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Triathlon Atlas
A quiet beach at dawn with a marker buoy offshore

Choosing a race

Choosing a first 70.3

There are 111 half-distance races on the calendar read on 22 September 2026. For a first attempt, what separates them is the month, the label on each leg, the water you will swim in, and how far you have to travel to reach them.

Open the finder on half distance

Method

What this page is built on

Four fields: the distance label, the start month, the bike and run labels the organiser publishes, and the average water temperature read on each race's own page. No composite difficulty score is calculated from them, because a single number would hide which of the four decided it.

A half distance means 1.9 km of swimming, 90 km on the bike and 21.1 km of running, the figures the organiser gives on its course pages. Two things that would matter a great deal for a first race are rarely published: a bike elevation exists for 10 races and an overall cut-off for 4. Where they would change the reading, this page says so.

A road bicycle leaning against a wooden fence at sunrise

The half-distance calendar

Recomputed from the records held here. Narrow it with the month you can train for and the region you can reach.

111

races, all of them

Month
Region
Country
Swim venue
Bike
Run
Water temperature

14 °C is the coldest average published, 29 °C the warmest.

Half distance 111
RaceDateCountryDistanceSwimWaterBikeRunEntries
IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship Nice12 Sept 2026FRHalf distanceOcean16 °C Hilly FlatOpen
IRONMAN 70.3 New York Jones Beach26 Sept 2026USHalf distanceBay18 °C Flat FlatOpen
IRONMAN 70.3 Augusta Augusta27 Sept 2026USHalf distanceRiver23 °C Rolling RollingOpen
IRONMAN 70.3 Waco Waco4 Oct 2026USHalf distanceRiver26 °C Flat RollingOpen
IRONMAN 70.3 Buenos Aires Palermo Buenos Aires4 Oct 2026ARHalf distanceLake23 °C Rolling FlatOpen
IRONMAN 70.3 Encarnacion Encarnacion11 Oct 2026PYHalf distanceRiver20 °C Hilly FlatOpen
IRONMAN 70.3 Versailles Versailles11 Oct 2026FRHalf distanceReservoir21 °C Rolling FlatOpen
IRONMAN 70.3 Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt Sharm El-Sheikh16 Oct 2026EGHalf distanceBay28 °C Rolling FlatOpen
IRONMAN 70.3 North Carolina Wilmington17 Oct 2026USHalf distanceOcean19 °C Flat RollingOpen
IRONMAN 70.3 Portugal-Cascais Cascais17 Oct 2026PTHalf distanceBay18 °C Rolling RollingOpen
IRONMAN 70.3 Poreč Porec18 Oct 2026HRHalf distanceOcean21 °C Rolling RollingOpen
IRONMAN 70.3 Port Macquarie Port Macquarie18 Oct 2026AUHalf distanceRiver23 °C Rolling FlatOpen
IRONMAN 70.3 Florianopolis Florianopolis18 Oct 2026BRHalf distanceOcean22 °C Flat FlatOpen
IRONMAN 70.3 Málaga Málaga18 Oct 2026ESHalf distanceOcean20 °C Flat FlatOpen
IRONMAN 70.3 Dhofar Salalah24 Oct 2026OMHalf distanceBay27 °C Rolling FlatOpen
IRONMAN 70.3 Costa Navarino, Peloponnese, Greece Peloponnese25 Oct 2026GRHalf distanceOcean23 °C Rolling FlatOpen
IRONMAN 70.3 Agadir Agadir25 Oct 2026MAHalf distanceOcean21 °C Rolling FlatOpen
IRONMAN 70.3 Kenting Kenting1 Nov 2026TWHalf distanceOcean25 °C Flat FlatOpen
IRONMAN 70.3 Goa Goa1 Nov 2026INHalf distanceOcean26 °C Hilly HillyOpen
IRONMAN 70.3 Türkiye Belek1 Nov 2026TRHalf distanceOcean25 °C Flat FlatOpen
IRONMAN 70.3 Melbourne St. Kilda8 Nov 2026AUHalf distanceBay18 °C Flat FlatOpen
IRONMAN 70.3 Campeche Campeche8 Nov 2026MXHalf distanceOcean27 °C Flat FlatOpen
IRONMAN 70.3 Phu Quoc Phu Quoc15 Nov 2026VNHalf distanceOcean29 °C Flat FlatOpen
IRONMAN 70.3 Langkawi Langkawi21 Nov 2026MYHalf distanceOcean29 °C Hilly FlatOpen
IRONMAN 70.3 Mossel Bay Mossel Bay22 Nov 2026ZAHalf distanceBay21 °C Hilly RollingOpen
IRONMAN 70.3 Cartagena Cartagena29 Nov 2026COHalf distanceBay29 °C Flat FlatOpen
IRONMAN 70.3 Valdivia Valdivia29 Nov 2026CLHalf distanceRiver16 °C Flat FlatOpen
IRONMAN 70.3 Aracaju-Sergipe Aracaju29 Nov 2026BRHalf distanceRiver26 °C Flat FlatOpen
IRONMAN 70.3 Western Australia Busselton6 Dec 2026AUHalf distanceBay19 °C Flat FlatOpen
IRONMAN 70.3 La Quinta La Quinta6 Dec 2026USHalf distanceLake14 °C Flat FlatOpen

Read from the organiser’s own pages on 22 Sept 2026

Course labels

A flat bike and a flat run narrow the field fast

Of the 111 half-distance races on the calendar, 35 carry a flat label on both the bike and the run. That filter changes the shortlist more than any other, and it is also the one to read with most care.

Flat describes the terrain. It removes climbing and the descents with it, so power output stays constant for the whole bike leg and wind becomes the main variable. An exposed coastal course with no climbs can ask more of a steady rider than a sheltered one with two hills. The flat courses page goes further.

A country road rising gently through open farmland

Water

The water decides what you swim in

Across the 148 races that publish one, the average water temperature runs from 14 °C to 29 °C. That range covers swims where a wetsuit is close to compulsory and swims where it may not be allowed at all.

Wetsuit rules are applied on the morning of the race, against the temperature measured then. This site holds the published average. The 11 races that publish no temperature stay in the list with an empty cell.

A shaded gravel path along a river under tall trees

Side by side

Put a shortlist on the same rows

Pick up to three races. Rows nobody publishes stay empty.

FieldNo race selectedNo race selectedNo race selected
Distancenot publishednot publishednot published
Datenot publishednot publishednot published
Countrynot publishednot publishednot published
Registrationnot publishednot publishednot published
Swim venuenot publishednot publishednot published
Average water temperaturenot publishednot publishednot published
High air temperaturenot publishednot publishednot published
Low air temperaturenot publishednot publishednot published
Bike profilenot publishednot publishednot published
Bike elevation gainnot publishednot publishednot published
Run profilenot publishednot publishednot published
Run elevation gainnot publishednot publishednot published
Overall cut-offnot publishednot publishednot published
World championship slotsnot publishednot publishednot published
Altitudenot publishednot publishednot published
First editionnot publishednot publishednot published
Swim startnot publishednot publishednot published

Rows marked “not published” are fields no source publishes for these races. No score is computed from the rows above: a single number would hide which of them decided it. Figures read on 22 Sept 2026.

Limits

What this page cannot tell you

It cannot tell you how hard a course is. Difficulty depends on elevation, wind, heat and the state you arrive in, and of those this site holds air temperature and, for 10 races, an elevation figure.

It cannot tell you whether you will finish inside the cut-off, since most races publish their cut-offs only in the athlete guide. It cannot tell you what a race costs. And it covers one organiser's calendar, so independent half-distance races are not listed here.

An empty finishing straight lined with plain barriers at dawn

Coverage

The fields behind this page

Counted from the records held here, read on 22 September 2026.

Held for 159 races

  • Date 159 / 159
  • Country 159 / 159
  • Swim venue 159 / 159
  • Bike profile 159 / 159
  • Run profile 159 / 159
  • Average water temperature 148 / 159
  • High air temperature 159 / 159
  • Registration 159 / 159
  • Bike elevation gain 10 / 159
  • Run elevation gain 3 / 159
  • Overall cut-off 4 / 159
  • Swim start 25 / 159

Not published anywhere

World championship slots
On a separate page per race, and it changes every year.
Altitude
Not published. It can be derived from the coordinates, and is not yet.
First edition
Not published by the organiser.

Counted from this site’s own records, read on 22 Sept 2026.

Questions this page is asked

How far ahead should I enter?

This site holds the registration status published on each race page. On 22 September 2026, 159 races of 159 showed open registration. The status changes quickly, so check the official page before you commit to a training plan.

Is a flat course easier?

Flat describes terrain. It is more predictable, which is what most people mean by easier on a first attempt, and it still asks for the full effort.

Why is there almost no elevation figure?

The organiser describes each course in prose and states a number for 10 races out of 159. Where that number exists, it is held here and quoted. Where it does not, this site leaves the field empty and does not copy a figure from a third party.

Does this site sell entries?

No. Entries are handled by the organiser. Triathlon Atlas is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by IRONMAN or World Triathlon Corporation. Race names are used only to identify the events they name.

How often are the figures refreshed?

Every value carries the date it was read, and the current reading is 22 September 2026. Dates, registration status and temperatures change first. The method page describes the refresh.

Next step

Narrow the calendar to your own constraints

Month, region, labels and water, crossed in one place.

Open the race finderCompare a shortlist
An empty finishing straight lined with plain barriers at dawn