I'm of no help but also interested in any info on this race. Looking at it for 2019 potentially.

I did the race in December 2017 and had a really positive experience of the race and the race organization. I live in San Francisco and it was a lot of travel to get to the race. I traveled with Sarah Piampiano (who ended up winning the women's race). We flew from SFO via Houston to Buenos Aires (EZE) but then we couldn't get a connecting flight without changing airports so we hired a car and driver for the 5-6 hour trip down to Mar del Plata. There are public buses too so that could be an option if the flights don't work for you.

Booking - we stayed at the NH Gran Provincial and it was basic but super convenient. We booked with the hotel directly as the tour company, Italiaturs, was charging twice as much for the hotel rooms than online but were not necessarily offering any additional services. You could definitely reach out to Italiturs and see if they could arrange everything but don’t hesitate to negotiate!

Swim - the swim was challenging. I swam a 1:07 at IMMDP for the two-loop course. In the days leading up to the race, it felt unswimmable and I was convinced they were going to cancel the swim. It was still rough on race morning (cold, windy and raining). While it was a particularly windy week when we were in town last December, the beach does have a legitimate surf entry that you must negotiate twice (2 laps). There were also some swells and chop.

Bike - the course is completely flat and the road surface is fairly good. Better than Santa Rosa 70.3 and California roads! The issue will be the wind and it was fairly fierce last year. We had a tailwind heading out and a strong headwind on the way back, particularly on the second loop. There were only 1,000 athletes in the race last year so the two loop course was not particularly crowded but I foresee this as a course that could have drafting issues if it gets much bigger.

Bike Strava file --> https://www.strava.com/activities/1301103656

Run - this was also largely flat but had a strong tailwind heading out on each lap and a headwind on the return


Dining - note that restaurants rarely open before 8pm in Argentina and even dining much before 9:30-10pm is considered a little odd. You definitely need to plan ahead for this on race day.
Mariela Cozzetti
Tel / Fax : +54 011 47 38 68 68
e-mail :italiaturs@italiaturs.arnetbiz.com.ar

Article I wrote from Ironman.com --> http://www.ironman.com/...a.aspx#axzz5U7YzKtAt

Thanks for the information! Was thinking about doing it in 2019, the logistics sounds like a nightmare, so i think i will pass:) I am done with dragging bike bags around town, just like races when you land and it is an uber away:)

I’m thinking about Mar del Plata too, but it seem a “ghost race”. There is no partecipant list at this moment

I will be in Mar Del Plata for almost 4 weeks as I am doing IM 70.3 BA first. Can you give any training recommendations, where to ride, pools, any soft running surfaces (it looks like there are nice paths by the beach but have had some injuries so would prefer a softer surface)? I will be staying near the race start at Playa Bristol!

Did you just hire the car when you arrived or in advance? Can you remember what the cost was?

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instagram.com/42pointtwo

 
Sorry but I only arrived in Mar del Plata three days before the race so I didn't train much in the area. Riding the course was great and traffic was really courteous. I just ran along the front which was a hard surface and usually meant that at some point a pack of dogs would start running along with you 🤷‍♀️.

As for swimming, I only swam in the ocean. A friend did visit the pool near the beach but she said she would never go back to the pool as it seemed insanitary 😬.

I did not rent a car but some other friends did and had no issues driving from BA to the race site and around town thereafter. I found it really easy to walk around the city, and taxis were plentiful and relatively cheap.

Hope that helps!