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Your clothing is the one thing that you won’t change out over the course of a race with the possible exception of an Ironman distance race. That is, some athletes will take the time to visit the available changing tent after each leg because the legs last such a long time. For a local sprint or olympic distance race though, you almost certainly won’t have a changing tent provided, and the distances are so short anyway that you should be able to survive without changing. The shorts you have on when you get in the water are the same shorts you’re going to be wearing when you break the tape at the end of the race. Some events require that male athletes wear shirts, some don’t, so you might be able to spend the morning running around your city’s streets in nothing but your old school Speedo if you’re a guy or your two-piece if you’re a gal. If you’re new to the sport and you’re aghast at this notion, don’t worry, you’ll get used to it quickly, just like you’ll get used to seeing men with shaved legs (more on that in future articles).

Minimum Required: Pair of shorts plus a shirt if the race requires it. Men, if you’re planning to wear what you already have in your dresser, choose a pair of synthetic fiber swim trunks that have a liner in them unless you want to ride a bike and run in wet cotton underwear all morning. Avoid shorts with pockets because they act like sea anchors in the water. As for the shirt, you can wait until the first transition (“T1” in the lingo) to put it on if you don’t want to wear it in the water. If you decide to wear a cotton shirt, believe me, you won’t save any time by wearing it during the swim.

Women, you can get by with wearing a one-piece or two-piece bathing suit start to finish if you like. If modesty precludes you from running and biking in a bathing suit, you can throw on a pair of shorts and a shirt at T1. If you decide to do the whole race in a bathing suit--which is common by the way--definitely practice running and riding your bike in the suit prior to the race to make sure your body and your suit are compatible with those events.

Socks seem to generate a lot of questions among new triathletes. The bottom line is your comfort level versus your need for speed. If you’re just starting out and you’re concerned more about finishing than winning, then by all means take the extra 30 seconds to put on socks. (Make sure you practice putting socks on wet feet prior to the race.) At the finish your feet will be happy you did.

Good idea to have: Pair of tri-specific shorts and a tri top. Tri shorts are basically the same as bicycle shorts but with a quick drying chamois that is much thinner than what you’ll find in bike shorts. They don’t cause much drag when you’re swimming and they dry quickly. They don’t bunch up on the bike, plus they have the chamois to make your time in the saddle more comfortable.

A tri top or singlet is a tight-fitting shirt made of some kind of wicking synthetic material usually with a zipper in the front and a pocket in the back. You can wear a tri top under a wetsuit comfortably. If the water is too warm for wetsuits to be legal, you can swim in the tri top because it fits tightly which cuts down on drag although the back pocket can act as a sea anchor depending on how the top is made. Because of its fabric, the top should dry in short order once you’re on the bike. For women, instead of a triathlon top, you may choose to race in a sports bra, or a triathlon shimmel. These are more form fitting and have the required support. Lastly, of course, the more logos you’re sporting on your singlet NASCAR-like, the more hip you are.

Tri shorts and tops can also come complete as one contiguous garment called a trisuit.

Bad idea to have: Very old or very light colored shorts. Old shorts that have seen much chlorine and very light colored shorts may tend to be somewhat transparent. Enough on that!

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