Did it in 2011. Highly recommended.

Some thoughts:

Don't be caught off guard by how expensive things are when you are there. $40 for a personal sized pizza or a salad at lunch. $100+ for a pasta dinner. Groceries are expensive, hotels are expensive...just go with it.

Swim in Lake Zurich is great. Fresh, clean water. Two loops that include a quick run across a mini island near the shore. Expect a full-contact start. Europeans are aggressive in the water.

Bike is flat for the first several miles and then gets mildly hilly. One hill is called The Beast and it's a bit of a grind. The TdF-style hill near the start/finish is no big deal. It's steep but it's over quickly. Two laps.

The run in 4 laps so it gets to be a little like Groundhog Day but it's good for spectators.

It's an Ironman so expect it to sell out fairly quickly. I don't recall how long it took in 2011 but I signed up early.

If you have any specifics that you want to know about, feel free to ask.

I did it in 2008 and 2009 and loved the course, especially the swim. The bike course if a good one, but the 40km around the lake can lead to huge drafting packs forming. Overall, it's a really great race, in a fantastic city and will be a very memorable experience.

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The race doesn't sell out quickly as it is hilly. Its Not florida!

Did the race in 2009. Very very well organised, perfect 10. Euro races tends to be, finish area always have hot showers and jacuzzi!! And massages as well that are clean!

Swim was great. Bike was tough it was my first ironman and really didn't know what I was getting myself into but survived. Its certainly doable and I think the third climb was the hardest!!!!

Negatives. Few if any? Crowd support not as big as like south Africa and the year I did it no changing tent at transitions, so full monty! So not sure if I was caught on film

Go for it!

Did it last year. The bike is quite steep if not used to climbing for a long time straight. Run and swim went perfect, great course.

i live in zurich. haven't done the IM (yet?) but am happy to help with logistics if i can.

-mike

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https://lshtm.academia.edu/MikeCallaghan

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Thanks. We may ask your advice about logistics and travel. We have a small group from Nashville planning to do the race.

Did it last year. It is a very well run race in a beautiful setting. The public transport is amazing, trains every few minutes so even if your0 hotel is a few miles down the road you can get to the race site in no time. The swim is lovely although it was a no wet suit swim last year due to freakishly high temperatures. This knocked my confidence a bit but once I had a few swims in the loch in the preceding days I relaxed into it.

The freakishly high temperatures made the bike seem tougher than I expected. As I was climbing the third hill an earlier poster referred to the temp was reading 42C on my garmin. There were cyclists flaked out under trees and in fountains all over the place. For someone training at 15-20C this was a bit of a blow and the race turned from a quest to get a pb to a get round and enjoy the experience kind of day.

The run is well supported and a reasonably varied course. It has lots of sharp direction changes so not too easy to get into a rhythm. The crowds were fantastic and the finish line was excellent.

The only downside is the price of everything in Zurich but IM is never a cheap endeavour I guess.

Overall I would recommend it.

I haven't done the IM but I live in Z�rich and did the short course race on the Saturday before a couple of times.

I don't think it sold out at all the last few years at least last year when I signed up last minute for the 5150 on Thursday there were still slots for the IM to sign up (or at least the price for the IM was on the list for late signups together with the shorter races)

Also now they have gone away from the personal transition spots system and have introduced the T1 and T2 bags as well as a tent (not sure I would like that...). But still only one transition right at the mentioned 4 lap run course and also close to the hartbreak hill (I think they even have shuttle buses for spectators) which is a great atmosph�re so all in all IM Z�rich has to be one of the best IM's for spectators.

I did the race last year and got in quite late, early June if I remember correctly when the online entry closed. Entry is expensive even by IM standards and as previously mentioned Zurich is expensive, avail of the pasta party and after race celebrations! The race was well organized, good crowd support especially on the run. The bike course definitely lacks the flow of somewhere like Austria due to the many junctions and small roundabouts, prior knowledge would be a big advantage. After the heatwave leading into the race and race day I was really looking forward to the day after, but it rained non stop! Lindt chocolate factory shop is close to transition, well worth a visit for recovery. Well worth doing but I wouldn't hurry back.

I also did it in 2011. I brought a standard crank, which was a mistake for me. If you aren't a mountain goat, you might want to consider a compact crank. I remember it being very hot on the bike, then it rained very hard for the run. And it was quite humid. The swim was ok, but a bit crowded and a cruise ship decided it needed to leave in the middle of the swim causing some difficulty for the swimmers.

Zurich is a wonderful experience, and quite expensive. Overpriced? Well, that's your call. My wife and I loved Switzerland. Get out into the countryside and meet some of the local farmers, etc.

-Robert

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"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world." ~Anne Frank

Thanks to each one of you who have replied. We are eager for any information and experiences about the race and region. Our biggest concern is that our entire group might not get a registration due to a quick sell-out. But that apparently won't be a problem. Next challenge is to resolve whether we should bring our bikes overseas or rent bikes there.

I would recommend taking your own bike. It's 112 miles, not a weekend training ride. The rental bikes I saw were not to my liking, but I put a lot of emphasis on the quality of my equipment.

-Robert

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"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world." ~Anne Frank

Definitely bring your own bike. I didn't think the hills were too terrible and I weighed about 195# for that race...so I'm no climber.

Bring your own bikes! You want to be comfortable as it is a long ride and one that is not flat! Enjoy!

Im also going to signup for 2015. As a Florida boy the climbing is going to be rough. Anybody know the temps and altitude there? Thanks!!

Last year was HOT! Non-wetsuit swim and up to 95 degrees on the bike course. It looks like this year is going to be much cooler, 70-75 max with maybe some light showers.

There is a thread on the UK forum that might be of help
http://www.tritalk.co.uk/...iewtopic.php?t=93074

I did it back in 2008. Lovely race. Lake is beautiful for swimming, and running across an island between laps was a nice little break. Bike course is fast - the climbs really aren't that tough, the descents are nice and fast and not too technical, and being Switzerland the road surface is fantastically smooth throughout which helps with both speed and comfort. There is a short, sharp climb (Heartbreak Hill) near the start/finish for which you'll likely either need a low gear or be comfortable getting out of the saddle, but it's over pretty quickly. Spectators have lots of cowbells!

The run is by the lake so nice and flat. Has quite a lot of turns and is 4 laps so can be a bit congested, but I much prefer that as it means your family can you see pretty frequently (twice per lap) and there's good vocal support for the whole length of the run. Also makes it quite easy mentally to break the run down into segments, and if there's a group of you doing it then you'll see your buddies out on the course quite a lot as you go to and fro. Great atmosphere the year I did it, they had oompah bands on the run course. Also had Red Bull on the aid stations which was a nice boost around mile 20! There was a short cobbled section which I struggled with a bit by the last lap as my feet were cramping by then.

The organisation is absolutely outstanding as you'd expect, and all the public transport is super-efficient out there. The year I did it the climate was pretty much perfect for me - cool and a bit wet on the bike which I like, then it dried out and got sunny on the run, but without ever getting too hot. I hear last year was a scorcher though.

RBZ, I know this post is old, are you still looking at IM Switz in 2015? I'm training for it now and so far the only one in my area making the trip. I'm also holding of on registering because my work travel schedule changes, so I'm crossing my fingers it won't sell out. Give me a shout if you're still looking at the race and interested in sharing info, etc.
Mike

Probably way to late with this for anyone wanting to do it this year but, the Alp d'huez triathlon is a week later and not too far away (5hrs drive.) Last year I did the 5150 in Zurich and then the short course in d'huez with some mountain biking in the alps between and it was an epic week!

It's not the best race strategy by far but if you are flying all the way from the US you could hire a car do both and do some epic riding in the alps in between. If you stay slightly outside of Zurich it will be cheaper as well and the hotels in Huez have cheaper prices for race entrants that were quite attractive last year.

Iain

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I live very close to the start/finish area. Did it twice. I love the bike course which is also my main training course.
The swim is very crowded even though swimming in the lake of Zurich is really great, water is so clean that you can drink it
Run is great over 4 loops and you have lot of support over 80% of each loop

Last few years did not sell out. It did few times in the past and I think it will this year too, very soon because I counted almost 2000 participants already in the list (if I am not wrong)

any specific question, just ask

*dingdingding* - 2015 ROLLCALL TIME!

I am in - Who else is?

No idea yet where I'll be staying, but I'll do it as a quick and dirty "get in, race, get-out" kinda (Fr-Mo) weekend-mission.
I'm trying not to underestimate the bike-course, but admittedly, after Lanzarote this year, it is hard not to think that this will be a piece of cake in comparison.
Hopefully the new rolling start will minimize drafting issues.

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if you can read this
YOU'RE DRAFTING!

I'm in with one of my training partners. We're traveling with our families from the flat lands of Florida so it should be an interesting day. We are staying in Lucerne and then traveling to Italy for a week and hoping to catch a day of the Tour after the race. Good luck to all and enjoy!

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"It's too dangerous and expensive to ride with d*ckheads" -tridork

How did your plan work out? I'm planning (well thinking about planning) a trip for an IM then a few tour stages.

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Brian
“Eat and Drink, spin the legs and you’re going to effin push (today).” A Howe