By:  Jacob Florey

Whether you are a runner, cyclist, swimmer or all of these, you can do your part on a triathlon relay team.  What better way to learn more about Triathlons.

In the process of deciding to assemble a relay team or if you are invited to be a part of a team, keep in mind the type of people you are racing with.  You want this to be fun!  You should be with people you enjoy being with.  Is your team super competitive or just doing this for fun?  You need to have the same mindset going in to avoid stress and disappointment.

How do you train for a relay?  Do you keep normal training?  Or if you normally do triathlons as an individual, do you focus your training on that one discipline?   For Michigan Titanium I focused on swim and that’s all. I really do believe it paid off.

Relays are a great way to focus on your best discipline, if you are on a really competitive team. But it’s also a way to focus on your weakest discipline, if your other teammates just want to do the relay for fun.  It is a great way to improve your discipline. You can focus on form and speed because you have more training time.

If you don’t change your training for a relay, that’s fine. There are reasons for not changing. For example you could have other races after or soon before the relay. Or it is just the start of your season and you are just getting back into things. But if it’s the end of the season or no races coming up, why not focus on just one discipline.

Once it comes to the relay it’s so fun. Typically you are much faster in that part of the event. You don’t need to conserve energy. You can just go all out. Then you can just relax and cheer on your team and it’s a great time!

This is a great way to get a closer relationship with teammates or enjoy time with family members or introduce a new person to the sport of Triathlons. Lastly don’t sweat it, relays are a fun and great experience.