Our junior duathlons are getting more popular with around 200 kids taking part in the Donut Duathlon. So we thought we’d come up with some tips to get you through the event.

1. 1. Check your bike (or scooter) and other kit the night before so you have everything ready. In addition to your bike/scooter you’ll need a helmet, some trainers, some running kit and some warm clothes to put on after the race.
   2. Arrive in good time before the race. We reckon 60-90 minutes is about right
   3. When you put your bike into transition practise getting it on and off the rack several times so you’re sure you can do it quickly. For Under 8s & Tristar Starts races parents or other adults can help too.
   4. Walk the course! It’s very important you know where you’re going once the race starts. So walk around the transition area so you’re clear where you go in and out with your bike (or scooter) and where you go out for your run. Look out for the big yellow arrows which say BIKE OUT, BIKE IN & RUN OUT. Then take a walk along the run course and check where the course splits (with 2.5K to the left & 625m to the right). If you’re doing one or more laps of the short run 625m course why not run round it as a warm up? Then walk back & check where the course turns around a cone for your second lap (if you’re doing a second lap) & where it turns into the finish line on your final lap.
   5. Check how many laps you are doing. You all start with a run. This is followed by the bike section & you finish off with a second short run. The number of laps you need to do is written at the bottom of your race number but it is very important that you know. We provide special stickers to help you count your bike laps if you’re doing more than 2. Here’s a quick recap
      Tristar 3 (aged 13-14) 1 big 2.5k run lap, 5 bike laps, 2 x 625m run laps
      Tristar 2 (aged 11-12) 2 x 625m run laps, 4 bike laps, 1 x 625m run lap
      Tristar 1 (aged 9-10) 2 x 625m run laps, 4 bike laps, 1 x 625m run lap
      Tristar Start (aged 8-9) 1 x 625m run lap, 1 bike lap, 1 x 200m run
      Mini duathlon (aged 3-7) 1 x 625m run lap, 1 bike lap or 1 shorter scoot lap, 200m run
   6. Bring a towel. You can put this by your bike to mark where your place is. And you can put your helmet on your towel (with straps undone)
   7. If you’re changing shoes (from run shoes to bike shoes) you can leave them on the towel.
   8. If you’re changing shoes between run & bike it’s also worth getting some elastic laces (much quicker to change & more reliable than shoe laces)
   9. Don’t go off as fast as you can? Go at the speed you can keep up for the whole race. So for Tristar 3 that’s between 30 & 50 minutes, for Tristar 1 & 2 it’s between 20 & 35 minutes & for Tristar Starts and the mini duathlon it’s between 7 & 15 minutes.
   10. Remember to enjoy it!

For a few more advanced Duathlon Tips see our Top 10 Duathlon Tips Article