IRONMAN 70.3 Ohio 2026
A swim that starts by jumping off the Kelleys Island ferry, a flat 56 miles through Ohio farmland, and a two-lap run through downtown Sandusky.
This edition has passed
The next edition usually opens entries shortly after race day. Set the target early: the best training blocks are the ones with a real date at the end.
Building for this one? 70.3 training plan covers the sessions, the weekly shape and how the block is paced. The R.A.C.E. Framework explains why it is built that way.
“You start by jumping off the back of a ferry, which is worth knowing in advance rather than discovering at six in the morning. After that it is a flat, honest, fast course.”
The race
The course
No course maps for this race. IRONMAN publishes no downloadable route for any leg of this race, only a live tracker that runs on race day, so there is nothing to draw a course map from. Everything below comes from the official course page, checked on the date at the foot of this section.
One loop in a protected section of Sandusky Bay, and the start is unlike anything else on the calendar: a rolling self-seeded start where you jump feet first off the lowered ramp of the Kelleys Island ferry. You walk about 150 yards from transition at Paper District Marina to the start by Jackson Street Pier, and finish back at the marina.
One loop out of the city limits and onto rural roads through Erie and Sandusky county farmland, with about 820 feet of climbing across the whole leg, which makes it a flat course by any normal measure.
Two loops from Paper District Marina through downtown Sandusky, flat and fast with under 130 feet of elevation gain, and easy for spectators to move around.
Not yet confirmed for this edition: run elevation gain figure, transition detail, cut-off times, water temperature history. We publish these only once they are on the official course page, so check there before you pace off anything here.
Course details verified against the official IRONMAN 70.3 Ohio course page on 14 August 2026. Courses change; the official page is always the last word.
Questions, answered
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Read before you race
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Photograph of Sandusky, Ohio, USA: Ken Winters, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Not official race photography.
This listing is for information only. Unbroken is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by IRONMAN 70.3 Ohio or its organiser. Details are based on publicly available information; names are used descriptively to identify the event. For accurate, up-to-date information and to enter, always use the official event website.