Winter is for working, and summer is for triathlon. That was my schedule for the last few years and did work out pretty well for me. My triathlon plans for 2024 are different! Having qualified for the Ironman 70.3 World Championship, I had to change my plan. In 2024, I’ll be working up a lot to the summer and then I’ll take a very long period off from work until January 2025! So in which races will I compete in 2024?
Race Schedule
In 2024, I’m going to compete in the following races: Ironman 70.3 Erkner, Ironman 70.3 Porec, and Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Taupo. In 2024, I’ll be competing in only middle distance triathlon races. No full distance triathlon race this year, although my last full distance race of Ironman Cascais in 2023 still requires another revanche!
Since I’m going to work up to the summer, my triathlon season will start very late. The first race will be on 15 September in Erkner, near Berlin, Germany. The second race is on 20 October in Porec, Croatia. The last race will be on 15 December in Taupo, New Zealand.
After my last work project, I’ll have about 2.5 months to train and prepare for the first race, 5 weeks later for the second, and then 2 months later for the third race.
Ironman 70.3 Erkner
After the recovery from breaking my shoulder in 2022, Ironman 70.3 in Erkner was my first race. I had my best swim time ever in a race and a pretty high average bike speed. Overall, I finished 14th out of 151 AG athletes in 2022.
I chose this race for 2024 since the timing would be quite ideal. Training and preparing for about 2.5 months is doable, although I’ll have a long way to get back in condition after my last work project.
What can I expect? Well, I don’t expect a podium finish but, of course, I’ll give my 100% to compete and achieve the maximum on that day. I do expect a lot of strong athletes in this race since it’s in Germany (triathlon is popular), and close to Poland and the Scandinavian countries…
Erkner is a town just east of Berlin in Germany and from the Netherlands, it’s quite easy to drive there in one day. I’ll be staying near Erkner almost a week before the race to explore the bike route. The bike route has changed from 2022 into 2 loops and the run route has 4 loops. I remember the bike route was fast and I certainly hope it will still be a very fast route! Power ON!
Ironman 70.3 Porec
I’m starting my season pretty late and there aren’t that many races later in the season in Europe but Ironman 70.3 Porec in Istria, Croatia, should be a great location for my second triathlon race. The weather should still be pretty good with air temperature in the low-20 degrees Celsius and water temperature of around 18 degrees Celsius. Although the weather can change quickly into nasty storms at this time of the year.
In this second triathlon race of the season, I hope to have improved further, be more into a better/top condition, and be able to compete with the front. The swim is in a secluded bay, riding partly over a highway (no training allowed on the highway), and the run on a 2-loop course. Again, I don’t expect an easy race but that doesn’t matter.
Porec is located on the peninsula of Istria in Croatia. It’s quite a long distance and I’ll drive to Porec with a stop-over in Austria or Italy. Again, I’ll be about a week before the race to adjust and explore the area.
Ironman 70.3 World Championship
The Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Taupo, New Zealand, was my goal a few years ago but the Covid pandemic destroyed the whole season plan and the race was canceled in the end. In 2023, I qualified by becoming 2nd AG in Ironman 70.3 Zell am See and I was so happy to have achieved my goal!
My main race of the season of course but I don’t expect a podium finish. Since only athletes that have qualified for the World Championship will be able to compete here, the field will be very strong and I’ll have to have to best day of my life and give more than 100% to finish strong. Anyway, it’s a huge achievement to be able to race this World Championship!
I’ll be traveling to New Zealand a while before the race to adjust my body for the time zone difference, explore the bike route, and get used to the (hopefully) summer temperatures! Yes, escaping winter for the summer down under đŸ™‚ Can’t wait!
