Guide
XTERRA races: choosing a first off-road triathlon
The catalogue lists 48 XTERRA races in 19 countries. They range from a super sprint with a few kilometres of mountain biking to a long course of XTERRA Ardennes Long Distance Triathlon. For a first off-road triathlon, the format and the climbing on the bike tell you more than the distance in kilometres.
Where the figures come from
Distances, dates, water type and fees are read on each race's official page, with the date of reading. Bike and run climbing come from the organiser's course page or published GPS track. Where a race does not publish a figure, the field stays empty and the race drops out of that count.
Climbing is the thinnest field: 18 of the 48 races publish a bike elevation gain. The figures say how much a course climbs. They say nothing about how technical the trails are, which is often what slows a first-timer down.
Formats
Three formats, and a name that can mislead
XTERRA uses its own distance names. The 25 races called Full Distance have a median of 1.5 km of swimming, 30.2 km of mountain biking and 10 km of trail running. That is close to an Olympic distance on paper, and nothing like an IRONMAN full.
The 18 sprint races sit at a median of 15 km on the bike and 5 km on foot. Below that, 4 super sprints are built as entry points: XTERRA Tahiti Triathlon Super Sprint Triathlon, XTERRA Belgium My First Triathlon, XTERRA European Championship Super Sprint Triathlon, XTERRA Czech Republic Super Sprint Triathlon.
XTERRA Belgium My First Triathlon is named for exactly this reader. XTERRA Czech Republic Super Sprint is open to all categories, and the XTERRA Czech Republic courses are open for practice during race week.
Climbing
Climbing weighs more than kilometres
Among the 9 Full Distance races that publish it, bike climbing runs from 500 m to 1200 m, with a median of 1000 m. The median for IRONMAN 70.3 bike courses is 569 m, over three times the distance.
Sprint courses have a median of 365 m. The lowest published figure belongs to XTERRA Nepal Sprint Distance Triathlon. The highest Full Distance figure belongs to XTERRA France, held in Trentino.
If you are coming from road triathlon, compare races by climbing first. The bike elevation guide covers how these figures are measured. For long road courses over mountain passes, see the extreme triathlon guide.
Lakes, the sea and altitude
26 of the 48 races swim in a lake, 3 in a reservoir and 3 in a river. 7 swim in the open ocean and 5 in a bay. The ocean sprints are XTERRA Cabo Sprint Distance Triathlon, XTERRA Anglesea Sprint Distance Triathlon, XTERRA Asia-Pacific Championship Sprint Distance Triathlon. XTERRA Anglesea Sprint pairs its ocean swim with a run course listed as flat.
Altitude changes the effort as well. The highest venue in the catalogue sits at 2493 m: XTERRA Colombia, in Ruidoso, New Mexico. The open sprint held there the next day lets you race at that altitude on a short format. 15 races start above 700 m, including the Nepal, Trentino and Czech Republic events. The others start between sea level and 658 m.
Four ways into a first XTERRA
Each race below offers a short format and publishes enough of its course to decide on. Compare them in the table further down.
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XTERRA Belgium My First Triathlon
One of the 4 super sprints in the catalogue, swum in a river and held on the same day as the Belgian national championship race.
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XTERRA Ardennes Sprint Triathlon
A short swim in a reservoir and a hilly bike course. The organiser's rules accept gravel bikes and e-bikes as well as mountain bikes.
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XTERRA Anglesea Sprint Distance Triathlon
An ocean swim in Victoria, Australia, and a run course listed as flat. Held in February.
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XTERRA Slovakia Sprint Triathlon
A lake swim in late June, with bike and run climbing both published by the organiser.
What the figures do not tell you
Only 6 of the 48 races publish a total cut-off. For the others, ask the organiser before entering if finishing time is a worry.
No figure measures how technical a trail is: roots, rock, sand or mud. Race reports, course videos and the athlete guide are where you find that. Entries are made with the organiser, on the official page.
Four short XTERRA races side by side
Distances, climbing, water and dates on the same rows. Swap any race for one you are considering.
XTERRA Belgium My First Triathlon
XTERRA Ardennes Sprint Triathlon
XTERRA Anglesea Sprint Distance Triathlon
XTERRA Slovakia Sprint Triathlon
- Race 1 XTERRA Belgium My First Triathlon
- Race 2 XTERRA Ardennes Sprint Triathlon
- Race 3 XTERRA Anglesea Sprint Distance Triathlon
- Race 4 XTERRA Slovakia Sprint Triathlon
- Circuit
- XTERRAXTERRAXTERRAXTERRA
- Distance
- Super sprintSprintSprintSprint
- Terrain
- Cross (off-road)Cross (off-road)Cross (off-road)Cross (off-road)
- Swim
- 0.25 km0.25 km0.75 km0.75 km
- Bike
- 5.3 km18 km15 km16 km
- Run
- 5.2 km3 km5.3 km5 km
- Date
- 6 Jun 20277 Aug 202713 Feb 202726 Jun 2027
- Country
- BelgiumBelgiumAustraliaSlovakia
- Registration
- Opening soonn/aOpenOpen
- Swim venue
- RiverReservoirOceanLake
- Average water temperature
- n/an/a19 °Cn/a
- High air temperature
- 22 °C21 °C23 °C21 °C
- Low air temperature
- 11 °C12 °C14 °C9 °C
- Bike profile
- HillyHillyn/an/a
- Bike elevation gain
- 160 m250 mn/an/a
- Run profile
- HillyHillyFlatHilly
- Run elevation gain
- 146 m150 mn/an/a
- Altitude
- 88 m361 m9 m621 m
- First edition
- n/an/an/a2024
- Swim start
- Wave startMass startn/an/a
- Entry fee, from
- €39n/an/a€90
Questions about XTERRA races
What is an XTERRA triathlon?
An off-road triathlon: an open-water swim, a mountain bike leg and a trail run. The catalogue lists 48 XTERRA races in 19 countries, from super sprint to long distance.
How long is an XTERRA Full Distance race?
The 25 Full Distance races have a median of 1.5 km swimming, 30.2 km biking and 10 km running. Bike courses run from 22 to 43 km.
Is XTERRA harder than a road triathlon?
The distances are shorter, the courses climb more per kilometre and the ground is off-road. A Full Distance bike course has a median of 1000 m of climbing over about 30.2 km. Riding time depends more on the terrain than on the kilometres.
Where is the XTERRA World Championship held?
The next edition in the catalogue is XTERRA World Championship Full Distance Triathlon, in Ruidoso, New Mexico, at 2493 m. An open sprint is held on the following day.
When is XTERRA season?
All year round, depending on the hemisphere. 25 races fall between May and September, mostly in Europe. 11 are held from October to December, in North America, Asia, Latin America and the Pacific.
Pick the format, then the course
Open the finder filtered on XTERRA and sort by distance or date.