by Luis Duarte

Depending on where you live, the triathlon scene in Brazil can vary from virtually nonexistent to a very large community.

I live in a small town that is a 45-minute drive from Sao Paulo (Brazil's largest economy), so I can say that I live in the center of triathlon-related things in my country. Of course, that's nothing compared to San Diego or Boulder.

Swimming around here is mostly done in the pool. There are public pools in some of the towns in the area (there is one right across the street from my home) as well as private pools in the numerous gyms in nearby towns.

Open water swimming is very limited. While there are lots of lakes and dams around, safety is a major concern since there is a lot of jet ski and motor boat traffic. To be able to open water swim you typically have to arrange some kind of organized training group.

Most of the riding here in Brazil is done in highways, although I consider that quite dangerous. Brazilian drivers also do not have any respect for cyclists. It is a problem with the culture of a people that only recognizes soccer as sport.

I'm fortunate in that unlike most Brazilian triathletes, I can hit the road easily by riding my bike from home on safe secondary roads. There isn't much flat land or major hills in my area, but there are plenty of rolling roads.

There are also nearby velodromes that provide much support -- coaching, training partners and motorpacers.

As for running, there are multiple tracks, parks, trails and safe pieces of road. There are also lots of running clubs in Brazil, so anyone can join them for a workout.

The climate in Brazil allow us to train pretty much the whole year (of course, that may not be a positive thing). We recently had one of our coldest days of the last few years (3 degrees Celsius in the morning) and there were still people riding and running around. In the summer we can get pretty hot days, but this can be fixed by training earlier in the day or late afternoon (after sunset).

For myself, living where I live and being a business owner makes my training easy to manage. All I have to do is to arrange things and the I can do my training, work and stay with family (wife and two boys) without much trouble. Whenever things get messed around all I have to do is step back and re-focus.