all, have fun!

When my BFF told me she was signing up for the Danskin Triathlon, I was confused. A triathlon? Aren’t you a smoker? And don’t you need to be in awesome shape to participate in a triathlon?
Answers: yup, yup, and nope.
The Danskin Triathlon is open to all women, regardless of age, weight, and disability. Throughout the training process and actual triathlon, coaches are always on-​site to encourage, support and cheer the participants.
My BFF quit smoking and wore a patch through most of the training. Today, as I got up at 5:45 so I could make it to her start time of 7:52, I watched a triathlete swim, bike and run with nary a nicotine patch.
The energy present at the triathlon was incredible. Woman after woman crossed the finish line to the sounds of cheers and excited friends and family members. Greeting her at the finish line and giving her a big congratulatory hug almost brought me to tears.