Gear bags are generally referred to plastic bags used in triathlon races to store gear and supplies that can later be accessed at different stages of the race. While smaller events, such as Sprint, Olympic and even some Half Ironman races may only provide one gear bag, long-distance races such as Ironman (and 70.3‘s with point-to-point courses or multiple transitions) will usually feature a collection of bags used to organize and transport equipment for different segments of the race. The most common gear bags are a morning clothes bag, run bag, bike bag and special needs bags for the bike and run portion of the race.
Gear bags in running, cycling and swimming events are much less common. In most cases, if gear bags are provided, they serve as multi-purpose bags that also contain swag, goodies, advertisements and your race packet (race bib and possibly timing chip).
