Oceanside CA— Once again, the Oceanside is the site for the opening of the North American Series IRONMAN season. Approximately 3,400 participants will be swimming, riding and running in the IRONMAN 70.3 – Oceanside, this Saturday, April 7, 2018 with race start at 6:40 a.m. Oceanside offers triathletes a chance to race in the region that birthed the sport in the early 1970s in Mission Bay.
The age range of the athletes, representing 32 countries, is from 18 to 76-years-old with occupations that include; Chef, Nurse, Flight Attendant, Fire Fighter, Engineer, Teacher and Exotic animal trainer. Forty-seven U.S. states are represented with California having 1,968 registered athletes.
The 2018 IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside will offer a total professional prize purse of $50,000 USD and 30 age group qualifying slots to the 2018 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa.
The IRONMAN Village Expo opens on Thursday, April 5 showcasing the latest products and trends in the industry and the IRONKIDS Oceanside Fun Run set for Friday, April 6. David Fangerow, a six year-old from San Diego is a double below knee and right-hand amputee who dreams of “racing every single person in the world.” With support of the Challenged Athlete Foundation (CAF), David will now be able to race toward his dream of “running like a cheetah” when he competes in IRONKIDS Oceanside on Friday.
The 2017 IRONMAN 70.3-Oceanside champions are Lionel Sanders (CAN), 3:50:04 and Holly Lawrence (GBR), 4:14:18. Sanders took second in the 2017 World Championship

The course leads athletes along a 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike and 13.1-mile run on a course that utilizes the scenic beauty of Oceanside. New this year to Oceanside is a swim start from the beach. Atheletes will navigate through the surf, then head north towards the mouth of the harbor. The course is one loop and the transition is located in the parking lot that starts at the boat ramp and goes north towards the Harbor Pelican.
The bike route portion of the event starts from Oceanside Harbor through Camp Pendleton and San Onofre Bluffs State Park, continuing thru Trestles onto Cristianitos overpass and back onto Camp Pendleton’s Cristianitos gate. Then there’s the rolling hills that occur prior to San Mateo hill following by two more nice hills only to come upon a flat but very windy road to wind back at the Oceanside Harbor. No spectators are allowed on the Base portion of the bike course.
The two-loop, 13.1-mile run course begins at Transition above the Oceanside Pier, down onto the Harbor, on The Strand and through coastal neighborhoods before a spectacular finish on the The Strand.

Event Schedule:

Thursday, April 5

• 11:00 am- 7:00 pm – IRONMAN Village – Oceanside Pier Area

Friday, April 6

• 10:00 am – 6:00 pm – IRONMAN Village
• 3:00 pm – Athlete Panel – Junior Seau Pier Amphitheater
• 5:00 pm – IRONKIDS Oceanside Fun Run – Oceanside Pier Area; On the strand

Saturday, April 7

• 6:40 am – Pro Race Start
• 6:46 am – Physically Challenged/Challenged Athletes Foundation Race Start
• 6:50 am – Age Group Rolling Start
• 8:00 am- 3:00 pm – IRONMAN Village
• *Approx. 11:00 am – First (male) finisher expected at finish line (Female winner to follow approx. 20 minutes)
• 4:00 pm – Awards Ceremony & 70.3 IM 70.3 World Championship Slot Allocation / Rolldown Ceremony
• 4:35 pm – Official Race Finish (8 hours and 30 minutes after the final athlete enters the water)

Sunday, April 8

• 9:00 am – IRONMAN Foundation Service Project (Adaptive surf clinic) – Oceanside Pier

Full event schedule can be found here

Shuttle Bus Information

From
• Southside of Oceanside Transit Center at Seagaze & Cleveland
• North end of Lot #27 at Tyson St.
• By art structure on west side of train tunnel at Pierview & N. Myers
• Civic Center Parking Structure
To
• Until 2 PM, after last runner is on course: Near Harbor- Entrance to Lot #20 on Pacific St.
& Breakwater (¼ mile walk to transition)
• After 2 PM: Lot #10 at S. Harbor Dr. & N. Pacific St. (1/15 mile walk to transition)
Make note that at end of day, athletes who do not have their family and friends picking up
their bike will have to ride their bike to their vehicles as the shuttles cannot accommodate
the bikes. Dropping off/picking up at the Harbor is not permitted. The city will issue tickets
for anyone picking up an athlete that is blocking the lane of traffic and not in a parking stall.
Please plan accordingly.