My teammate who is not on Slowtwitch did it. He said, "Hamburg is a large, crowded, busy, dirty city, but somehow they pulled off a very nice Ironman. But it definitely was not warm." This teammate went sub-10 and has done just about every IM race in the world. For comparison, he did a sub-11 at IM Swiss two weeks before. The Hamburg course appears to me to be just blazing fast.

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It is the mind itself which builds the body.
-Joseph Pilates

A couple of friends took part and they have all been flashed by the supporting crowd on the run course. It must have been fabulous. Check the German triathlon web page http://tri-mag.de/ in the next days for a video race report (plus, they already have some galleries and the Kona qualifying times up there).

Some more details to what I have been told:

• The swim is in the middle of the city center. Probably not the super cleanest clear water, but spectacular.
• Pretty long transition zone (just one for both transitions; so logistically easy).
• Bike looks pretty flat on the profile but is not easy. Can be very windy and is e.g. slower than IM Frankfurt. However, no long climbs though.
• The run course must be the big plus for this race. Have been told that it is unlike any other long-distance race.

If you want to be in a big city, racing downtown. Hamburg might be a good choice. If you enjoy nature and need to silently clear your head on the run, it is probably not the best choice.


Btw: Not sure what DougEFresh's teammate is comparing to, but Hamburg is not a dirty city. It is a large city, yes. But it is actually pretty nice there and certainly worth a visit...

Hi raced in Hamburg and enjoyed every minute of it. It was very well organized, especially considering that this was the first edition.

The swim is in the middle of the city. The water is not the cleanest I've swam in, but also not the worst. Distance was correct I would say. Temperature 18.8C so relatively cold. The lake is not that deep, so depending on the temperatures in the week before the race there is also a chance that wetsuits are not allowed (but not very likely)

The bike course is not as flat as one would think as there are some hills in south of the city. Moreover, it is usually windy and the distance was actually 2km long (182km). Road survace is okay, but not super fast either.

The run was the best part. So much support from start to finish and beautiful views of the lake and city. Distance approximately correct.

The transition zone is very long, so better to practice flying mounts. I ran in my bike shoes for 500m which was not the fastest.

The city has some edges, but probably my favorite of the biggest German cities. The harbor area is industrial of course, but has some charm as well. Of course if you want to be in pristine nature all the time this race is not for you.

Overall highly recommended

I just signed up yesterday, and this will be my first IM (have done 5 70.3´s).

I live in Ecuador, but got my Masters degree in Hamburg, so I have lived in the city and know my way around.

HH is one of the friendliest, cleanest cities I know, plus it has some really good public transportation system.

My mom (who lives there), told me that the organization was something like she hadn´t seen anywhere else!

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Love the Pain!

Quito-Ecuador

Thanks for the replies. Saw Frankfurt was still open so decided to go there next year instead but may keep this on the list for the year after.