LIVING

Organised by International Management Group (IMG), the second annual Barcelona triathlon will be held on October 18th, with a course that runs throughout the city. In case you were wondering, a triathlon is a sporting competition composed of swimming, cycling and running in consecutive order. It is a true test of endurance, with competition distances classified into three categories: Olympic (1500-metre swim, 40-kilometre bike ride and 10-kilometre run), Sprint (750-metre swim, 20-kilometre bike, five-kilometre run) and Super Sprint (400-metre swim, 10-kilometre bike and 2.5-kilometre run). Competition in the Barcelona triathlon is open to both teams and individuals for the Olympic and Sprint categories, and just individuals for the Super Sprint competition.

The 2009 Barcelona triathlon boasts a new sponsor, Garmin, along with the highest participation rate for any triathlon in Spain (approximately 3,500 entrants). “The Garmin Barcelona Triathlon is the only triathlon in Spain to offer participants a chance to compete in one or all three individual disciplines, along with three different types of competition,” said Oriol Granell, the man responsible for organising this event.

Granell is himself no stranger to competition, having participated in competitive sport for most of his life, though not at the professional level. He had long thought that triathlon was a promising sport in Spain, and working with IMG colleagues in the Mass Participation division, Granell has helped to launch a Euro Cities Triathlon series, which now includes Barcelona, London and Stockholm.

Participants can also take part in team relay competition – in 2008 there were 160 teams, with many representing different businesses; Banco Sabadell had 42 teams. Groups of three compromise a team, with each member specialising in one discipline.

One of the most notable statistics for the triathlon is the number of international participants that take part. In its inaugural year in 2008, 20 percent of participants came from outside Spain, from 21 different countries. This year, IMG expects that as much as 30 percent of the athletes will be non-Spanish, with many second-year repeats.

One of these triathletes is Andy Stanton from the UK, who has been participating in competitions since 2007. “ The previous triathlons I had done had all been in England and involved driving, which I hate,” he explained. “The idea of doing a triathlon in one of Europe's most beautiful cities, better weather and maybe to combine a little holiday seemed the perfect combination.”