Tactical biathlon cannot be explained, you just have to experience it for yourself. Dave A while back, I hosted a guest post from Erik about Tactical Biathlon competition. It's been a murmur of a topic in our own community, and a few folks have gotten out and started signing up for them. I'm planning on doing one at the end of April over in West Virginia, and the guys over at Waco Tactical Fitness (WTF) have built a name for themselves hosting events around Texas and other states.Today's episode is a bit of a sit down discussion with three fellow marksmen who competed in these events. Dave at the main Waco event, along with Alex and Al who both did a recent WTF event in Arkansas. Selfishly, my goal was getting a bit of an inside scoop on what to know before going to my own event next month.During the discussion, we talked about equipment selection, fitness requirements, and lessons learned. What's interesting about these events, to me at least, is that they resemble something much closer to traditional light infantry work. You're on your feet and carrying a combat load the entire time as you hump it from stage to stage over a several mile course. Your score is your final time to completion, less any deductions for missed targets.EquipmentAl, Dave, and Alex all ran fairly similar configurations of 16" AR-15 rifles paired with magnified optics. Alex elected to use a 3x ACOG while Al and Dave both used LPVO optics. None had any real complaints about the rifles they ran, but some minor "nice to haves" were noted in the after action review.A view from Alex's GoPro footage during a pistol stage. Alex ran a S&W M&P with Aimpoint ACRO red dot.For example, Alex ran into blooming issues with the fiber optic reticle of his ACOG on one stage that was looking into the direction of the sun. Dave would have preferred a first focal plane optic to manage holdovers throughout the match.Everyone ran some variation of belt and chest rig, with varying strategies for reloading and administratively managing ammunition. Alex declared definitively that he's done with trying to make chest rigs work for him, and plans to commit to a dedicated belt system in the future.Al did run out of pistol ammunition later in the match, which cost him several Did Not Finish (DNF) events. Everyone suggested bringing about two times the stated ammunition count in the event rules.TrainingFrom a marksmanship preparation standpoint, nobody seemed to do anything particularly special with their training. Al attended a carbine class not long before to work on a customized zero for his rifle and ammo configuration. Dave studied the stage plan and worked some ballistic calculations to practice different sight pictures with his optic for each range.Alex was loud and clear that a major failure he had was not practicing with his rifle firing from the support side shoulder. Some extra practice doing this would have gone a long way towards success.FitnessEvery competitor stated the importance of cardio conditioning. The Arkansas event started with a two-mile uphill run before getting to the first stage. Combined with an approximate 30 lb competition loadout, this was very taxing on the legs as well as energy systems.I tried to dig into whether endurance-style training or high-intensity burst training would have proven more useful, and every competitor said that it's a combination of both. Support This Episode's Sponsor Today's episode is sponsored by Ammo Squared, a service that helps you stockpile ammunition like a squirrel stashes nuts- just a little bit a...