Ironman Campeche 70.3: 2024 Race Review
Okay, first of all – I’m changing how I do these race reports. Who cares about podiums – you can find that information anywhere as it’s reported by every single triathlon related website. Also, majority of participants are not competing for podium place, Kona qualification and only interested in another PB or just to cross the finish line in one piece.
From now on, it’s basic numbers and my thoughts on the course itself. Less fluff, more sweat (and a LOT of sweat was involved in Campeche).
Ironman 70.3 Campeche, March 17th. Dude, it was hot. Hit 34 degrees Celsius (that’s like 93 Fahrenheit for my American friends) and that made things rough. Biking and running in that heat… not fun. I’m thousands of kilometres away from Campeche, but even by looking at these numbers, many of us would start sweating.
Now, some numbers:
- 847 brave souls registered.
- 780 showed up to suffer…I mean, start the race.
- 716 crossed that finish line!
- 64 DNFs, 4 DNSs.
- That’s an 8.2% DNF rate – gotta factor in the heat.
Also, 63 relay teams, but I’m not counting them in those finishing numbers. Relay folks get to go all-out on their leg, no pacing for the next stage. Not fair!
Quick pro/elite breakdown:
- 63 relay teams (8 DNF)
- 12 male pros (3 DNF)
- 12 female pros (2 DNF)
- 16 open division (2 DNF)
- 2 para-triathletes (0 DNF – seriously, major respect.)
Ironman athlete status categories are defined as follows:
- DNF (Did Not Finish): This includes athletes who started the event but were unable to cross the finish line, or who crossed the finish line after the course had officially closed.
- DNS (Did Not Start): These are athletes who, despite registering for the event, failed to start the race.
- DSQ (Disqualified): This category comprises those who started the event but were subsequently disqualified for various reasons.
- NC (Not Classified): Athletes in this group started the event and crossed the finish line before the course closed but did not meet certain established course or discipline cut-off times, or the overall event course cut-off.
Bike course and Run Course Review
Okay, as always – time to dig deeper into elevation gain data after the race. I wanted to know more than just who won, so I did a deep dive on Strava.
I randomly picked 20 athletes who did the race and stalked their profiles (don’t judge, we all do it). I wanted to see the course elevation, what kind of gear they used, basically get inside their heads a bit. To equally represent all athletes – I’ve selected 10 male and 10 female athletes across most of the age groups including PROs.
Why? Because the elevation tells you how brutal the climbs were and how much you’d suffer on that bike or run. And the gear? Well, I’m a gear nerd, and it’s always interesting to see what other triathletes are using.
Bike course and Run Course Data Table
Bike Course Elevation (m) | Run Course Elevation (m) | Device |
|---|---|---|
315 | 97 | Garmin Edge 530 / Garmin Forerunner 945 |
375 | 36 | Garmin Edge 830 / Suunto 9 |
405 | 127 | COROS PACE 2 |
423 | 71 | Garmin epix Pro (Gen 2) |
303 | 21 | Garmin Edge 830 / Garmin Forerunner 265 |
299 | 49 | Garmin Edge 520 Plus / Garmin Forerunner 255 |
1092 | 1200 | Garmin Forerunner 935 |
948 | 97 | Garmin fenix 6 Pro |
429 | 76 | Garmin Edge 530 / Garmin Forerunner 945 LTE |
272 | 40 | Garmin fenix 6S Pro |
194 | 28 | Garmin Forerunner 265S |
355 | 27 | Garmin fenix 7s |
510 | 17 | Wahoo ELEMNT RIVAL |
286 | 46 | Garmin Edge 830 / Garmin fenix 6S Pro |
343 | 37 | Garmin Forerunner 745 |
437 | 35 | Garmin fenix 6S Pro |
396 | 61 | Garmin fenix 7x |
621 | 99 | Garmin fenix 6S Pro |
390 | 60 | Garmin fenix 7s |
365 | 137 | Garmin Forerunner 945 |
Ironman Campeche 70.3: Summary of the Analysis
Okay, so I dug through the data from my 20 random Campeche athletes – mixed bag of genders and age groups. Just like I expected, the elevation data is kinda all over the place!
The official bike course elevation from the organizers? 440 meters. But guess what? Two of the athletes had crazy high numbers. One Garmin Forerunner 935 clocked a whopping 1092 meters, and a Garmin Fenix 6 Pro got 948 meters. On the flip side, a Garmin Forerunner 265S only picked up 194 meters. Definitely throwing those three out for my averages.
The run course is supposed to have 89.9 meters of gain according to the organizers. Well, same Garmin Forerunner 935 that went wild on the bike also thought the run had over 1200 meters of climbing. Yikes. We know elevation data can be wonky, but that’s next level. I’ll excluded that one too, plus there are few suspiciously low results. However – as number of athletes who recorded results on the lower side is significant – I have to take these into account.
Bottom line: elevation numbers are always a bit of a gamble, especially with different devices with different settings in the mix!
Bike Course Elevation:
- Average Elevation: 384 meters
Run Course Elevation:
- Average Elevation: 61 meters
More information
To find more information about the course, air temperature, water temperature, number of laps and more, please visit dedicated Ironman Campeche 70.3 page.
P.S. Want to geek out over elevation profiles and plan your race and nutrition tactics for next year’s Ironman Campeche 70.3? Check out the course maps below – they’ve got all the ups and downs you need to strategize your way to a podium finish (or, you know, just survive the heat!).
P.P.S. I promise – last piece of information. Average swim, bike and run times for all three disciplines of 2024 race (included all participants who just managed to complete it):
Swim – 00:42:01
Bike – 03:09:58
Run – 02:18:06
