I'm participating in IMDE this weekend as well, flying in on Friday (from London).

I've done the race 2x, last time in '13 and looks like it's similar conditions to the years I've done the race. It starts to get really hot by the 2nd half of the bike and run. At least for me since I've been training mostly in cold conditions.

Swim -
Looks like it'll be on the border. You are right and I think it'll be a wetsuit legal swim, but RIGHT on the border. I think there was one year in the past 10 years that it was non-wetsuit. I'm on the fence and don't mind if it's not wetsuit, but that probably means I need to buy a skin suit at the expo! It's sort of a slow swim and you need to get out of the water and walk to the 2nd lap. Depending on how fast you are, it can be pretty crowded on that short transition.

Bike -
I know the bike course is slightly different this year with the extra 5k, but you are right, there are some turns you need to manage. I didn't manage one of the turns one year and fell into the hay stop barriers. I just didn't slow down enough and went down relatively slowly, so it wasn't bad and I continued, but you have to be careful. Like others have mentioned, the "hills" are not bad at all. The cobbled one is short and a little steep, but you have to be careful of your bottles launching off your bike. I believe there are a few more hills that a slightly longer, but not as steep and you can decide how "hard" you want to attack those hills. There are also some slight decline hills that you can really fly on, so if you are a confident bike handler, you can really get some speed. Overall, it's a fair and pretty fast bike course. I've run 53-39 front, 12-28 rear (ran 12-25 in the past) and I'm not a very fast biker. Previous bike times were 5:29 and 5:23. I hope to do something similar given the extra 5k.

Run -
Mostly flat and 4 laps with a lot of crowd support. Some slight inclines along the bridges, but nothing tough and there are some decent shaded areas.

If you or any other STers are around, I'm happy to meet up but don't know much about Saturday ride/reckon stuff. Will likely do a short workout around my hotel area (about 1k from the finish). My family are staying behind so I'll be solo for the weekend. Send me a PM.

Good luck!

I participated in 2009/10 and 12. Happy to get back after a six years break. I would say that your descriptions are spot-on. Not much to add from my side other than not being sure if it really needs to have a swim skin. Of course it depends on what you will be wearing as race outfit. In 2010 it has been a non-wetsuit race (and I believe in 2015 as well, at least, it has been brutally hot in 2015) and I just swam in my tri shorts and put a shirt on in T1.



I will be back home for the weekend, a bit outside of Frankfurt. I'll just do the basic check-in/briefing stuff in town and will deal with parents, aunts etc who want to meet my little kids for the rest of the time ;-)

Thanks. Good luck as well! Enjoy the race!

First IM this Sunday here in FFM. I was here in 2012 to sherpa for my mum and spectate, got the goosebumps when the gun went off and told myself I'll be back here one day.

Flew in Tuesday, went for a run this morning on the course and the city is still sleepy - few athletes, dense commuting bike traffic along the river. The only bike-case in the Oversized Luggage line at the airport - nice.

From what I heard from the locals, biking out on the course is not a must (not very technical, climbs very mild) and the main roads on the way out/into town are not ideal for training. I remember quite a bit from riding the old course in 2012 and this year's looks very similar, at least as far as the key bits are concerned. I switched to an extra-sturdy BTA setup and a soft bento in anticipation of the Cobbled Hell, might even add some grip tape to the cages to keep my liquid nutrition in place. The rest of the course doesn't worry me one bit, if I have the time I'll take the car for a round - but if not, the hills aren't that steep and most corners are wide enough not to be an issue. Google Maps has a cool 3D scan of the area, complete with buildings, trees etc - good enough to refresh my memory.

If anyone's up for a post-race beer&cheer along the course - I hope I'll be able to. Trying to follow the Brett Sutton philosophy of not overdoing the pre-race buzz and workouts so until Sunday I'll mostly be lounging on my grandparents' veranda, across the river from the green glass tower (west end of the run course).

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ZONE3 - We Last Longer

Is the swim venue swimable pre race?

In the past, it was. I think this year too - I'm planning to do a short warmup dip after bike check-in on Saturday. The lake is officially closed for regular visitors from Thursday according to announcements, which in previous years meant athletes were allowed to swim.

However, if you want a kick-ass place for some controlled swim sets, the Stadionbad, on the way to the lake, is an amazing 50m pool. 5EUR entrance, less if you have a student card or similar, and if you have kids and family it's a great place for some fun+workout.

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ZONE3 - We Last Longer

Thanks again for the info. We drove the course and thought nothing of it. 50t x11-30 should be plenty for the uphills. Nothing killer like 70.3 Oceanside, St. George, or IMCDA. If anything, I wish I had brought a 52t.
As for the swim, I got in the water yesterday (Wednesday). The board said it was 23.X something. Even with a full sleeve, it didn't feel uncomfortably hot. The wind did pick up which made some awful chop though. 

I have done the race three times, i rode part of the course once before the race and will never do it again. you get on a highway with not much of a shoulder and the max speed there is 100km/h. So its really frightening!!!

But the course is not technical and climbs are mild. Even the sweeping descent at the 17-20km mark is smooth and awesome. Only thing one should be aware about is the cobble stone section that last about 1km. Make sure everything is tightly buckled onto your bike!

It's about 30km into the ride, right? I'll make sure to swap bottles before so the half-spent nutrition is in the back, where a loss won't be too critical.

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ZONE3 - We Last Longer

Around that mark yes but you actually see it, you make a turn and oops, we have cobble stones! Its a slight downhill and a slight uphill after that. I don't peddle on cobble stones, just make sure you have enough momentum on the way up after that:)

Just went to the briefing. They said you had to wear your race number while biking. I’m assuming they meant the one you wear while running, not just the one you stick on the bike? Never had to do that at any other IM.
In the athlete guide it said numbers 1600-3000 had to bring their bikes to t1 after 3:30. Will they give me a hard time if I go early. Would like to get everything set up and completed earliest if possible.

I thought that was strange, too. Usually just put the race number on during t2. Will have to confirm with them. A lot of people will lose that number during the bike

As for going early, I don’t think going a little early will make a difference but who knows.

Done this race last 2 years: last year's report here,

http://www.tritalk.co.uk/...t=99135&start=15

If you're using the shuttle bus to rack your bike and on race morning go early.

Lovely fast bike course and do watch out for the cobbles!

Weather looks perfect too: warm and a light breeze.

I heard the shuttles for the bike drop can be a bit of a disaster in terms of wait times. Has annoying ever ridden their bike up to the lake for the drop off and ridden the bus back? I’m looking for advice on what the best route would be in order to avoid the highways.
Many thanks and have a great race!

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AV8 | Team Wattie Ink Elite 2019

Does anyone know what the black buckled strap in the backpack is for. I thought it would clip on the bag like a shoulder strap but it doesn’t.

Just got back from the bike drop off. No one seemed to care I had a later day check-in with my higher number. I think the whole thing took me 1.5 hours. Bike line seemed to be getting longer when we got back. Glad I went early.

Had to be the most thorough bike check-in. The guy made me tighten my helmet strap. Said it was too loose. I could get a handlebar caught in it. I’m thinking, if I’m at a point where a handlebar gets caught in my helmet strap, I’ve got bigger issues.

I think that's just a souvenir, like the strap people tie around their suitcases to recognise them at the airport.

Went early to check in, the 2nd bus to leave the station. Got there at 11:58 and they opened the checks at 12:00 precisely, within 5 minutes I was in at the racks. Also had to explain to the official that my helmet strap needs to be loose enough when standing upright so it doesn't choke me in aero...

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ZONE3 - We Last Longer

How did it go for you guys?

Results: https://zone4.ca/...-north-2018/results/

Nathan Killam over Jeff Symonds with Ernest Mantell 3rd in the mens.
Sharon Styles over Amy VanTassel with Alexandra Gordichuk less than 30 seconds back in 3rd in the womens.

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https://www.strava.com/athletes/nbrowne1

The sub 1 hr group had plenty of +1 hr swimmers. The sun coming back on the first loop threw everyone off course. Other than that, it was a fast swim.

The bike course was fun. However, it was frustrating to see a number draft packs on the bike. There were motor bike race officals. However of the three penalty tents, the first one only had athletes. The officals before these tents didn't take any shit. The first loop had at least a dozen from one of the draft packs that passed me. The second loop only had 6 when I passed by. Otherwise, it seemed the draft packs got away with it. There was no excuse to keep your distance. There was plenty of space on course.

The run was awesome. You'd think the 4 loops would be awful, but it wasn't.

I had a PB day with 11:07 and a sub 4 run. I blew up on the bike and the run.

Sighting on the swim was terrible into the sun, I had 4.1k on my watch at the end. All over the place!

Bike had quite a headwind on the way out on the loop.

I have to say I think it's my last M-Dot IM, due to the bike. I didn't see much drafting but I spent the first 100k unable to ride my pace - there are so many riders around you are constantly slowing down / speeding up and stressing about staying out of the draft zone. It became really frustrating.

I'll stick to smaller local triathons from now on.

Well done to all who took part.

I had a pretty shitty day. Swim went well, right where I thought I would be. Got on the bike. Power meter and hr not working. Bike was a little slower than planned, maybe 15 min. Then about mile 2 of the run everything just collapsed. But struggled through and finally beat the women who was power walking the run and kept passing me. So I have that one victory.
I thought there were a lot of marshals, at least on the 1st loop. Didn’t see any large packs around me but every so often you would get 3-4 people coming by. I thought the marshals were around enough to break them up. In some spots it was tough though. You would be going up a slight, long incline. Everyone would get bunched up and the marshal would come by blowing his whistle.
I did find the riders couldn’t stay on the right side of the road on the downhills. And none of them like to go fast. I would pass so many people on the downhills. They were all on their brakes. Most of the time I had to go on the opposite side of the road. Thank god it was all closed.

That was a tough day. Saturday had some cloud cover, but Sunday was BRIGHT, sunny, and hot! 3rd time in Frankfurt for me and I don't remember the bike being so crowded or bumpy. Those cobbles are rough!

Swim wasn't that great for me, I was really lost and the sun was run in your face for long stretches.

Bike - Like others mentioned, the draft marshals seemed to be handing out penalty's at the wrong parts of the course. Narrow roads, people on the left, and going relatively uphill. There is a stretch of about 4 hills and a hard head wind section. You can either stop pedalling or go way out of your comfort zone to pass. I got popped for a 5 min penalty. You could basically pick anybody! I also lost all my spares which popped out of my box, one spare went into my rear wheel and chainset, completely locking the wheel, lucky I stopped in time and wasn't going fast! Waited for motor help who had a swiss army knife and I cut the tyre and pulled it out of the wheel.

Run - Tried to take something positive out of the day and wanted to try something different. So, I went extra slow the 1st half, trying to see what would happen on the 2nd half. Probably took this too far, but just settled in the salts, cola, and water. Ended up negative splitting by a lot - 3:46 run (1:58 1st half, 1:45 2nd half). It was interesting actually running the 2nd half of the marathon, never had that before in an IM. If you can actually hold any pace (eg: 8min/mile), you feel a lot better flying past others, but probably too little too late!

Congrats to all the finishers. We are all lucky to do this sport!

My opinion of the race may be jaded by the fact I did it in 2015 (hotter than the sun) and that just made everything a real chore; but the logistical faff involved with Frankfurt means I'm not inclined to return. I lost about an hour of my life trying to find the road to the lake on the Friday; all because I missed the B44 signs on the road out of the city.

Well done to everyone who completed the race!

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29 years and counting