Getting started in triathlon doesn’t require a second mortgage. You can begin with minimal gear and invest more as your passion for the sport grows. To help you get started, here’s a two-tiered checklist focused on the needs of athletes over 50.
BASIC: The Essentials
This checklist covers what you absolutely need to complete your first sprint or super sprint triathlon safely and comfortably.
Swim
Swimsuit: A one-piece for women, or jammers/briefs for men.
Goggles: A comfortable pair that fits well and doesn’t leak.
Swim Cap: Often provided by the race, but having your own is good for training.
Bike
Bicycle: You can use any roadworthy bike—a road bike, hybrid, or even a mountain bike will work for your first race. Focus on comfort and fit.
Helmet: This is non-negotiable. A CPSC-certified helmet is required for all triathlon races.
Running Shoes: You can wear your running shoes on the bike for your first race, clipped pedals are a future goal.
Water Bottle: Essential for hydration during the ride.
Run
Running Shoes: A comfortable, well-fitting pair of running shoes is your most important piece of gear. Consider being fitted at a running specialty store.
Socks: A pair that wicks moisture to prevent blisters.
Race Day
Tri Suit: While a tri suit is convenient, for your first race, a swimsuit for the swim and comfortable athletic clothes for the bike and run will suffice.
Race Belt: An elastic belt to hold your race bib number, so you don’t have to pin it to your shirt.
Sunscreen: Protect your skin, especially if you’re fair-skinned. However, choose a product based on natural SPFs such as Badger Sport mineral sunscreen.
Nutritional Gels/Chews: These are not necessary for a sprint or shorter distance race, but you may want to use them during longer training sessions. I used gummy bears for my first triathlon.
NEXT LEVEL: Upgrading Your Gear
Once you’ve fallen in love with the sport, you may want to upgrade to gear that can improve performance, comfort, and safety.
Swim:
Wetsuit: Required for open water swims in colder temperatures and can also provide buoyancy, making swimming easier.
Anti-Fog Spray: For your goggles.
Bike:
Road or Triathlon Bike: A lighter, more efficient bike designed for speed and endurance.
Padded Bike Shorts or Tri Shorts: Provides comfort on longer rides.
Bike-Specific Shoes and Clipless Pedals: Allows you to generate more power and ride more efficiently.
Cycling Sunglasses: Provides eye protection from sun, wind, and debris.
Repair Kit: A small bag with tire levers, a spare tube, and a CO2 inflator or small pump.
Run
Race-Specific Running Shoes: Lighter shoes designed for speed on race day.
Elastic Laces: Also known as “lock laces”, these reduce the bike to run transition time.
Running Hat/Visor: Shields your face from the sun.
Technology & Accessories
GPS Watch: A multi-sport watch to track your swim, bike, and run metrics.
Heart Rate Monitor: Helps you train in the correct zones for your goals.
Bike Computer: Tracks speed, distance, and other metrics in real-time.
Transition Towel: A bright towel to easily identify your spot in the transition area.
Recovery Aids: A foam roller and massage gun are helpful for speeding recovery during your training phase.
What Did I Miss?
Are there any items you consider essential not included in this list?
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After completing my first triathlon in 2011, my wife, Joy, and I looked at each other and said, “Why not?”. Why not travel across the USA and complete a triathlon in each state?
From Blog Posts to a Complete Story
What began as a simple idea—“Why not?”—became a 12-year journey across all 50 states.
While these posts capture moments along the way, the full story—including deeper insights, challenges, and reflections—is told in my book:
At that moment, we joined our love for road trips with my interest in triathlon. We called this “Triathlon Across the USA”.
Triathlon Across the USA
In this quest, our goal was for me to complete a triathlon in each of the 50 states of the USA. It was more rewarding than we imagined.
This adventure took us to many out-of-the-way parts of the United States, places we would probably never have visited. For example, many people who live in Oregon don’t know about Sweet Home. We have eaten, slept, and raced there.
These ‘race-cations’ also provided opportunity to visit family and friends, several who have since passed away. We are grateful for the memories of extra time with them.
Through these travels, we met people across the triathlon community with a connection to family members. We have met people hundreds of, even more than a thousand, miles from home who have friends or family near where we were living or have lived.
In one case, the race director of a triathlon in a southern state had run near our house while visiting in-laws in Minnesota. We also met a young lady in Alaska who was on our daughter-in-law’s high school swim team.
Encounters like this became commonplace.
More Than a Race—A Life Chapter
Over time, this journey became about more than triathlons. It became about marriage, family, loss, friendships, and discovering what’s possible later in life.
That deeper story—what it meant to us and how it changed us—is captured in:
We also learned a lot about this country. Through our travels, we experienced differing terrains, altitudes, race courses, weather, race types, scenery, and, of course, food. We learned to deal with the unexpected.
I learned so much. We identified at least one new experience in each triathlon. I listed these new experiences under the ‘Race Firsts’ heading near the end of each post.
On May 20, 2023, nearly twelve years after finishing my first triathlon, Joy, our three children, and I visited West Virginia for a triathlon in the 50th state. This moment ultimately led to the writing of Triathlon Adventures Across America.
I am grateful to the Lord for giving me a supportive and fun wife, resources, and physical strength to complete this goal. We enjoyed our travels around the beautiful USA.
We met many incredible people, young and old, who share my love of triathlon. You will find some of their stories on this website under the Our Stories menu.
Terry & Joy VanderWert
The Villages, Florida
“Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” 2 Corinthians 9:15
Finding a State in the “Triathlon Across the USA” Story
Start Anywhere—Then See the Whole Picture
You can explore each state individually below.
But if you want to experience the journey as it was meant to be understood—from beginning to end—the book brings it all together in one continuous story.
Below the picture you will find a list of the states in the USA. Click the link with the name of the state. The story about our time in it will appear.
We completed our Triathlon Across the USA journey on May 20, 2023. The last race in this quest was the Parsons Volunteer Fire Department Cheat River Triathlon in Parsons, West Virginia.
Please note the region names and grouping of states below follow the standard used by the US Census Bureau. I didn’t just make them up.
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The Villages, Florida, located between Orlando and Ocala in central Florida, is a 55+ community like no other in the USA. To say that residents and visitors of every age and ability are required to stay active is no stretch.
Thanks to The Villages Triathlon Club, triathlon is one of the sports growing here.
The Villages Triathlon Club Builds on an Active Lifestyle
If I were to pick one word to describe The Villages, I would choose ‘active’.
As just one example, consider that from 5 to 9 PM, 365 days per year, each of the three Town Squares has live music with residents and their guests filling the dance floors.
To prepare for the evening, one needs to take afternoon dance lessons. That is, unless you are golfing on one of the more than 50 courses, biking, doing water aerobics, playing pickleball at one of the roughly 150 courts, swimming in one of the 102 pools, or involved in any of the other hundred or so activities.
Triathlon-friendly ‘Biker Shuffle’ with Scooter The DJ at Spanish Springs Square in The Villages, Florida .
My Introduction to The Villages Triathlon Club
Reading the sports section of the daily newspaper of The Villages, The Daily Sun, has become a ritual when visiting the area. Articles in the paper often highlight accomplishments of active seniors. These stories never fail to encourage, inspire, and even amaze.
One article that especially grabbed my attention was that of a resident who had restarted swimming after quadruple bypass surgery.
Wanting to learn more about the story behind the story, I contacted the article’s author. He eventually introduced me to Donna Maguire, founder and president of The Villages Triathlon Club.
Members of The Villages Triathlon Club often race together at sprint to Ironman distance events.
Beginnings of The Villages Triathlon Club
Donna Maguire started The Villages Triathlon Club in April, 2015 after venturing back into the triathlon world following her and her husband’s move to The Villages. While in central Florida, she learned about nearby Clermont, the so-called ‘Triathlon Capital of the World’.
While The Villages had groups for almost every activity and interest imaginable, there were no running or triathlon clubs. However, that changed through a ‘chance’ encounter between Donna and another ‘Villager’, Pat Johnson.
“One day, I met Pat while we were both playing pickleball. She told me that she had just signed up for her first triathlon at age 70. Pat had no idea what she was in for,” said Donna with a smile.
“She had less than three weeks to prepare for the race. So, I took her under my wing and shared my limited experience and some of my equipment. Helping her helped me. And with that, the idea that would lead to the triathlon club was born.”
Donna started sharing her vision with other triathletes.
“Many of them encouraged me to start a triathlon club. All I wanted to do was find people to train and play with. Did I ever!
“We now have both a triathlon club and a running club”.
The Villages Triathlon Club Today
The Villages Triathlon Club’s mission is “to provide, for all levels of athletic ability, a network of information, support services, training, racing, and social activities in a friendly and supportive environment”.
Membership is open to residents who are currently participating in triathlons or have completed races in the past and have a desire to get involved again. Also welcomed are first-timers who want to learn about and prepare for a multi-sport challenge.
She and many of the club’s members have become ambassadors for triathlon throughout The Villages and beyond. Members often attend triathlons as a club, complete with t-shirts, warm-ups, triathlon suits, and other apparel bearing the club logo which was designed by Donna.
Donna’s support for triathlon even shows in her e-mail signature which includes the words ‘Gotta Tri’.
Both the triathlon and running clubs have Facebook pages to foster communication and support among members. “We encourage all club members and meeting attendees to try to do a triathlon.”
“I’m not an expert and although I share my experience, I also want to be sure that members have a variety of levels of expertise and experience on which to draw.”
Monthly educational meetings are another way the club promotes triathlon for its members and anyone interested in competing in the sport. These meetings are a time for sharing “tons of information”. Many include guest speakers to discuss topics related to training, rest and recovery, nutrition, and racing.
Triathlon Training Events
The Villages Triathlon Club also regularly organizes training events for its members.
The club has group runs on Sunday mornings. During the week, members regularly get together for 60+ mile bike rides at one of the local trails.
The Villages Triathlon Club holds group swims two times per week in one of The Villages’ sports pools..
The club also has standing Tuesday and Thursday morning reservations at one of The Villages’ sports pools. During this time, swimmers of all levels, from beginner to experienced, meet to build their swim fitness and improve their triathlon-specific swim technique.
For example, the group works on swimming close together and drafting, to become accustomed with the contact that often occurs during the triathlon swim.
Club members have also met for group swims and practice triathlons at nearby Lake Minneola and Lake Weir. One of these events included a triathlon swim lesson from a professional triathlete.
The Villages Running Club also hosts group runs on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s morning that leave Lake Sumter Square at 6:30 AM during the summer months.
Before COVID-19 shutdowns, the club reserved Lake Sumter Square (one of the three Town Squares mentioned earlier) on Friday mornings for a free Boot Camp.
Attendees would gather at 7 AM for a 4-mile run that included interval training. Then at 8 AM, the Boot Camp session was led by one of the club’s members. Finally, a yoga class was held at 9 AM for the most ambitious members. A priceless start of the day.
Why Do A Triathlon?
Why should someone in or approaching retirement age participate in triathlon?
According to The Villages Triathlon Club members, there are many benefits from training in the three different sports. There are health benefits from being stronger, more fit, and, for some, losing weight.
Training in swimming, biking, and running helps avoid overuse injuries by working different parts of the body. It also prevents boredom, which can lead to inconsistency.
There are also social benefits; meeting new people, developing friends with whom you can share successes and struggles as well as learn, or go golfing.
For Donna and many other club members, triathlon has also helped build confidence and mental strength.
Not learning to swim until later in my adult life, Donna had always had a fear and discomfort in the swim portion.
“Little by little I’ve started to overcome that fear, something I never thought I’d be able to do. I keep reminding myself – ‘Just breathe’.
“We all have something that is scary and out of our comfort area. We can take the easy route and just avoid that situation or tackle it and feel confident.”
Senior triathlete, Donna Maguire celebrating her age group win at the 2015 Great Floridian GFT 1/3 Ironman Triathlon
Have Questions for The Villages Triathlon Club Members?
The Villages Triathlon Club highlights the value of the encouragement and camaraderie that comes from being part of a group that shares common goals and interests. For example, Donna has gone from ‘considering quitting triathlon’ to a 2x Ironman finisher during her time with The Villages Triathlon Club.
Feel free to post questions and comments for Donna and The Villages Triathlon Club members in the Comments section below.
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This post was originally published on March 25, 2016. I updated it after Joy’s and my visit to The Villages during April 2021 and again in April 2026. In September 2021, we became residents of The Villages, where I am currently am a member of The Villages Triathlon Club.
We received the following question about the time required to train for an Olympic distance triathlon. For those of you not yet conversant in the distances of the various triathlon types, the Olympic distance triathlon comprises a 1.5 km swim, 40 km bike, and 10 km run.
Here is our senior triathletes question:
“Is six months sufficient time for a 72 year-old male to train for an Olympic Triathlon?
I’m generally fit, but have been going to the gym less frequently in the past 6 months than I did prior to that time. At the gym I exercise for strength and cardio (running on the treadmill and cycling).
Coach Tony Washington’s Reply
David,
Terry passed along the question you sent through the SeniorTriathletes.com website.
Congrats on being 72 years young and taking charge of your health and fitness. Life changing stuff.
I’d love to hear more specifically about your current regimen but I’ll make some little assumptions in general. Since you are cycling and running, you are ready to roll. If any of these sessions are already over 30 mins, even better. How’s your swimming? I highly recommend TriDot Pool School. I can help with video analysis too.
Where are you located? While 50% of the athletes I coach are local, I travel the country for work and often meet up with my remote folks for one on one sessions.
I love that you do strength work. Building a strong frame is critical to sustain the training load. Your strength and core are the foundation of keeping you moving forward in an Olympic triathlon. It’ll keep you injury free and flexible too.
TriDot is an amazing program personalized to you and your goal race. We’ll evaluate your fitness changes every month and reset your training zones. I’ve been using it as an athlete for over a decade and coaching using it for 6 years.
Share your comments, questions, and experience below. You may also submit your question(s) through the website here.
Comments: Join the conversation below — Click on “Subscribe” (located above the Comment box) if you’d like to be alerted to replies to your Comment. Even if you do not submit a comment, you may subscribe to be notified when a new comment is published.Please note that I review all comments before they are posted.
Medical Disclaimer
This content is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. I am not a physician. Always consult your healthcare provider before making training or treatment decisions. You assume full responsibility for your participation in any exercise program.
