Important Things to Know About a Duathlon

1. It's spelled DUATHLON. Not DUALTHON as I had it in previous posts.
2. There is something called a "tri-short" that is the standard  uniform. It's like a bike short, but with thinner padding so it's not so uncomfortable to run in.
3. There are rules for what can and can't happen in the transition area. You can't be ON your bike, you must have your helmet strap latched before you leave it/get on the bike, you can't unstrap your helmet until  you are off your bike.
4. Some transition areas have assigned spots like this one did, and some are a first-come-first-serve sort of deal. So I expect there's a great deal of strategy (and maybe fist-fighting) to get the best spots.
5. I imagine the bigger the race, the more difficult the transition area gets. I'm also sure there are other rules I don't understand yet ... but that I might break if I try this again and end up in that cage when there's a lot of traffic. Some people appeared to be very exact/persnickety/regimented about how their stuff was placed. For those serious competitors, a few seconds make a big difference, and I bet they practice this stuff.
6. I was the only one I heard communicating to the other bikers. When I'm passing someone, I say, "On your left" so they know I'm coming. When I first notice a car coming from behind, I yell, "Car back" so they know something is coming. These are the rules my biking brother-in-law taught me and I suspect others were using them, too ... just not the people I was with.
7. Clip shoes vs. transition time? I get that clip shoes can make you pedal more efficiently and therefore faster. But it takes to put them on/take them off ... twice. In my case, it doesn't matter that much, so I am OK sticking to my pedal cages. But I was definitely in the minority.
8. Most of the bikes were road bikes. There were quite a few hybrid bikes toward the back of the pack with me.
9. Always check the standings. You just never know when you might win a medal.