I just got asked an interesting question on my twitter account - there was no way I was going to be able to answer it in 160 characters so I thought I'd blog about it. 

@DannBrook Mr Brook whats your thoughts on star events races? especially 111 distance? cool or crap? 

Well Mark, I think its certainly different from what we are all used to. Triathlons seem to be quite equally balanced, so that each discipline is using the same twitch fibers, ironman is all slow twitch,  olympic tends to be a lot faster. The interesting factor in the 111 distance Star Events is that the distances are disproportionate (1K Swim, 100K Bike, 10K Run), meaning that on the 10K run you are going to have to run proportionally more intense than the cycle section. 

As I've said on my blog beforehand, I find myself frustrated as to the way drafting triathlon is turning into a running race with a precession of a swim/bike beforehand (hence my move to the 70.3 distance last year), however, the problem with 70.3 is that you can't race as often as some might like, as the longer distance takes a larger toll on your body. It is a well known fact that running is a lot higher impact that swimming and cycling, so it is possible that more races per season would be possible with the 111 distance. 

 Also, it is possible that racing will become more interesting, tactics coming into play a bit more than in 70.3 at the moment. Maybe if you loose 5mins over 100k but run a 30min it would be enough to win a 111 event, or if you could put 5mins into a field and run a 33 maybe you'd be more successful. It could be that 2 groups form, a 'runners' pack and a 'cyclists' pack. 

Despite its prospects though, its the athletes that make it. I genuinely believe this distance could be the big showdown between the Olympic distance boys, and the Ironman/70.3 boys. However, this won't happen on its own, the athletes need to be taken care of, and there needs to be enough prize money there to attract the athletes. There are a handful of other potential events snapping at the heels of the 111 series, and if the organizers don't market the series carefully, it will disappear into insignificance.

So, Mark. In answer to your question (I think I went off on a bit of a tangent somewhere), I think these offer an fresh, exciting side to triathlon, and I will certainly be looking to get involved in some of this racing this year. Maybe there should be a mixture of all kinds of these events for an all round triathlon series? Olympic distance non drafting, drafting 70.3, non drafting 70.3, olympic distance swim/run/bike  events, 111's and 222's. If enough of a following is built up the events can sit in the middle of the current WTC/ITU divide... but all of thats in an ideal world!

Hope this answers your question!

Dann