What to wear for a triathlon (male and female)

Triathlon is a long-running multi-sport race. So, you have to put on such suits that will provide you with maximum comfort during the race. The race is divided into three phases, swimming, cycling, and running. So the suit also needs to be friendly for these three phases.

what to wear for a triathlon

Read more: Triathlon Lengths (Chart) – Triathlon Distances and Time Duration

What to wear for a triathlon

The most important thing you should look for before wearing the suit that, whether it is made of moisture-wicking materials or not? If it is not, then you will feel discomfort in the first phase of the race. After swimming, you will get a bit wet, and your suit should have the ability to soak the moisture. Your suits should also be thin that doesn’t increase the body weight.

Now let’s discuss what a triathlon athlete should wear during the three phases of the race.

Swimming

You are ready to start a triathlon race with swimming. But have you put on the right suit? What’s the right suit for swimming? Well, the suit is not only for swimming, but it’s also actually for the whole race. There are actually two types of suits you can use for a triathlon race.

• One-piece triathlon suit: It is a complete suit with top and bottom parts that are joined together. Typically pro-level players use this tri suits. One-piece tri suit is a bit tight in fitting, but it’s comfortable enough for swimming, cycling, and running.
• The bottom part of the suit includes a thin pad, which makes your cycling hours comfortable. This suit will fit you perfectly. But this suit will only bother you once, during the time of getting in and out for the bathroom.
• Two-piece triathlon suit: I personally like two-piece triathlon suits for this long-running race. If you are going for the ironman triathlon race, you will spend a lot of time finishing the race. And that’s quite obvious that, you will have to go for bathroom now or then between the race. Wearing a one-piece tri suit will make it difficult for you to use the bathroom, but two-piece suits are perfect for solving this problem.
• Another interesting thing about this suit is that you can choose your favorite shorts and tops for the race, which you can’t do with one-piece suits. But whatever the suit is, it should be built of comfortable materials and should also have thin padding with the shorts. Thinner and flexible shorts will support your legs during both cycling and running after swimming. The top part of the suit should be made of spandex, which will stop dragging the water in.

Now for swimming you might love to put on a wetsuit in case the water is not warm enough.

• Wetsuit: You can put your wetsuit over one-piece tri suit or two-piece tri suits. But first, you need to know whether the wetsuit is allowed for the race or not. If it is allowed then you can put it on without any doubt. But also remember your comfort zone, because many triathlon athletes feel comfortable without wetsuits during swimming.
• There are two types of wetsuits available for you, sleeved and sleeveless. If you are searching for more comfort in stretching your arms and can beat the coldness of the water with your open arms then go for sleeveless wetsuits. However, if the sleeved suits fit you well, you can also go with it without further hesitation.

Other accessories for swimming

A swim cap and triathlon swim goggles are two other things that you might fancy to use during swimming. For female swimmers swim cap is a good option for letting their hairs stay together in one place. But before choosing the goggles and cap you should ensure your comfort and should practice few times with these accessories on.

Cycling or biking

The second phase of triathlon race is cycling or biking. For a comfortable ride you need to wear few things just before starting the race. First you need to put off the wet suit and other swimming accessories. Then you should put on some other accessories.

• Cycling gloves: I would suggest wearing a pair of cycling gloves if you are going for a longer triathlon race. Your hands might get sweaty in terms of long races, put on a pair of sweat-absorbing gloves on your hands and go for a sweet ride.
• Helmet: It’s very important to put on during the ride to for safety concerns. But the helmet must be easy to put on and remove.
• Glasses: Wearing a pair of glasses during the ride will save your eyes from sunshine, mud, bug, or anything that will hamper your ride.
• Cycling socks and shoes: A good quality triathlon shoes will help you to paddle the cycle comfortably and save your feet from getting hurt. You can put on shoes with socks, and without socks, that doesn’t matter a lot.

Running

The last phase of a triathlon race is running. Nothing much is needed for running. You just need to put off the accessories you worn during cycling and just remain wearing the one-piece or two-piece tri suits.

• Running shoes: This is the only thing you need to put on during running. You can put on normal running shoes or triathlon special running shoes depending on your comfort level.

So I hope you have a clear idea about what you need to wear for triathlon and have a comfortable racing experience.