Event Overview
IRONMAN New Zealand is the world's second oldest IRONMAN, famous for its deep-water mass start in the pristine freshwater of Lake Taupō. The course features a 180km bike leg through the rolling Central Plateau and a multi-loop marathon run along the vibrant Taupō lakefront. Known for its incredible local support and over 2,000 volunteers, it is a bucket-list race that offers qualifying slots for the IRONMAN World Championship.
Race Distances (2)
Race Recaps
(1)Ironman New Zealand was a bucket list race of mine and it did not disappoint. Everything seemed to go above and beyond and we got perfect racing conditions.
This was simply one of the best races I ever did. There was a feeling from start to finish you were part of something more than a triathlon race. The setup, the course, the volunteers, the spectators – it was special.
Its been over a year since I raced an Ironman race and with Busselton 2025 sold out I signed up for IRONMAN New Zealand | IRONMAN in Taupo.
Ironman New Zealand Course Preview
A very fun and engaging course from start to finish.
Ironman NZ Swim Its a mass start swim and in a lake. Two big unknowns for me and were not as daunting as first feared. I positioned mid way and didn’t feel too different swimming in a lake. There was a mixup with the gun / horn so we got counted down from the crowd on shore.
The race it self was hectic.
Was expecting it to ease up in the back straight but it felt somebody was constantly on: my heels or grouping up. Got kicked in mouth at one stage. You do have the current on long straight.
T1: Small incline coming out of lake and 400m. Didn’t seem as long at the time as you have crowds cheering you on. Martina and Sean were well positioned just on right easy to see.
Ironman New Zealand Bike Course Hilly straight away. No huge climbs but hilly / windy roads with 700m incline each lap. Followed by fast freeway section. Road condition was relatively good and never felt it was terrible. Broadlands road was long but no head wind which was unusual.
T2: Best in the world. A volunteer takes your bike and you can quickly get into the tent.
Ironman NZ Run Must be some of the best spectators and volunteers on a run course. Aid stations well positioned and personal needs bag easy to access. It was scorching hot so got hosed down a few times.
It is hilly though and deceiving especially around Two Mile Bay.
Backend of course you the hills are tough. Each lap you got a wristband. Saw some people attaching them to their race belts.
Renting a Canyon Speedmax for the race to save from bringing mine and having to carry it with us around New Zealand after the race. Will be interesting if I get some gains from a “better” bike but also hope that it fits well and can stay aero.
This is an excellent race preview: https://shanedrumm.com/ironman-new-zealand-race-report/