I am a directing a race next month and am curious as to some of the more unique “goodie bag” items some of you may have run across. We only have 40 racers and I have some extra cash to blow on the bags…thoughts?
my fav so far was the cheapo cinch to backpack they gave us at Ironman Kona last year, I guess it’s kinda cool because it says Ironman and everything on it but that’s my favorite so far. Stickers with the race name on them are pretty cool too. Hey you could hire me for some cool vinyl cut car decals and help pay off my latest bike:) How about hitting up a company like aquasphere for some kaimen (who doesn’t love kaimens) goggles? Or have some custom waterbottles done with your logo on them (around $2.50 each for really nice ones, again hire me:)
Anyways good luck. The last, well the first real race I put on we built this huge finishers chute fully lined with sponsor banners. We borrowed sideline pads (folding triangular barriers) from our college and made a 100’+ chute with a big finish banner. At first I thought it was a waste of time, but it was a huge hit with the competitors. We basically copied the way XTerra finishes look.
Tai
or how about a boring add looking coupon that on the bottom says “woohoo, you actually read this, turn this coupon in for a 5 minute time bonus” Bet you won’t get more than 5 or so back:)
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I -along with most of the posters here- could probably wear a different race t-shirt a day for the better part of a month. So it is a welcome relief when you get anything different.
A few of goodies I’ve received at races are i) a transition towel to wipe your feet before the bike leg, ii) a race belt and iii) a thermal coffee mug
On any of the above you can have your race name/major sponser name printed on.
They gave us a can of Michelob Ultra in our goodie bag at St. Anthony’s. Also a couple of water bottles, some Gatorade endurance powder mix, a gel packet and a few other little items like a sports creme and foot powder not to mention an issue of Inside Triathlon and Triathlete magazine.
A goodie bag. I didn’t go to the race but the director sent me a River City Triathlon Backpack that is as nice as an Oakley one for Christmas last year. They have without a doubt the best stuff for the $ at that race period. G
Well… Here’s a nice goodie bag IMO:
A nice T-Shirts saying “triathlon of…” in the back - everyone likes these ones
A 750ml waterbottle with name of the race - 750ml so everyone will use it in training
A car decal (if i ever got one of these I would stick it as soon as I got the my car) 
Thanks for your replies.
tremblant gave us a bottle, t-shirt, and great food afterwards. But the biggest hit was the necklace type keychain holder - I see a lot of triathletes still wearing them and a gift certificate for a sauna/massage @ one of the local “get-away” places.
Easy one - cool max underwear at IMLP 2002
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It wasnt from a triathlon, but from a 10k run. the Nicky’s Rainbow Run in Berkeley. It was a duffel bag, with shampoo, 3 bottles of sunscreen, aloe vera, bandaids, a t shirt, soap and more.
One of the sponsors was the Grocery Outlet (the only reason i remember that, is because of the awesome goodie bag)
jeremyb
I got running socks from a recent race, if they hadn’t had been free, I would have never tried them.
I like gels and bars in the bag too. Something that I will use.
jaretj
A copy of Bunnymans “Triathlete Special Interest” tapes.
I think everyone is sick of the t-shirt deal. Water bottles and glass glasses with tri logo/sponsor are nice. I got a keychain/necklace deal at one of the local tri’s and use it often. The sticker idea is great. What about a running hat/visor? Visor would be better than a t-shirt! What about a skull cap/bandana?