Race day kit and transition: a beginner's guide to what to pack and how to set up

Transition items packed into neat travel cube packs, ready for event day

The night before your first triathlon, it is easy to end up staring at a pile of kit on your bedroom floor wondering if you have missed something. You have not trained for months to lose time in transition because you forgot your race belt or laid everything out in the wrong order.

This is a straightforward run-through of what to pack and how to set up your space in transition, written for anyone doing this for the first time.

What to pack

The essentials

• Trisuit or separate swim, bike and run kit

• Wetsuit (if the swim requires or allows one) or a tow float if the event requires 

• Goggles

• Swim hat (often provided by the event, but pack your own as backup)

• Bike, helmet, and bike shoes if you use them

• Race number and race belt

• Trainers

• Nutrition: gels, bars or drink, whatever you have trained with

Essential: bright swimming cap

The things people forget

• A towel to stand on and wipe your feet before putting on socks or shoes

• Body glide or Vaseline for anywhere that chafes: underarms, thighs, neckline of the wetsuit

• Talcum powder, which helps feet slide into shoes without socks

• A spare set of goggles in case a strap snaps

• Layers for before and after the race

• A plastic bag for wet kit afterwards

• Any medication you need, packed somewhere you will actually remember

• Flip flops or slides for walking around the site before and after

No missing these on race day!

Many of these things are available second hand via our kit sale on the Women in Tri UK app, which can help to reduce costs. You can also rent a Women in Tri trisuit!

How to set up transition

Find your rack, then walk it

Once you know your spot, walk from the swim exit to your bike rack, and again from the bike rack to the run exit. Note anything distinctive nearby: a flag, a sign, a particular tree. In a transition area full of identical bikes, this is what actually helps you find your spot again with an adrenaline-soaked brain during T1.

Lay everything out in the order you will use it

Working left to right or front to back, lay your kit out in the sequence you will need it:

1. Towel on the ground to stand on

2. Helmet, clipped open and resting upside down on your handlebars or aero bars, sunglasses tucked inside if you are wearing them

3. Bike shoes, if you are putting them on in transition rather than clipped to the pedals

4. Race belt and number

5. Nutrition, attached to the bike or bottle already if possible

6. Trainers and socks, if you wear them, ready for the run

7. Cap or visor for the run leg if the weather calls for it

Keep it small and simple

Beginners often bring far more than they need and end up with kit spread across a wide patch of ground, which makes it harder, not easier, to find things quickly. A small towel and a compact layout beats a sprawling one every time.

Practise the transition at home

Time yourself getting from wetsuit to bike kit, and again from bike kit to running kit, in your living room before race day. It feels a little silly. It also means the movements are familiar when your heart rate is high and you’ve just finished a swim.

Know the rules on your bike position

Most events require your bike to be racked by the saddle or handlebars, facing a specific direction, with your helmet already on the bars rather than on the ground. You must also put your helmet on before you touch your bike. Check the specific event's transition rules in advance so you are not caught out on the day.

Bikes racked ahead of event start

Key takeaway

Transition rewards preparation, not speed. Pack early, lay your kit out in the order you will use it, and walk the route before your wave starts. A calm transition is one you have already rehearsed, even if only in your front room.