First Dualathon - Any tips/advice

The Wexican

Hi

Taking part in my first ever dualathon at the weekend. Can anyone offer me any advice on what I should look out for and the whole race etiquette, such as
- Would I be ok getting there an hour before the start.
- are bike spots pre-designated or is a case of first come
- would I live without cycling shoes and just wear runners
- The race is a 5k-20k-5k, if I was unfortunate enough to get a puncture would I be as well to just fix it ,not bother with the final run as looking at last years results it seems to be a small enough field..

Any tips would be much appreciated

Thanks

sconhome

As its your first duathlon give yourself more than an hour so you have plenty of time to get set up, walk around, observe others getting set up, get your grub and drink on board, relax, toilet etc.

Rack spots are generally first come first served. The most important thing is to rack your bike and trial run the entry to transition from the first run. You need to be able to spot your bike, its very easy to get 'lost' in transition.

If you have bike shoes, use them. You will save much more time on the bike leg by using the proper shoe that what you will lose changing from / to runners. If you only have runners don't worry about it.

Bring a spare tube, quicker to swap than repairing a puncture. The kitchen / shed is the place for patching the tubes. Just because you puncture doesn't mean your race is over, get the tube swapped and get going again. You may not win a medal but you'll get to finish your first duathlon!

Practise mounting and dismounting the bike. Ideally practise your transitions, leave your bike ready, helmet on bars and go for a short run (somewhere where you wont risk having your bike nicked). Come back pull off the runners, put on the helmet and then have a go at mounting the bike. You will see experienced racers with their shoes attached to the bikes at the weekend. Practise this for the next time. Go for a spin and practise getting off the bike safely and into your runners, again bike shoes can be left on the bike, but try it at home first.

Other than that, have a great race, lots of fun and don't forget the Bodyglide

The Wexican

Thanks for that info. Have the tubes ready, just haven't invested in the shoes just yet

ilovesmoothies

Hope your first duathlon went well! I completed my first last month too! :-)

The Wexican

Have to say I'm hooked, and am definitely signing up for the Phoenix Park series. There is one on 1st May in Tinahealy, Wicklow, though being the day after the Heineken Cup semi might just give it a miss

Ciara07

There's a free training session this Wed, 27th April ahead of the first Duathlon in this series on the 4th May, would be worth going to I reckon You can sign up online...