Guide
Challenge Family races: which one to choose
The catalogue lists 28 Challenge Family races in 17 countries. Choose the distance first. The month, the water and the climbing then narrow the list.
Where the figures come from
Distances, climbing and cut-offs are the figures the organiser publishes on the race page or in the athlete guide, read on the date shown on each race page. Water and air temperatures are averages for the race date and place.
The catalogue records the long-course race of each Challenge weekend: full, middle or 100 km. Standard, sprint and junior races held the same weekend are listed on the official pages. Not every race publishes every figure: 21 of the 28 give a bike elevation gain, and 10 a final cut-off.
Three distances, one of them specific to the circuit
13 races are held over the middle distance (1.9 km, about 90 km, 21.1 km) and 5 over the full distance (3.8 km, 180 km, 42.2 km).
The other 10 use a shorter long-course format: 2 km of swimming, 80 km on the bike and 18 km of running. Challenge calls it the 100 distance on some race pages and middle distance on others, such as Canberra. The catalogue files them together by the distances published: Challenge Canberra, Challenge Wānaka, Anfi Challenge Mogán-Gran Canaria, Challenge Salou-Costa Daurada, Challenge Cesenatico, The Championship, Challenge Gdańsk, Challenge Kaiserwinkl-Walchsee, Challenge Vieux Boucau, T100 Challenger Peguera Mallorca.
Compared with a 70.3, the 100 km format adds 100 m of swimming and takes 10 km off the bike and 3.1 km off the run. The distances guide sets every format side by side.
The T100 tour races the same 2 km, 80 km and 18 km format at most of its stops. The Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon in San Francisco, which the catalogue files under the tour, keeps its own 2.4 km, 29 km and 12.9 km course. The T100 guide compares them.
The full-distance races
The 5 full-distance races are Challenge Israman, Challenge Sir Bani Yas, Challenge Taiwan, DATEV Challenge Roth, Challenge Almere-Amsterdam.
They are far apart on the bike. Challenge Almere-Amsterdam is described as flat, with 232 m of climbing. Challenge Israman, in the mountains above Eilat, publishes 3766 m.
The final cut-off runs from 15 h to 17 h. The shortest is at DATEV Challenge Roth. At Roth, online registration for 2027 is closed; a late-entry draw stays open until 9 November 2026 (Challenge Roth). For a first full distance on a flat course, Almere-Amsterdam is the one to read first.
A season that runs through the year
The races are spread over 10 months. October is the busiest month, with 6 races, and 11 between May and September.
5 races, on two weekends, fill the northern winter. Israman in Eilat and Sir Bani Yas in the United Arab Emirates hold a full and a middle distance on the same weekend, at the end of January. Wānaka, in New Zealand, follows in February over 100 km; the IRONMAN in New Zealand page sets it against the Taupō races, two weeks later.
An October race comes at the end of a European summer of training. A January or February race means training through the winter, often indoors. The calendar guide works the same way for IRONMAN races.
Water and climbing
13 races swim in the sea, 9 in a lake and 6 in a canal, a harbour or a reservoir. Average water temperatures run from 16 °C to 25 °C. The coolest, at 16 °C or less, are Challenge Wānaka, The Championship. The wetsuit decision follows the temperature measured on race morning.
On the middle distance, 6 of the 13 bike courses are described as flat, among them Montréal. Where a gain is published for the bike course, it runs from 56 m to 1463 m. The guide to course difficulty explains how to read these figures.
The Championship and how to qualify
The Championship, in Šamorín near Bratislava, is the circuit's championship race, held over 100 km. Entry is through qualification.
Challenge Family states that each of its long and middle-distance races gives one slot to each of the top six finishers in every male and female age group, with roll-down to 12th place. Standard-distance races give three slots per age group when they are the longest race of the weekend. Qualifiers who confirm their slot within two weeks of the invitation get the early-bird price. Source: Challenge Family, The Championship.
What these figures do not tell you
An average temperature says nothing about a cold front on race week. An elevation gain says nothing about road surface or wind. A race whose edition has just been held keeps that date until the next one is announced.
Check the date and the entry status on the official page before booking travel. Entries are made with the organiser.
Side by side
Four Challenge races on the same rows
Two canal swims, Roth in summer and The Championship in May, a cold lake in February, the sea in October. Swap any of them for a race you are considering.
DATEV Challenge Roth
The Championship
Challenge Wānaka
- Race 1 DATEV Challenge Roth
- Race 2 The Championship
- Race 3 Challenge Wānaka
- Circuit
- Challenge FamilyChallenge FamilyChallenge Family
- Distance
- Full distance100 km100 km
- Terrain
- RoadRoadRoad
- Swim
- 3.8 km2 km2 km
- Bike
- 180 km80 km80 km
- Run
- 42.2 km18 km18 km
- Date
- 4 Jul 202723 May 202720 Feb 2027
- Country
- GermanySlovakiaNew Zealand
- Registration
- Sold outQualification onlyn/a
- Swim venue
- CanalCanalLake
- Average water temperature
- 23 °C16 °C16 °C
- High air temperature
- 25 °C21 °C21 °C
- Low air temperature
- 14 °C11 °C12 °C
- Bike profile
- RollingFlatRolling
- Bike elevation gain
- 1,570 mn/a1,047 m
- Run profile
- FlatFlatFlat
- Run elevation gain
- 164 mn/a82 m
- Overall cut-off
- 15 hn/an/a
- Altitude
- 339 m125 m290 m
- First edition
- 1984n/an/a
- Swim start
- Wave startn/an/a
- Entry fee, from
- €779n/an/a
Questions
How many Challenge Family races are there?
The catalogue lists 28 long-course Challenge Family races in 17 countries: 5 full distance, 13 middle distance and 10 over 100 km.
What is the Challenge 100 distance?
A 2 km swim, 80 km bike and 18 km run. Challenge uses it for The Championship and for several of its races, such as Challenge Gdańsk, Challenge Kaiserwinkl-Walchsee.
How do you qualify for The Championship?
By finishing in the top six of your age group at a Challenge Family long or middle-distance race, with roll-down to 12th place. The rules are on the Challenge Family website.
Which Challenge Family full distance is the flattest?
Challenge Almere-Amsterdam, in the Netherlands, with 232 m of climbing on the bike. It was first held in 1983.
Which Challenge races are held in winter?
In January and February: Challenge Israman, Challenge Sir Bani Yas (full and middle distance) and Challenge Wānaka (100 km).
Narrow the list, then compare
Open the finder on the Challenge Family races and set the distance, the month or the water.