Ironman Regensburg is new to the Ironman circuit, and last Sunday was only its second running. In common with other German iron distance events it is very well organised and because the town is only just over an hour from Munich airport it makes it appealing as a venue for a first foreign Ironman adventure. Indeed, because the roads are smooth and closed to traffic, the crowds are enthusiastic and the run is very flat, it makes an ideal course for an Ironman first timer; it’s certainly easier than Ironman UK. These notes are designed to give you the necessary background information to help with planning a trip. Please note that everything here is based upon my experiences in 2011 and may not reflect differences in organisation for next year. I welcome any errors being pointed out, but please use the official site for information about the race. I take no responsibility for the information contained herein.

Getting to Regensburg

Regensburg is in northern Bavaria, about 100kms north east of Munich airport. Given the proximity to this busy airhub it’s quite feasible to make a long weekend out of a trip by flying out on Friday and returning on Monday. We flew Lufthansa from Manchester, but there are lots of options from UK airports. Car hire is easy to arrange, but I also noted that Nirvana were offering transfers only from Munich to Regensburg, so there’s no need even to hire a car if you don’t want to. We took out holiday insurance with our usual insurer and just added event top-up insurance for the Ironman itself via Sports Cover Direct for about £20 extra. Driving via the tunnel or ferry is obviously another option, but it’s over 900 miles from northern England so that would make it a bit tough for doing in a long weekend!

There are plenty of hotels in the area and most can be booked by the usual online outlets. We chose to stay in Neutraubling close to the swim venue. Neutraubling is a small dormitory town about ten miles outside of Regensburg. It’s not particularly picturesque, but we found a great Italian restaurant for the night before, and the hotel did a superb Ironman breakfast from 4:15. The proximity to the swim venue and car parks meant that I didn’t need to disturb the family until 5:45 for the short drive to the carpark where buses transferred athletes straight to the swim. We stayed at the Hotel Am See which had about another 20 or so lost souls also lining up for the event. The breakfasts were very good, rooms clean and mattresses firm (1 out of 6 wasn’t) and fairly quiet (some noisy plumbing). The town had several Italian restaurants for pre match pasta – we went to the Ristorante Roma, just around the corner from the hotel and had an excellent meal, though it was extremely popular and getting there early is recommended. There were also cashpoints and banks in the vicinity.

Registration, briefing and racking

Registration is in the city centre of Regensburg at T2. We didn’t arrive in Regensburg until the Saturday morning (thus missing Friday’s race briefing) and parking at the venue itself was pretty crowded. Talking to the staff at registration, Saturday was quiet and Friday really busy, so I imagine parking close to registration on Friday would have been difficult. Over 2,000 athletes registered for the start and apparently there were queues on Friday. Saturday registration was simple and stress free (don’t forget the €15 needed for a day race licence if you need one). Having registered we then returned to our hotel to sort out race bags. If you are not familiar with Ironman racing, they operate a bagged transition system – blue bag for T1 (swim to bike) and red bag for T2 (bike to run). Think Blue for Bike and Red for Run.  These bags are handed in and racked by the race crew for you and all you have to do is make sure that you have everything you need in each bag before racking. At Regensburg, both run and bike bags were handed in at bike racking at the swim venue. Red bags were then transported by the organisers to T2 and racked ready for the run. At racking the bikes were given a quick mechanical check and you were given a personal guide who walked you through transition to your bike rack. You were also given a plastic cover for your bike and the bike was racked with helmet attached, then bags handed in. Again, a simple process and if you were based in Regensburg itself, there were free bus transfers from registration to swim venue and back all day. The only thing left was to sort out the white bag (post race clothes – don’t forget to put in a towel for the post race showers) which is handed in on race morning itself as you walk down to the start of the swim. Note, they didn’t allow track pumps in white bags, so you needed to borrow one, or have a supporter outside transition to hand it to once used.

The Race

The swim is in the Guggenberger See just outside Neutraubling. Race day carparking is about 2km from the start and there are buses to transfer athletes to the start. Road closures are in force so parking at the official carpark is by far the easiest option if you want to see the swim start as a spectator. The lake itself was warm and clean and quite a few athletes were swimming without wetsuits (I wasn’t one of them), and although I hadn’t experienced a beach start before, I found that to be no problem – I just waited a few seconds for the main pack to go. The run to T1 is very short where you are handed your blue bag. Important note: in Ironman races you cannot wear your race number under your wetsuit so it must be either in the blue bag or on the bike.

Looking at the bike profile you’d be forgiven for thinking that there are some serious hills on the course. After about 10km the course does indeed start climbing for about the next 20km or so, but the climbs are fairly shallow, maybe 5-7% at most, and on good road. The climbs are also punctuated by some steady and fast descents. Once reaching the small town of Brennberg the course turns south to the Danube valley and you have some exhilarating descents on excellent road surfaces. There are only a couple of corners with blind exits, and these aren’t at all tight, so confident riders will absolutely fly down this section (even in full wet conditions I had no problems negotiating the descents as fast as I wanted to go). After reaching the Danube the course changes character completely. It is now almost completely flat for 40kms back to the start of the 2nd loop. You’ll be spending tha vast majority of your time on the aero bars, so make sure that you have your aero position well sorted. I would estimate that I spent at least 2/3 of the bike ride on the tri bars, so it’s definitely something that you need to factor in to your training – lots of racers I spoke to complained of shoulder and hip trouble afterwards due to extended periods in an aero tuck. After completing the 2nd lap of the course there is about 20km of completely flat riding into Regensburg to complete the route. The biggest potential difficulty on the course would be a headwind on the flat section as it is exposed to the prevailing wind (there was a light headwind on Sunday), but in perfect conditions this course is ideal for fast bike times and most people will need to be careful that they are holding back enough (I didn’t) and not going too fast. Strong athletes will be totally comfortable on an 11-23 cassette, and nobody will need easier than 12-25 (which I used, and wished I had an 11).

As is normal on Ironman, the feedstations on the bike included Powergels, Powerbars, Powerade isotonic energy drink, water and bananas. I carried just one water bottle on my bike and a tube of Nuun tablets. At each stop I took on a fresh water bottle and dropped a tab in. I also took a Powergel at most stops. Obviously some people prefer to carry their own brand of gels and drinks, but for the life of me I can’t understand why so many people load their bike up with about 6 litres of water and tape a nutrition shop full of gels to their bike. It must add about 7kg to their bike – practically doubling it’s weight. By getting used to Powergels in training I could carry a handful of extra gels and 1 bottle. Even if the weather was really hot, which it can be in mid August in southern Germany, the feedstops are sufficiently regular such that dehydration isn’t going to be a problem.

The run course is pretty much flat is a pancake and it meanders for for 10km loops through the old town of Regensburg, parkland and the banks of the Danube. It’s mostly excellent underfoot with some smooth cobbles through town. Feedstations are plentiful and well stocked with the usual Power products plus cake, fruit and flat Coke. After all the gels and Nuun, I found the cakes and Coke a Godsend for my beleaguered stomach. Support through town is fantastic, even for late athletes and is a real help for struggling runners. The finish, apart from being a massive relief, is also brilliant as there are huge crowds cheering every finisher in. It’s high fives all round and everyone loves the emotions and sense of achievement of an Ironman successfully completed.

After getting your medal and finishline photo you will be escorted to the foodstall where you can get some clear soup, sandwiches, cake etc. before moving on to pick up your finisher shirt and white bag. There were  showers and free massages at the finish area, hence the need to put towels in the white bag. Note, you’ll need to hang on to your race number and electronic timing chip in order to recover your bike and red and blue bags from transition. It’s about 400metres slow stroll from the finish area to transition, but as usual, there are plenty of volunteers to help you get your kit back.

Training and equipment priorities

Aside from the usual Ironman training schedule you are doing, I would factor the following into your training:

• At least 2 hour efforts on the aero bars – you’ll need to find a flat course;
• Long steady hill climbs of about 5% rather than sharp and steep;
• Get as comfortable aerodynamic a setup as you can on your bike.
• Hip flexibility stretches to help with the long periods in an aero position.

Spectator notes

Ironman Regensburg is a great race for spectators. The swim start is relatively easy to access (park in the official carpark and walk) and you can even walk around the lake if you want. The main difficulties are presented by the bike course. Because it is fully closed to traffic, you have to drive around the outside of the course to watch at multiple viewpoints. The only way across the course is via the motorway that cuts across the route, but with a little imagination and timing it’s possible to watch your racer quite a few times. Alternatively, base your spectating in Brennberg or Mintraching where there were good crowds, lots of atmsosphere and bars and cafés open. After you have made your way into town for the run there are lots of excellent places to watch. There are big crowds through the old town and lots of restaurants and bars to sustain you between cheering efforts. Alternatively you can walk out to the quieter parkland to the west and help support the strugglers through the twilight hours. Either way, make sure you have time to get back to the brilliant atmosphere of the finish tunnel well before your loved one comes in.

Combining with a family holiday

We spent a long weekend in Munich (took real willpower not to drink the beer) prior to the race and then went down to Austria for a week’s Eurocamp holiday at Brück near Zell am See. We stayed at Sportcamp Woferlgut which proved to be an inspired choice as it had a swim lake for openwater swims (about 125m across) and loads of flat bike track for easy bike rides and runs as part of my taper programme. The campsite also had loads of activities for children (beach volleyball comps, tennis courts, mountain bike guided rides etc) and we also had a brilliant day driving up the Groβglockner Hochenalpenstraβe (lots of hairpins but fantastic alpine scenery) and a lovely day in Salzburg (for the Sound of Music fans in the family). The only downside to the campsite was proximity to the main road to Salzburg, but I have to say that after the 1st night we barely noticed it. The drive from Zell am See to Regensburg took just over 4 h, but we decided to avoid motorways and could probably be done in quite a bit less if needed. We arrived in Regensburg at mid-day on the Saturday before the race and that still left plenty of time for registration, hotel check-in and racking prior to an evening meal. Brück turned out to be an inspired choice of  venue for the week before as it kept me completely out of all the stress and hassle of being at the race for days beforehand and had all the facilities I needed for an active taper, plus the kids had plenty to do.

Race date for 2012 has been moved to June 17, 2012

Official website of Ironman Regensburg:  http://www.ironman-regensburg.de/english/default.htm