The standard triathlon consists of a combination of a bicycling race, a foot race, and a swimming race, with the distances adjusted depending on the type of triathlon it is.
There’s no official rule that says a triathlon must consist of those sports, though. As long as it’s three competitions, the term applies. Even if you’re in Wales, and some locals have decided to replace the normal swim with… bog snorkeling.
It’s just what it sounds like. A long, shallow trench is cut through a peat bog, and the trench is filled with water. The bog water is, as expected of a mossy swamp, extremely murky and difficult to see through. Competitors then snorkel – not swim – through the distance in as short a time as possible. They are allowed to kick with flipper-laden feet, but not to use their arms in any swimming strokes.
As mentioned, there is a standard triathlon competition using this event, the bog snorkeling triathlon which has a 60 yard snorkel, an 8 mile run and a 12 mile bike race. But there are also, for those who enjoy the purity of the bog snorkel and don’t want to contaminate it with sports like running and bicycling, snorkeling-only competitions.
They even have a championship.
I’ll give the Welsh this: at least they’re not producing candy that could shut down your kidneys.
Question of the night: Which country that you haven’t already visited would you most like to tour?
