Newbie question

I am thinking of enetering a Triathlon next year, I cycle a lot and have a Specialized Allez and can comfortably swim a mile. My weak spot is running, I can jog along but am pretty slow. I intend to work on this over the winter. My question is will I be totally out of my depth with my jogging? I am confident with the swim and the ride, it is the running that I am worried about..

Another question is transition bag, a mate uses one of these for mountain biking, he says he will lend it to me will it be any good?

duffbag as transition bag?

Sorry, meant to say I am doing it for the physical and mental challenge, I am not expecting to win anything My running style is akin to a rolling ship in a strong gale, lots of movement but not getting very far

Depends on what distance tri you are looking at
Your slow may be quite quick to someon else so its hard to say if you will be out of your depth, you should have a fairly good base fitness already so build up the running slowly and there shouldnt be an issue at all
No point faffing around with a bag in transition IMO, get a plastic crate or something, even better lay a few items on a towel, too many bits & pieces nocking around will make things less clear

Enjoy the training !!

Crate versus bag seems to be an ongoing debate, for my one and only tri (sprint) I used a tesco carrier bag to take my stuff into transition then laid it all out on my towel. Worked just fine.

i used my boy's 'Bob the Builder' plastic toy crate.  V. professional

Just enter...there'll be plenty of people walking so you may be pretty speedy with your jog.

For transition helmet on the bike bars - that way you remember to put it on before anything else. Use what you like but the less space you take up the better and the less stuff you need in transition the better too. Attach as much as you can like pump etc to the bike.

You wont need gels unless you're doing 1/2 IM or above (which I doubt)*

*Dave gels for a sprint???? This is the same sprint distance I'm thinking of?

I think a transition bag is the least of your worries.

Helmet on the bars has always worked for me - I think the more kit you have in transition the worse its goingt to be. 

As the others say Andy - just bite the bullet and do it. A lot of triathletes are rubbish in the water   so you'll kick their arses there, and it sounds like you're a decent cyclist - so you'll build up plenty of places on the first two disciplines.

plastic crates are crap - I'm constantly amazed at people struggling to balance a crate on the bars as they walk from the car park to transition.  get a decent sports bag that's big enough to hold all you need and has straps you can throw over the shoulders - ours came from Lidl and have done us proud for years.  and if it rains, stick it in a big plastic bag.....

and if you're slow on the run just be quicker in the swim and on the bike so the faster runners have to catch you - my missus won her GB a/g champ that way.....

Wow, thanks for the replies guys, maybe I was sweating the details too much. So it is normal that some will be walking on the run?

I have entered a couple of sportives on the road bike and did OK, plus I have done a bit of MTB racing so the bike is fine.

Regarding the bag you have put my mind at rest, just did not want to look like a numpty with the wrong gear

Nothing wrong with walking. I think you may surprise yourself.

Good luck

Yeah, just enter and go for it!  I've done two now and you pick up things pretty quickly.  I use a plastic box for transition (tenner from Wilkinsons), you can lay stuff out and keep it dry.  Helmet on handlebars is too easy to get knocked off (seen that happen a couple of times).  My tip from completely limited experience is not to rush transition in your first race.