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Race day
Expected April 2027
Date not confirmed for this season yet. We publish exact dates only after checking the athlete guide.
South Africa race week and bags, in the app.
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Swim
3.8 km
Ocean, 2 laps
Bike
180 km
Run
42.2 km
4 laps
Sea
17°C
16°C to 19°C in race week
Air
20°C
12°C at night
Rain
5%
of race-week days
Wind
17
km/h gusts on a typical day
Course from the organiser's course page. Weather: the seven days around the middle of the race month in 2023, 2024, 2025, averaged (Open-Meteo, ERA5). Sea is the sea off the town, not a reading of the swim. The water temperature that counts is the one officials measure on race morning.
Race week in three parts, the same three the Taperly app uses. Times and deadlines come from the athlete guide.
The 7 days before
Everything that still has time to go wrong, while there is still time to fix it. Nothing you train this week makes you faster on the day, but plenty of it can make you slower.
Must do: Read the athlete guide properly, Check your race entry and category are right, Final equipment check: tyres, brakes, gears, cleats, Arrange care for kids or pets.
Once you arrive
A long day of small errands in a town you do not know, and then an early night. Do them in an order you decided in advance.
Must do: Athlete check-in, Timing chip somewhere you cannot leave without it.
Race morning
If the week went well, this is only a list of things to pick up and put down. It ends when the horn goes, because from there nobody is holding a phone.
Must do: Timing chip on, Race number, Bike on your own rack number.
The same race week, planned day by day in the app.
What goes in each bag. The full list, to tick off bag by bag, is in the app.
What you'll wear · 14
Trisuit, Timing chip, Goggles, Spare goggles
Morning clothes bag · 22
Race documents and photo ID
Bike gear bag (T1) · 24
Helmet, Race number belt, Race number, Number stickers on bike and helmet
Run gear bag (T2) · 7
Running shoes
Bike special needs · 5
Run special needs · 4
Not in a bag · 20
Bike box, bike bag or a booked rack, The tools that take the bike apart, Phone charger, Race kit in the cabin, never the hold
IRONMAN South Africa is expected April 2027, in Gqeberha, South Africa. The exact day is confirmed by the organiser; until then this is the month it is usually held.
The sea off South Africa has been around 17°C in race week (16°C to 19°C over 2023, 2024, 2025). Whether wetsuits are allowed is decided on race morning from the measured water temperature.
Swim 3.8 km, Ocean, 2 laps. Bike 180 km. Run 42.2 km, 4 laps. Read from the organiser's course page.
In race week it has been 12°C at night and 20°C in the day, with rain on 5% of days and gusts around 17 km/h (2023, 2024, 2025).
Everything sorted by the bag it goes in: what you wear, the morning bag, the bike bag and the run bag. The full list, with what changes for South Africa, is free in the Taperly app.
