Race Course Reviews: Ironman Taupo 70.3

What is the Ironman Taupo 70.3 course and race like?

General

A truly fantastic race course that is fun and has excellent scenery at nearly every part.

• T1 + T2 are the same

• Swim is simple, clear water and easy sighting

• Bike is undulating, not technicall, stunning scenery, can be windy, jittery road surface

• Run is fun, 2 laps, 100% tarmac, slight rises, great support, great scenery

Climate

The climate can get hot and cold with the temperature quite changing. In general at the time of year you will find a relatively high humidity and the thing to watch out for is not just the temperature but the UV index that can be extremely high. At the 2024 World Championship it was at 11 and many triathletes would have drawn envy from a prawn the next day.

Swim

The water is crystal clear, in good conditions you will be able to see the bottom throughout the whole swim. It is a beach start with just a few metres of sand to run and dive in and a short amount before you can start swimming properly, approximately 10-20m.

The swim is straight forward, swim out turn left and then left again and back into shore about 1km from where you are. As the first buoy is a couple 100m out, it isn’t guaranteed to be very very busy at the first left turn.

The buoys are well spaced out to follow a straight line to the next and final turn buoy and from that buoy it’s a straight few 100m line to the shore.

Wind can change quite quickly day to day so there is possibility it can be choppy.

There is a current that works against you although it is barely strong enough to feel. This is a river off of the Lake that you are technically swimming away from.

Don’t worry - despite New Zealand’s incredible marine life, the ‘big ones’ are not in the Lake. No sharks, whales or other to worry about at all.

T1

The immediate swim exit is 10-15m of flat and then 20m of a steep steep bank. Personally I think it provided a good moment to go slow and concentrate on taking off the top half of your wetsuit. You then run over a temporary bridge over the road (and run course) into T1.

The bike racking surface in T1 is grass.

You run onto the road tarmac surface for 10m to then mount onto your bike.

Bike

The bike starts with a slow uphill that takes you out of town. This is not challenging and the roads are smooth and untechnical but it does mean you can risk overcooking it with power as it’s elevation or you can use it go slightly slower out of aero and take on a nutrition hit post swim and set you up for the ride.

The first 1/3 of the bike course is where the main elevation is, although it is not significant enough at any point that you’d call it a very long or very steep climb. A couple that look quite intimidating and you shouldn’t try to stay in aero position but they are over quite quickly. There is one very steep descent, it is not technical but it is fast and there are signs that will indicate this. Particularly if there are some cross winds then take care to not get wobbly.

The route is characterised by long straights that undulate every so often and with simply amazing scenery. It does mean that you are exposed to the wind. Typically on the course you have it more behind you for the first half and more against you second half so something to be mindful of if you see it is windy.

The road surface is chip-seal meaning it can be jittery, you do get used to it but it is worth mentally preparing that you won’t have the smoothest or fastest ride and if you are in a position of fiddling with your handelbar grip, aerobar pads or type pressure then opting for something that will help you be a bit more soft is better.

The final part of the ride goes slightly downhill into town, it is not very technical and you can pick up speed. It’s also a chance to get the last of your nutrition down and you don’t need to push too hard to get speed.

T2

It’s the same location and mount entry/exit as T1 so prepare to dismount on road and run onto grass.

Run

The run is FUN. It is not flat but not severe at any point.

It is two lap on 100% tarmac surface. It undulates from the centre of town down a main road and onto the stunning lake path and then back along the main road into town.

The first 2km start with slightly downhill into the harbour before you have the only slow u-turn to go back, slightly up and then face down the long and well supported main road and lakeside promenade of bars & restaurants to run past, along with the supportive crowd.

If you’ve gone off too quickly the quick ascent will figure you out. It’s best to use the heat in your legs from the bike to comfortably settle in the first 2km, take the first time going up smartly and then roll into your tempo.

You’ll find the course goes ever so slightly downhill for a couple of km before you turn onto the lakeside path which is windy but not so much it slows you down. This is really cool and helps break up the run if you think about different parts and checkpoints.

You finally reach a turnaround square where you come back, the middle to end portion of the lap is more undulating back into town where you can pump strength into your legs on the small 50-100m long rises and relax to roll down them. Coming back into town you go back over that long but steady now ascent, you turn ever so slightly down to where you came out of T2 and if you’ve got anything left you’ve got about a kilometre to put down the hammer and take yourself to the end.