I have not done the race but looking at a map we swim in a SSW direction. If you breath to your left you may have some issues with glare but looking forward to sight buoys shouldn't be a problem I would surmise.

It would be helpful to hear from someone who has done the race however.

Last year, started in front of 1:00 corral and finished 1:01 ish (just for sake of sunrise time, don’t recall the actual time of day), no issues with sun. As I recall it didn’t clear the island for a bit, may have been an issue further back

Was the front corral really congested, or should you have started closer to the back of the corral? I know there will be people who have no business or ability to swim near the front that will put themselves there anyway.

They funnel you from the corrals into a single line so it’s not like the front is more crowded than the back. So that doesn’t matter at least in my experience.

I just find self seeded starts more congested overall than AG starts, where people naturally spread out based on speed. Self seeded I just have 1:00 swimmers around me the entire swim, and it generally feels more crowded

While on the subject of the swim start. A friend cut her foot on coral in 2015 jumping off the start dock. Was that an issue last year?

No, but perhaps because I had heard about it and didn’t allow myself to go too deep feet first. But I think that was caused by a sinking platform which was fixed. But any time jumping into not too deep water always wise to be careful

Good to hear the sinking platform was fixed, she did mention that. I sure that would have contributed to less than idea water entries.

No issues with the dock last year. If I understand it correctly, the dock was extended a bit further out than it was in 2015 and fortified to hold up a little better under the weight of everyone. I feel like they somewhat limited how many people were out on the dock at any point (someone else may be able to verify if I am remembering that correctly).

@Dirtbag - Don't worry about the sun during the swim. It will not have cleared the island by the time you finish.

If you are staying at a resort but sure to triple check what time the last (and only?) bus leaves for the swim start.

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AJ

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IM WC Hawaii 2024

Bumping this up for 2018. Anyone racing this year? It will be my first time racing in Cozumel. Hoping for a fast swim since I broke my wrist 3 weeks ago and haven’t been able to swim.

I’m there, not really researched the race yet (late switch from IMFL, actually turned out a bit cheaper than PCB, option due to my wife wanting a beach holiday).

Couple of early questions:
- I assume it has never been wetsuit legal?
- Are discs banned, unadvisable or worth a gamble if you can ride it well in the wind.
- 9:55 in PCB last year, any views on how much slower to plan for.

Thanks for any responses.

Wetsuit illegal
Disc is not allowed

The swim will be quicker. Its point to point. Generally, the first 1/3 or so is against the current and the last 2/3rds with the current. There is an underwater reef that makes this happen. Don't go by last year. The wind was no out of its normal direction so we had a following sea. Fast by about 5-10 minutes. Typically people are about 5 minutes faster than a wetsuit swim but without a wetsuit. I know a handful of people who have done this and IMLP and IMMT and compared their times. Beautiful swim, you will see lots of fish.

The bike will be windy. Its still flat but very exposed. I understand PCB to be similarly flat but away from the water. It will be slower. Its a 3 loop bike (almost 2 3/4). Typically there is a strong cross wind on the back side of the island where there is little development and very exposed. You can see the ocean at almost all times on this stretch. With the different wind direction last year the cross wind wasn't as strong as it was coming across the island but still not much cover to slow it down. We did have it coming straight at us crossing back to the center of town when it would normally be at your back. So we had a bit less wind but longer exposure. Bike times were pretty similar to prior years comparing times. I went 5:18 on 164NP/161AP. Its 113 miles. You will be baking out there. I didn't feel hot but was caked with sweat, which only happens on the hottest days for me. I wore arm coolers.

The run is hot with only a bit of shade in the middle of the flat out and back. There is one rise but wouldn't call it a hill. 3 laps. The start and end of each lap are right in the town of Cozumel. Lots of spectators and things for your wife to do. The run turnaround is in the middle of the north hotel zone. We were south about a mile from T1 so my family saw me there and each lap of the bike before heading into town. T2 changing tent was a furnace. Good aid stations. I was expecting little bags of water that were used in the past but they had cups. Sun sets a little after 6 so a bit of relief toward the end even for fast folks as it starts to go down.

I think the age groupers started at 7:30, my Garmin data shows I was in the water at 7:44 and I lined up with the 1:10 group. Out of all the rolling starts I've done this was the worst job people did seeding themselves. I passed some people like they were just floating along and was not passed by many.

The bike has had a reputation for large draft packs but I didn't see it; but I was generally passing people pretty quickly. I was passed by 1 person per lap except for a few swapped positions plus Kinele and Weiss came by me on their last lap. Saw 1 guy blatantly drafting inches from someones wheel. I yelled at him but he didn't care.

My wild guess would be 15- 20 minutes slower than PCB. I just don't have many friends who have done PCB; at least fast ones who would have greater consistency to make a better judgement.

Had a great time. I would like to go back again some day.

Stelvio, thank you for a superb, detailed reply with tons of useful info. Really appreciated.

Other than a minor correction- town is called San Miguel, island is Cozumel :) - spot on

I did it in 2016. My time was the same as a wetsuit swim but most I talked to were :20 slower, pretty good current against for a full mile or more. But huge push in the second half.

It’s hard to judge progress in a 2.4 point to point swim, there are three landmark bldgs to use. First is the presidente, second is the Landmark condos, third is fiesta americana, and from there you can see the pavilion at the chankanaab finish. If you look up photos of these resorts from the ocean side you’ll know what to look for. There are of course plenty of buoys too

Worst part of the bike for me was one straight shot 9 ish mile section going west to east. Seemed to never end and just jingle to look at. At least the exposed ocean leg you have the water to look at and there are a couple small rises you can use to stand up and stretch out the legs/use some different muscles.

Enjoy it. I’d be there this year if they hadn’t changed the date.

Shoot and I knew that. San Miguel de Cozumel. Mostly people seemed to refer to it as "in town" vs. north or south.

I stayed at the Fiesta Americana, we liked the place. Very friendly. Kienle stayed at the sister resort behind us that is more like bungelos. Only saw him on race day at breakfast and then after the race heading back to his room.

I think you may mean the straight section across the island that is east to west. Agreed until you got into town the scenery was all the same. That was a tough section. There were very wide shoulders on that road and people were hanging very far right to block the wind some. I didn't want to risk a flat and stayed to the right of the travel lane which was clear of road debris.

Yes when it was Thanksgiving weekend it either worked perfectly or was a fiasco with family schedules. My wife was happy to get out of hosting for the first time in over 10 years.

No, not the cross island road. That was typical tailwind for us. But the road around the bottom of the island heading from the west side to the east side, there was just this one section, right before the last aid station before turning truly north, that was the worst for me for some reason. Just straight into the headwind and monotonous. The east side didn’t bother me much. I was shocked how many people though that were sitting up not in aero, in th very place you want to be aero.

Not mentioned but the race and crowd support on the run is tremendous. Except for the drunk women in the northern hotel zone, wanting to “salsa” with me on loop three, when I just wanted them to get he fuck out of my way at that point.

Ahh. With our different wind pattern last year this section was quicker for us but can see where it would be a problem..

Yes always shocked at how many are out of aero. I only got out of aero at the aid stations and some of the turns in the town.

I did the race in 2015.

One thing to add: sunscreen.

They did not have a sunscreen station leaving T1. When I was in T2, I asked one of the volunteers for it, and he went and got some and applied it on me while still in the T2 change tent.

"Protector Solar" is sunscreen in Spanish. I suggest asking for it in T1. I had pre-swim sunscreen off and it got me to T2 with only a minor burn. My friends who didn't ask after it in T2 got very, very badly burned - i.e. blisters.

All in all, I thought it was a great course.

Would Zipp 808 be too deep for the wind condition there? I'm lightweight but fairly good at bike handling (mountain biker turned triathlete).

Front and back? Might be a bit deep for the front on a good wind day. We had IMO relatively mild winds and no issues whatsoever with a 60/90 combo, but then again I race at 185, I'm not going over easily LOL

Should be alright. That’s what I ride there and have had no issues.

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Instagram | Team Kiwami North America

A couple of things i didn't see otherwise pointed out...


The area near the race finish is very touristy... expect meal costs to be comparable to US costs. (I was under the mistaken impression that the expensive part was getting there ... once you were there, everything is cheap.)


Everyone accepts US dollars and Pesos... don't stress about converting currency


If your bike can handle them, go for 25mm tires... the roads are comparable to chip-seal


Consider some type of cooling sleeve to keep the sun off of you


There are a couple of grocery stores within walking distance of town...if you are picky about food, this can save you a ton of money


The green salsa is HOT


There is a movie theater on the island, if you have friends/family that wants to get into air conditioning for a couple hours, new release movies are offered in English with Spanish subtitles


If you rent a car and go even a couple of miles inland, it is a completely different experience than the tourist traps by the cruise terminals


The mopeds seem like a lot of fun... but last year i saw a racer crash one the day after the race due to slow reaction times (100% his fault too)


The Mayan ruins on the island are interesting... but they won't be what you are thinking of... if you want to see ruins go to Chichen Itza from Cancun


If you want to know more about the island and the culture, go to the museum (and pay the extra $20 for a tour guide)


Make it a point to go to the awards dinner... the food is good but has a great dancing demonstration

Plan a day after the event to go to an all inclusive beach to celebrate (Mr Sancho's is a good choice)

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I do the same thing as them, just slower

Thanks, Chris & Sbradley!

Athlete guides up!
http://m.ironman.com/~/media/8f51a4b03b8f49628d3be13cc7a05b0c/guia%20ing.pdf