First adventure race advice please.

The Noble Nudge

I'm just about to partake in my first adventure race.
Just need a bit if advice as I'm coming from a cycling background.
I lost a lot of time in transitions doing a duathlon recently ie. I'd changed from runners to put on cycling shoes and covers etc.
I can't predict the weather but I was considering taking the clip on pedals off and putting on ordinary ones for the day and cycling in my runners???
Save some time due to the increased number of transitions and more importatnly I won't have to carry a rucksack with me throughout the event.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks

jeawan

I wear Cycling shoes and change never lose too much time in transition , why not just wear the cycling shoes with out the covers ? , failing that take the pedals off and cycle in the runners a number of people do it , it all a matter of choice on the day yes i would be slightly faster in transition but it only marginal .

One thing id say is set up you transition area so you are not fussing about to much just get in and get out

Oryx

jeawan wrote: »

One thing id say is set up you transition area so you are not fussing about to much just get in and get out

Often in ARs you come to a remote transition you've not been in, so there is no setting up.

If you're used to cycling clipped in, wear the cycle shoes and change. You're pretty much guaranteed a hilly route so you'll see a benefit from the correct shoes.

Practice your transition as part of your training, and stow the shoes somewhere really handy (like rear bottle cages) rather than down in the depths of a rucksack. Overshoes are not needed.

You might consider speed laces, though they are not the best for offroad terrain.

The Noble Nudge

Oryx wrote: »

Often in ARs you come to a remote transition you've not been in, so there is no setting up.

If you're used to cycling clipped in, wear the cycle shoes and change. You're pretty much guaranteed a hilly route so you'll see a benefit from the correct shoes.

Practice your transition as part of your training, and stow the shoes somewhere really handy (like rear bottle cages) rather than down in the depths of a rucksack. Overshoes are not needed.

You might consider speed laces, though they are not the best for offroad terrain.

Sound job the weather seems to be changing slightly so youre right overshoes are overkill.
I shall research the rear bottle cages sound perfect.
Losing time will be negligable enough i'm not going to win it but could be difference in bragging rights.
Thanks

hardCopy

If you do wear runners with toe clips make sure you get plenty of practice with them. I got a set of plastic toe cages one year and couldn't get my foot into them on the day after the plastic got squashed in transport.

The following year I got metal cages, easy to get into but I had cramps in my calves after 25KM. I hadn't trained with them in a brick session and suffered for it. This year I'll probably just bring two pairs of shoes.

The Noble Nudge

The lidl to the rescue.....bike carrier €9.99
Thanks for the help looking at the bottle cages I spotted a €60 version of this. Might not look the best but should do the trick nicely.

Excuseless

If you have to carry runners with you on the bike then you are losing time by changing shoes and the extra weight of the runners you carry.

Generally it will be the case that shoes will be wet and mucky for at least some of the time you are carrying them on the bike so will be heavier too.

Unless the cycle is very long and very hilly you are unlikely to have a worthwhile net gain from carrying runners and changing from bike shoes and toe clips or power grips strap equipped pedals should be fine to use, IMHO :eek:

Another small consideration also is that you might lose the runners if not secured properly plus you are more likely to cramp if you stop and bend over to change shoes in transition later in race, etc :eek:!

Whatever shoe and pedal combination you chose to go with, it is essiential that you should practice using them before raceday

The Noble Nudge

Sound job went with the carrier weight gain wasnt a issue.
Time loss for what I lost changing i soon gained back on the bike.
Nearly lost the runners too strap not on tight enough.
Running in transition with cycling shoes is tough.
The distance in transition varied so for this event I would be runners all the day.

Peterx

Or get mountain bike SPD's. Easy enough to run through transitions in those.

Going by the splits I lost 32 seconds, approximately:), changing into my SPD's after the run. Over the 4 transitions that's about 2 minutes but I was definitely quicker on the bike and had better legs for the runs so would wear the SPD's again in any hilly race over that kind of distance (>3.5 hours)

I saw one unfortunate running the last 3km in his road cleated shoes on Saturday. yuk.

The Noble Nudge

A man named Peter won the one I did Saturday?

shotgunmcos

Peterx wrote: »

Or get mountain bike SPD's. Easy enough to run through transitions in those.

Going by the splits I lost 32 seconds, approximately:), changing into my SPD's after the run. Over the 4 transitions that's about 2 minutes but I was definitely quicker on the bike and had better legs for the runs so would wear the SPD's again in any hilly race over that kind of distance (>3.5 hours)

I saw one unfortunate running the last 3km in his road cleated shoes on Saturday. yuk.

What did you use to carry your run shoes?

Peterx

I put the runners in a light backpack.
The backpack was only for the runners as all the mandatory kit was carried in my jersey or on the bike.
Looking at a later split that's it costs 20 seconds to change from spd's back into the runners. So the 4 splits cost roughly 100 seconds.

A man named Aidan won the one I did:)