In the days running up to a big race, whether it’s your first or your thirtieth, nerves are high and gathering your equipment and planning for race day often feels stressful than normal. But it doesn’t have to be! With a simple checklist for race day, you can ensure you have all the necessities for exceptional performance without worrying about what you may have forgotten.
As a lot of us here at Mach have learned the hard way by forgetting something on race day, we want to be sure you have the tools and resources you need to excel on race day. Find our comprehensive race day checklist below:
Swim
Cap (make sure you have the one provided by the race!)
Goggles
Wetsuit (if swim is wetsuit legal)
Timing chip (pro tip - put your timing chip and goggles inside your swim cap the night before, that way you know you have all the things you need for race start!)
Body glide (to put on your neck to prevent chaffing and around your wrists and ankles so your wetsuit will slide off easily)
Aero / Triathlon suit (obviously…hopefully you’re wearing this to the race in the morning anyways!)
Bike
Bike (DUH!)
Bike shoes
Helmet
Sunglasses
Hydration bottles (put them on your bike in transition so you don’t have to mess with them during the race)
Nutrition (if you have a storage compartment on your bike, store your nutrition on the bike before race start - it will lessen the time you spend in transition)
Bike shoes
Socks (some people wear socks on the bike portion, others don’t - your choice!)
Run
Running shoes
Race belt with number attached (so you can simply snap it around your waist as you leave transition!)
Nutrition
Hat or visor
Socks (if you didn’t already have these for the run portion!)
Miscellaneous
Plastic water bottle (so you can stay hydrated pre-race and can simply throw it away before the gun goes off)
An extra gel or banana (for a pre-race snack)
Backpack (to store all of your race goodies in beforehand and to pack a change of clothes for after the race in case you can’t make it back to accommodations right away)
A smile
Check it once, check it twice! You can never be too prepared for race day! We here at Mach wish you the best of luck in your future race endeavors!
