congrats on the race, Roger! looked like a great opportunity to dip the toe in the world of SwimRun!
there are so many exciting locations out there hosting these races. many are not loops so there are often times lots of variables to consider: distances of each leg, temperatures, terrain, tides/currents, etc.
in terms of equipment set up, Herbert brought up a great point. similar to a competitive triathletes approach to a specific race course, so to the athlete has the opportunity to strategize and use the equipment setup that works best for their physical strengths and for the course at hand.
equipment is highly personal. for example, John Stevens and Matt Hurley have won each of the arduous Odyssey SwimRun events (winners 3x Casco Bay Island and 1x Orcas Island) and are two of the strongest swimmers around. John uses a small, junior sized buoy, and tiny paddles due to some shoulder injuries he sustained during his competitive swimming years. Matt does not use either paddles or buoy. Just the wetsuit.
the point is, find out what works best for you and do that thing.