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The triathlon race week and race day checklist

Race week, at the race, race day. Free, and nothing to fill in first.

Race week

0 of 21 done

Everything that still has time to go wrong, while there is still time to fix it. Nothing you train this week makes you faster on the day, but plenty of it can make you slower.

  • Need to do

    0 of 5 done

  • Nice to do

    0 of 11 done

  • Only if it applies to you

    0 of 5 done

Good to know

  • Look at the course maps and the elevation
  • Plan when you will eat on the day before
  • No hero workouts. Trust the taper

At the race

0 of 16 done

A long day of small errands in a town you do not know, and then an early night. Do them in an order you decided in advance.

  • Need to do

    0 of 2 done

  • Nice to do

    0 of 10 done

  • Only if it applies to you

    0 of 4 done

Good to know

  • If you're travellingOne short ride after reassembling the bike · It finds transport damage while the mechanics are still open.
  • Eat your normal big meal early, not late
  • Work out exactly when you leave in the morning

Race day

0 of 18 done

If the week went well, this is only a list of things to pick up and put down. It ends when the horn goes, because from there nobody is holding a phone.

  • Need to do

    0 of 3 done

  • Nice to do

    0 of 15 done

Good to know

  • Bike computer on and paired
  • Count the racks to your bike, and find a landmark
  • Toilet before you suit up · The queue only grows.
  • Spare goggles in the morning bag
  • A throwaway layer for the wait
  • Body glide on neck and ankles
  • Goggles under the cap
  • Know when you can collect the bike afterwards · Transition reopens and then closes again. Missing that window is a second trip to the venue.

Your ticks are saved on this device. Nothing is sent anywhere, and there is no account.

Registration hours and check-in times are set by the event, and change year to year. Your athlete guide is the one that counts.

What triathletes actually forget

The board is real answers from real races, counted, and it changes as they arrive.

See the board

Packing next? Open the packing list

Before you ask

What should I actually do in race week?

Less than you think, and earlier than you think. Nothing you train in the last seven days makes you fitter on the day, but plenty of it can make you slower. The week is for confirming: the guide, the bike, the travel, the nutrition you already tested, and the logistics of getting a bike and four bags to the right place at the right hour.

When does the bike have to be checked in?

It depends on the race, and this is the thing people most often get wrong. Many long-distance events take the bike the day before and close transition in the early evening; plenty of shorter races let you rack on the morning. The hour is printed in the athlete guide and it moves from year to year, so check this season's rather than remembering last season's.

Why is the second phase called At the race and not The day before?

Because it is about being on site, not about a square on the calendar. Check-in, the briefing, racking the bike, walking transition and getting your bags in all happen once you have arrived, whether that is a flight away or twenty minutes down the road, and at some races they are spread over two days rather than one. The Taperly app names the same phase the same way, so the list you work here is the list you meet there.