This was my first 70.3 and my first Ironman event but hopefully not the last! Fantastic organisation from start to finish although I would recommend arriving on the Friday if you can (more in this later.)
Ironman events do cost more than others but to be honest, I felt that it was worth every penny. Everything from the briefing to racking and bags provided, tons of marshals on the course (never seen so many marshals on a bike course before) amazing volunteers at all the aid stations (with tons of encouragement on the run course when you are having to dig deep and so many safety craft etc for the swim course.
The finish line (and registration/briefing area) is a couple of miles from transition so if you arrive on Saturday, it’s going to be very busy and quite a trek going from registration/briefing, packing bags and then taking bags/bike to transition. I arrived on Friday so had a very relaxed briefing and registration, relaxed walked round the expo and then just got up the next day and racked my bike. This then meant I had a very easy no stress Saturday which I needed as a novice at this distance.
The swim was a rolling start with times marked out so you knew roughly where to stand if you were say a 35 min swimmer or a 40 min swimmer etc. Shortly after the pros went off they started the first age groupers but from where I was standing (around 45 min swim time) it took what felt like ages to get in the water (they did warn us in the briefing that it would take 50 mins to get everyone in.) They had turnstiles and a count down beeper so 6 people go every 5 seconds. This made for a much more relaxed swim start which was great for me as a novice sea swimmer.
Sea was quite choppy with a fair swell so most people were slower than usual and every time I tried to sight I was slightly off from where I thought I was going. My girlfriend (who was supporting) said that quite a few people didn’t finish the swim as conditions were a bit too tough for them. I was just happy to finish as it felt much tougher than my last sea swim of this distance (my only previous proper sea swim!)
Bike course was an undulating, very scenic and closed roads route with several small hills and one fairly long hill towards the end of the course. 3500 ft of climbing for the 56 mile course with some very fast downhill sections as well. I really enjoyed the course and the scenery was stunning. As I said before, there were marshalls at every turn and it was incredibly well managed.
Run was 3.5 laps up and down the esplanade with fantastic support and aid stations every mile so ample opportunity to take on drinks/gels etc whenever you needed them. I found the run pretty tough going as the month leading up to the event was pretty awful for me with virtually no training due to several injuries. The amazing support and fantastic marshals made such a difference and loads of kids putting their hands out for high fives.
After what felt like an eternity I eventually rounded the final turn point with about 500m to go. I was so lucky to go down the finishing straight on my own and will never forget the cheers from the crowd as I grinned inanely and windmilled my arms to get them to cheer louder! I loved this event and hope to come back again with hopefully better prep next time! I would recommend Weymouth 70.3 to anyone, it really is a fantastic event.