Why Austin is the Best Triathlon City in America

Sunrise over Lady Bird Lake and Downtown (photo from a morning run on the Townlake trail)

My name is Daniel Riegel, and I’m one of the founding members of the Austin Triathlon Club. We created Austin Triathlon Club because we believe Austin is the best city in America for triathlon. Here are a few of our reasons why we think Austin is the perfect city for triathletes.

1) Barton Springs. The heart and soul of Austin. Barton Springs is a natural springs pool that is more than 200 meters from one end to the other. The pool is perfect open water swimming practice for beginners and experienced triathletes, alike. Water temperature is always ~ 68 degrees, meaning we can train year-around and practice in a wetsuit whenever we want.

2) Deep Eddy. Spring fed lap lanes, slightly warmer than Barton Springs. Deep Eddy overlooks the Colorado River and is #2 on our list of favorite swimming holes. Each pool length is 33 1/3 yards, so 53 lengths make a mile. Even when the pool is at its busiest, you usually only need to wait a few minutes to find a spot in a split or circle-swim lane. Deep Eddy is also the oldest swimming pool in Texas.

3) Bike Night at COTA. There is no other experience like this in the country. Every Tuesday night from April to October, cyclists can ride the Formula One race track in Southeast Austin. The world-class track is 3.4 miles with 20 turns. We love the beer garden afterwards and the general vibe.

4) Townlake (aka the Butler Hike and Bike Trail). Our favorite place to run anywhere. The 10 mile loop provides beautiful views of Lady Bird Lake and downtown Austin. The soft surface -- mostly dirt and gravel -- is forgiving, and there are plenty of water fountains and restrooms. The addition of the boardwalk a few years ago made the run even nicer.

5) Weather. The weather means that there is no off-season for triathletes in Austin. Setting aside our one week of “winter”, we can swim, bike, and run year-around, outside, every day.

6) Races. The Rookie Triathlon, Cap Tex Tri, Lake Pflugerville Tri, Marble Falls Tri, Jack's Generic, Ironman Austin 70.3, Kerrville Triathlon, all in our backyard. Not to mention, the Cap 2K, Pure Austin Open Water Race Series, Splash n Dashes, Deep Eddy Mile, Lake Travis Relay, Highland Lakes Challenge, the Driveway Series, and the Austin Distance Challenge. The list goes on and on.

7) Coaches. Austin is home to 35 USAT-certified triathlon coaches and dozens more highly qualified coaches, trainers, and instructors. Walk into your neighborhood YMCA, and your swim instructor just might be a former professional triathlete turned swim coaching savant.

8) Facilities. Austin has over twenty public lap pools, including three outdoor 50-meter pools, a bike veloway, a state-of-the-art triathlon training center, a gym with its own lake, and over 100 miles of urban trails to run, bike, and play.

9) Community. Austin has a long history of triathlon. In the 1990s and early 2000s, Austin had one of the largest and most talented triathlon clubs in the country – the Austin Triathletes. That club spawned scores of professional triathletes, coaches, trainers, and leaders in Austin’s triathlon community. Our goal is that Austin Triathlon Club can once again provide Austin with a community-based triathlon club, one that welcomes Austin area triathletes of all abilities. We encourage everyone who is a triathlete, or who is just trying to complete their first triathlon, to join the Club.

10) Austin. Austin is home. The people, the music, the food, the weather, the outdoors, the laid-back attitude. We can’t imagine a better place to live and to be a triathlete.

Whether or not you agree that Austin is the best triathlon city in the country, we hope you'll agree that Austin is a pretty great place to swim, bike, and run. We love it here, and hope you do too.
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​Daniel,
Austin Triathlon Club President
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Austin Triathlon Club was launched on October 8, 2017. Austin Triathlon Club is an all-volunteer, member-run community welcoming triathletes of all abilities. We encourage you to learn more about the Club by checking out our Mission and Values, the Club Leadership, and how you can get involved.

We would also love to see you at our Kick-Off happy hour on November 6th at the Ginger Man in downtown Austin. For more details and to RSVP, see our facebook event page.

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