Thanks for posting this Matt... I have signed up as well for IMGermany...and have no idea about logistics for the race... anyone with some advice, experience, etc. would be greatly appreciated.

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"It's a line you have to cross to understand."

Last time I was in Frankfurt I stayed at the Intercontinental, it's on the river/run course start it looks like. You could do a lot worse (but not sure about the price)

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My Blog - http://leegoocrap.blogspot.com

Plenty of choice as the main expo/T2/run start &finish are all in the same place about a minutes walk from the city shopping centre: lots of hotels around.
The last 2 years I stayed here: about 1km easy walk from the action. Nice clean, modern hotel:
https://m.nh-hotels.com/...ction-frankfurt-city

One tip is to make sure you get air con: it can get very hot!

Never done the race, but I've stayed at the InterContinental before. It was quite nice and is close to the run and finish.

If staying for more than a day or two I prefer finding an apartment through airbnb so I can prepare simple meals. With your family there, this might be a better option.

You've obviously never had my wife or mother's cooking.

I stayed at the Intercontinental when I did the race in 2011. From what I recall, it was about 1km from the start/finish area. I found it kind of dumpy and I wasn't impressed with the service, but the location was convenient.

The main hassle is getting to the T1 area. It's a long way away from the downtown/T2 area. We had to take our bikes on some official race-reserved bus to get there for bikecheckin. If you can find another way there for bike-checkin, great, but I would advise taking the official transport there on race morning.

(When I did it, one of my friends decide to get a cab ride to the start on race morning. Bad idea. Cabbie didn't know about road-closings for the race and we basically got stuck on the highway trying to find a way in. Made it to the race area with just enough time to get my bike set up before we had to leave T1. Two more minutes and I would have been screwed. I was seriously losing my sh*t).

Do not skip the pre-race briefing. Not this one. This is the only briefing I've ever gone to for which I've said to myself after, "I'm really glad I went to that". The logistics of this can be tricky.

I've done the race 5 times. Stayed at the intercontinental for 4 of those times, and last time around went for the hotel opposite - the Wyndham grand.

The intercontinental is excellent, but you need deep pockets. The first couple of times I stayed it was ok, but I think I spent around £1000 on 4 nights accomodation the second two times hence heading over the road for the last one.

In short, the intercontinental is the place to be if you want the buzz of race week. A lot of the pro athletes are put up there - we had a beer with Chrissie Wellington one year, and you bump into Macca, Mark Allen etc in the foyer. The wyndham is the same quality, but about half the price, and being right over the road you can just pop in and sit in the intercontinental if that is your thing :-)

Both are about 1km from the action in town, but it's no biggy really. After the race there are lots of taxis to take you back if you don't fancy the hobble. I know this race like the back of my hand if you have any other questions.

Did the race in 2011. Stayed at the Adina Apartment Hotel. Excellent. Small Kitchen and washer dryer were great.
Get breakfast included. A little closer than the Intercontinental.

About 700m from the finish and a block from the bike/run course.

There are tonnes of hotels to choose from that is around the park that you have to run. Intercon like everyone mentioned is the host hotel and is like no more than 1km from the finish. But its expensive. Ibis is also on the run course but just further down, probably 1.5-2km etc.

Race start is miles away so prepare to uber if you want to experience the lake before the swim start

Thanks for the info. ANY advice / tips / suggestions you have for anything race logistics wise. I'd really appreciate any info. Thanks.

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"It's a line you have to cross to understand."

When I did Frankfurt in 2009, I stayed at the Westin Grand Frankfurt. Great hotel, walking distance to finish area, and to packet pick up. Finished race, went to Burger King, then walked home to hotel.

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Team Zoot-Texas, and Pickle Juice

Report from this year's event here.
http://www.tritalk.co.uk/...t=99135&start=15

As others have mentioned, the swim is about 12km out of town. You can get there on public transport before race day, and there are shuttle buses laid on to take you up there to rack and so on the day before. That is the best time to go have a swim too if you are bothered about it - in all honesty, it's just another lake, it's wet and lakey...One thing to mention is they try to make you rack at certain times depending on your race number, but this isn't enforced. I went up late in the day to avoid the heat, but the traffic was insane - even in the official buses, we got stuck on the road for about 90 mins going the 12km up there. No real way around it as you can drive if you have a hire car, but you'll still get stuck - there is just the one road. I would very strongly suggest not getting an uber - it will cost a fortune.

Other than that, race day is awesome, and the whole thing has gone without a hitch for me the 5 times I have done it. After the race you should be able to get a taxi easily enough if that is what you want to do, but I have always just slowly biked back to the hotel. There is quite a strong possibility that it will be a non wetsuit swim if that bothers you - I think 3 of the 5 I have done have been. Last time I did it was in 2015 in the inferno - think the water temp was 28 - 29 at 6am. That day was a deeply unpleasant experience, and possibly the closest I have come to a DNF.

Can you bike to the bike check in if it's only 12k or are the roads/traffic too bad?

It's up a big dual carriageway - you could do, and there were certainly people abandoning their cars and biking the remainder, but it isn't the safest road - think major city motorway sort of thing. I would probably have got out of the bus and biked, but all the bikes are put in a trailer behind so couldn't get mine out. I think in all honesty if I raced again, I would get up early and head up then before the crowds appear along with the general Saturday traffic of a big city.

Hi! You will love that race:) A bit out of the way, but in a great area of town is Alexander am Zoo...we got a family apartment which had lots of space and a mini kitchen. Breakfast was also included. Friends have stayed at the Intercontinental and that was a great location. Good luck and have fun.

You can, but might be worth checking with the locals which way to cycle. I've ridden the whole course pre-race in the past with local cyclists, it's not too bad traffic wise.

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ZONE3 - We Last Longer

I did IM Frankfurt this year. Stayed at the Holiday Inn Express Frankfurt City Hauptbahnhof.

Hotel is ok, although they were a bit short on staff (so food was a bit of a wait sometimes). Hotel is about 600mtr from the expo and run-course. My family (incl. 1 year old) joined me, and that was perfectly doable.

Hotel is low on parking places, and it's not possible to make a reservation for you car. Be sure to arrive early, or be prepared to pay for a place in a public garage (more than enough places closeby).

Opposite of the Hotel is really nice, quite cheap, Italian restaurant. Great for a pasta meal the day before, and 2 big pizza's after the race :)


Concerning bike check-in, be sure to check in run bag in the morning and go to the lake directly after, because traffic is a bitch (and shuttles are over crowded). We went to the bike check-in/lake by bike (12km, doable, no need to take the highway, check my strava if you need a .gpx). Shutle bus back to the city was shit. Waited for a bus for 60 minutes. Not something you want on the day before the big day.

Furthermore: the lake is very nice. Calm water, beautiful scenery (lake lies a bit 'deep', so you just see sand and trees when you look away from the lake). Water can be warm (just wetsuit legal this year). We had 32degrees celsius on raceday. Really nice, but a bit warm for running :) The run to T1 is long by the way (and upwards and sandy), so be prepared for a slow transation.

Because the lake is 12km away, it doesn't make sense for spectators to come on raceday (swimming is nothing to see anyway). Just stay in the city centre and watch the crowd race by on the first bike pass.

Any other questions, let me know!



Holiday Inn Express Frankfurt City Hauptbahnhof

+1 on Adina - perfect location and the kitchen(ette) makes life easy pre race.

I once stayed here: https://www.roomers-frankfurt.com/en/
Not for the race, so I do not know how welcoming they are to folks who come with bike bags. But it is close and really nice (and pricey). Other than that, you should be good to find many more options near the finish line (which is certainly one of the greatest finish lines in tri sports).

I did Frankfurt three times and will do this year a fourth time. Looking forward to be there again as it was always a great experience. Nice swim (with australian exit, rolling start, might happen to be non-wetsuit) with a good crowd, bike course is ok but not spectacular (not overly fast, a few short climbs, good amount of turns, some section with rough pavement), but the run and the finish line are worth every second of suffering before. 4 loops right in the city center, good crowd, easy for family/friends to see you 2~3 times per loop. They can even get out on the bike course north of town with local trains.

I never struggled with the logistics. Yes, the lake is out of town, but everything seems well organized if you follow the instructions.

Have fun, see you there...

Last year (2017) Ironman in Frankfurt I was in Adina Appartment as well, note that there is two Adina Appartment, one close the buisness center and the train station (15/20mn walk from the race start) and one close to the river and the race, so make sure you know which one you have booked

The Adina hotel you want is the one at WILHELM-LEUSCHNER-STRASSE 6

Adina Apartment Hotel Frankfurt Neue Oper  

Have fun!

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´Get the most aero and light bike you can get. With the aero advantage you can be saving minutes and with the weight advantage you can be saving seconds. In a race against the clock both matter.´

BMANX

I did the race last year. I stayed at the Hampton Inn and would definitely not recommend it. As others have said, the Intercontinental and the Wyndham are good options. The Hilton city center is also a good option at about 800 or so meters from the run course.

Have a fun race, and watch out for the "Hells" section. People had a lot of mechanical issues last year because of it.