Build your Big Apple Triathlon plan
Your coach opens with the Big Apple Triathlon set for October 9, 2027, asks about your week and your fitness, then writes every session of your Olympic-distance triathlon plan. Free, and you can start as a guest. About 50 weeks to go.
Start your Big Apple Triathlon plan- Formats
- Sprint, Olympic, Sprint Duathlon, Olympic Aquabike
- Terrain
- Rolling
- Field
- Capped at 2,500 athletes
- Taper starts
- September 30, 2027
Big Apple Triathlon distances
- Sprint 0.9 mi swim, 12.4 mi bike, 2.5 mi run
- Olympic 0.9 mi swim, 24.8 mi bike, 6.2 mi run
- Sprint Duathlon 15.9 mi
- Olympic Aquabike 25.7 mi
Course
The Big Apple Triathlon course
Both the Sprint and the Olympic open with a 1,500 m swim in the Hudson River from the start at 80th Street in Riverside Park, swimming with the current, and transition is on the 101st Street field in Riverside Park. The bike uses the car-free Henry Hudson Parkway and West Side Highway: the Sprint rides north to the George Washington Bridge and then south to a turnaround at West 56th Street (12.4 miles), while the Olympic continues north onto the Mosholu Parkway to a turnaround at Gun Hill Road in the Bronx before the same run south to 56th Street (24.8 miles).
Read the full course notes
The run leaves Riverside Park along West 96th Street into Central Park, follows the West Drive (the Olympic adds a turnaround on the East Drive) and finishes via the 72nd Street Transverse on the park's Dead Road, 2.5 miles for the Sprint and 6.2 for the Olympic. The parkway brings steady grades toward the bridge and the Bronx, and Central Park's drives roll gently, so expect a rolling rather than flat day. Bikes must be dropped in transition the day before, there is no race-day packet pickup, and the field is capped at 2,500 athletes.
- Terrain
- Rolling
- Formats
- Sprint, Olympic, Sprint Duathlon, Olympic Aquabike
- Field
- Capped at 2,500 athletes
- Race-day conditions
- Early October in New York usually means start temperatures around 55–62 °F, rising toward the mid-60s °F by the finish, with a chance of wind along the river. The race follows USA Triathlon rules, with wetsuits permitted when the water is below 78 °F, and the Hudson is usually cooler than that in October, so plan on a wetsuit swim. Bring a warm layer for the wait between the early transition close and your wave start.
What to train for
With a current-assisted swim, the race is decided on the bike and run, so train for long, steady parkway grades: once a week, ride 3 to 4 x 10 minutes at threshold on a gradual climb, and include a long ride with sustained efforts in the second half.
The Olympic bike has a cut-off at the Gun Hill Road turnaround, so newer athletes should know their pace for the first 12 miles.
Central Park rolls the whole way, so do brick runs on rolling terrain at goal effort, holding effort rather than pace on the rises. Practise river-style open-water swimming with sighting on large landmarks, since a 1,500 m swim is longer than a typical sprint.
Sample week
A sample Big Apple Triathlon training week
A week from the middle of the build, about six weeks out. Your plan sets the real distances and paces from your own fitness and adjusts them every week as you train.
- Monday
- Swim, 45 min: drills and technique
- Tuesday Key session
- Bike, 1 h with threshold intervals
- Wednesday
- Swim, 45 min: steady intervals at race effort
- Easy run, 40 min
- Thursday Key session
- Run, 40 min with tempo segments
- Friday
- Rest, or 20 minutes of mobility
- Saturday Key session
- Long ride, 1 h 30 min, then a 20 min run off the bike
- Sunday
- Long run, 1 h easy
Your build to race day
Taper
Tapering for the Big Apple Triathlon
Start the taper seven to ten days before race day. Trim the volume in all three sports, keep short race-pace efforts in each, and do one last short brick so running off the bike still feels familiar. The course rolls, so keep one short session on undulating ground in the first taper week. With the race on October 9, 2027, your taper starts around September 30, 2027.
Also in Claude
Ask Claude for this plan
Add AthleteSpace to Claude once, then paste this prompt and put in your own numbers.
Build me a Olympic-distance triathlon season for the Big Apple Triathlon on October 9, 2027. I train about [hours] hours a week, [days] days a week.
Big Apple Triathlon training questions
How long should I train for the Big Apple Triathlon?
Most athletes give a Olympic-distance triathlon twelve to sixteen weeks of focused training on top of an existing base. The coach counts back from your actual race date, so if you have less time than that it builds the best plan the remaining weeks allow rather than pretending you have longer.
What is the Big Apple Triathlon course like?
Rolling. Both the Sprint and the Olympic open with a 1,500 m swim in the Hudson River from the start at 80th Street in Riverside Park, swimming with the current, and transition is on the 101st Street field in Riverside Park.
How cold is the water at the Big Apple Triathlon?
Early October in New York usually means start temperatures around 55–62 °F, rising toward the mid-60s °F by the finish, with a chance of wind along the river. The race follows USA Triathlon rules, with wetsuits permitted when the water is below 78 °F, and the Hudson is usually cooler than that in October, so plan on a wetsuit swim. Bring a warm layer for the wait between the early transition close and your wave start.
When should I start tapering for the Big Apple Triathlon?
Start the taper seven to ten days before race day. Trim the volume in all three sports, keep short race-pace efforts in each, and do one last short brick so running off the bike still feels familiar. The course rolls, so keep one short session on undulating ground in the first taper week. With the race on October 9, 2027, your taper starts around September 30, 2027.
Do I need an account to get a Big Apple Triathlon training plan?
Start as a guest and save a free account later. Your coach writes your Olympic-distance triathlon plan and adapts it every week as you log your training. No card.