Welcome to Stavanger and Haugesund :-) not american, Norwegian chiming in;

Yes, bike times should be faster with two loops. The last 90km of last years race was.. not that good as it was a lot of "none road", ie. sidewalks, bike lanes etc. which (for me at least) we're a PITA in terms of loosing speed and getting out of the aerobars continuously.

It's a beautiful course and hopefully there will be good weather. Last year we're insane with full sun and 20 degrees celcius or so the whole day. Got mad sunburn.. ouch!

I'm doing the 70.3 this year.

Thanks for responding! That swim course looks interesting, but is probably the best that can be done for the location. Any idea if either race will have a pro field?

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Blog: http://262toboylstonstreet.blogspot.com/
https://twitter.com/NateThomasTri
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I did it last year. See my report at post #10 in this thread. If you have any questions after reading this then fire away.

https://forum.slowtwitch.com/...g=haugesund#p6669658

I like racing in Europe much more than the U.S. and will be doing the inaugural Ironman Ireland in Jun 2019.

Yeah, the swim is very easy. You really can't swim more than a couple of meters "off". And you get a "free" pause with the Australian exit-reentry. It's a small water so very calm and easy swim. Can get a little crowded, but I didn't really notice much difference doing the full IM with new course as opposed to the old course @ 70.3 last year.

No, I don't think they will. Seem to recall there were some announcement saying no pro field. However there were a few pro's last year though.

That swim course looks like one of those kids' maze activities on the back of a kiddie menu. The kind where they have to find the right line to get out. I hope there won't be course-cutters.

A lake in Norway, you say? Is it wetsuit legal?

Sorry - another question. What is the condition of the roads the bike course is on? Do the winters make them pretty bumpy or is the pavement pretty good?

Thanks!

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Blog: http://262toboylstonstreet.blogspot.com/
https://twitter.com/NateThomasTri
Coaching: https://bybtricoaching.com/ - accepting athletes for 2023

Haha.. True :-) it's really hard to cut the course.. You would have to swim under the "buoy lines" and there's loads of kayaks for safety etc. and since it's "so small" it's very easily spotted.




It's good. I would estimate that half of it is main roadmap / small highway standard while the other half is less wide and more bumpy. But overall it's pretty good (depending on your definition of "good" standard is.. We're not talking flat, perfect tarmac à la beverly hills, more LA street-kind of standard just smaller (less wide, more turns, more bumpy (as in small ascents/descents))).

You can watch the IM Norway 2018 broadcast, I think it's on youtube. The first 90km will be the same, just x2 as opposed to the old route.

There's a Norwegian who swam at US universities, by the name of Alexander Hetland. Is he related? At one time, he had the fastest 50y breaststroke split from a relay, ever.

I did my best to create the IM course using ridewithgps.com and then put it into Best Bike Split. Here's the link if anyone has an account and wants to play with it:https://www.bestbikesplit.com/public/119188

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Blog: http://262toboylstonstreet.blogspot.com/
https://twitter.com/NateThomasTri
Coaching: https://bybtricoaching.com/ - accepting athletes for 2023

Reviving this thread with two months to go until the race. I know there probably isn't a big US contingent doing the race, and lots of folks on Slowtwitch are American, so maybe I'm one of few on Slowtwitch doing IM Norway.

Plans are to arrive in Haugesund on Wednesday, and we'll be staying at the Scandic Maritim for six nights. We fly into Stavanger, and then plan to take a bus. For anyone who has done this, how easy/hard will it be to get from the airport in Stavanger to the bus station, and then from the bus station in Haugesund to our hotel. I'm traveling with my wife and two kids (6 and 2) - this means three big suitcases on wheels, my bike case on wheels, two car seats, and a smaller bag for each of us - a lot to carry!!

Hope training is going well for anyone racing!

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Blog: http://262toboylstonstreet.blogspot.com/
https://twitter.com/NateThomasTri
Coaching: https://bybtricoaching.com/ - accepting athletes for 2023

Feeling a little like I'm the only one doing IM Norway, and, with less than two weeks till race day, it's getting very real! I got through the big weeks, volume-wise, quite well and it's now taper time! I haven't missed a single workout since October, and feel that my consistency of training will do me well on race day. Average weekly volume in 2019 has been 14 hrs/week, with the last few months around 16 hrs/week.

I fly to Europe a week from today with the family. I'm beginning to think that getting to Haugesund will be as taxing as the race itself. Of course, I hope things go very smoothly, that the kids acclimate to a 6 hour time difference w/o a hitch and all of our flights and luggage transfers go perfectly. I'm really looking forward to the trip and experiencing a European race!

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Blog: http://262toboylstonstreet.blogspot.com/
https://twitter.com/NateThomasTri
Coaching: https://bybtricoaching.com/ - accepting athletes for 2023

I leave for IM Ireland tomorrow so I know how you feel. I flew into Bergen last summer for IM Norway but the bus transport to Haugesund was super easy. The only hitch on my trip was getting from the Haugesund bus station to the Scandic Maritim (0.80 miles). There was a taxi stand at the bus station and exactly zero taxi vans that could take my bike case ... not to mention nobody was there! I knew it was pretty much all downhill from the bus station to the hotel so my wife and I just walked it since my case was on wheels. Given your load, you will need the van. There was a phone number on the side of the taxi station (outside of the bus station). Hopefully, it will be manned when you arrive or you could ask a taxi driver to call for a van. It just seemed like a ghost station when I arrived and I wasn't willing to wait since it was just the two of us. For the return trip, I arranged a taxi van through the hotel to get back to that bus station... I wasn't in any condition to walk uphill on shelled legs the day after. :)


Good luck with your race and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Be sure to visit Haraldshaugen Monument and the Krosshaugen on the north end of town.

7 things to consider:

1. In the west of Norway they use a very particular r while speaking Norwegian. This makes it just short of impossible to understand them and some aren't able to get rid of this sound when they speak English. As long as you pay attention it should not be a problem.

2. One of the political parties (Miljøpartiet de unge) has proposed a maximum of 3 flights/year. They have started to patrol airports in the area and take pictures of people flying in and out If you encounter them, avoid eye contact at all costs.

3. If you meet Thor Heyerdahl, give his boat a compliment.

4. Ask the locals about Hurtigruta rather than the weather if you want to smalltalk. Though Norway is known as the land of always Winter, the west is actually the land of always rain.

5. Nøkken has been seen this year. I would stay close to the main pack during the swim if I were you.

6. The reason for the changed bike route is due to observation of polar bears in the area. Normally they (the bears) find their way up north in April at the latest, but during the last few winters they have hung around down south a tad longer than they use to. This shouldn't be a problem during the race, but don't go on hikes without a local guide.

7. Ta på raske briller

No worries. You'll be thrilled. Great course and organized. The weather is possible exiting ;) and the days before it's a free shuttle from the air port to the expo.

Good luck and see you there

Thanks for the replies. Any idea if there is a shuttle from transition area back to finish line area the day before the race? I’d rather not walk that distance the day before racing. I can’t wait for the race!!

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Blog: http://262toboylstonstreet.blogspot.com/
https://twitter.com/NateThomasTri
Coaching: https://bybtricoaching.com/ - accepting athletes for 2023

How was the race? How was it to travel to and how easy was it to find good accommodations? And finally, best part and most challenging part of the race? I am thinking about it for 2020. Thanks.

So I sent a PM via facebook to the event and got a response. They are not sure if Ironman will continue the event. Not sure if they meant the full IM or both. Really bummed as it was one of my top choices of a 2020 IM for me. Crossing my fingers WTC will not cancel the IM. But it had really low numbers: between 300-400 participants. Maybe they need to change the date since it was also the same weekend for IM France and IM Frankfurt. Would love to know if anyone has the inside scoop in this. I'll be sad if they cancel the event (s).

Nate - hope you had a great race. Look forward to hearing your report.

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Death is easy....peaceful. Life is harder.

Nate, good luck. I'm looking to possibly do it next year and will be looking forward to hear what you thought of the race/venue. I traveled to Norway in 2016 and don't have any advice for you but its a beautiful country and everyone was very friendly.

The Kon Tiki?

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They constantly try to escape from the darkness outside and within
Dreaming of systems so perfect that no one will need to be good T.S. Eliot

Looks like he KQed - congrats Nate!