Tallinn (Estonia) hosted an Ironman weekend – with the long distance (226km or 140.6 miles, aka the Full Ironman) event on Saturday, and the middle distance event (113km or 70.3 miles, aka a Half Ironman) on Sunday. 

In brief:  Highly recommended.  Fast flat course, brilliantly well-organised for amateur athletes in a great location.  (I was recovering from a lingering cold and had not exercised in 4 weeks, so I was glad to get round.)  Lovely supportive organisers and volunteers.  If you are looking for a first middle distance race, this would be a good choice.

Why Tallinn?

The race director is Ain-Alar Juhanson, whom many Serpies will know from Lanzarote. He is a former pro triathlete – and twice winner of Ironman Lanzarote – with a fascinating back story. He now spends his time getting people into sport, including by organizing races and making sure they are inclusive and welcoming.  His attitude to ensuring that sport is for everyone shines through in every detail of this race.

On being a Serpie

I raced in my Serpentine tri-suit (thanks Ham!) and was, once again, blown away by the amount of support this generated throughout the race – from spectators, volunteers and from other athletes.  I’m proud to be part of a club that generates so much goodwill across the sporting community.

Pre race and start.

There is a split transition – the start and T1 are about 4km from T2 and the finish. You check in your bike and both your blue (bike) and red (run) bags the evening before at T1.  The race start is a leisurely 9am, so on race morning after some breakfast you can take a free shuttle bus to the start from Tallinn town centre, where you can can put your nutrition on your bike and you also have access to your bike (blue) bag. Your red run bag will already have been taken to T2 and you do not have access to it on race morning. 

The swim start is 5 minutes walk along the beach from T1.  There are lots of portaloos and places to sit while you put on your wetsuit.  There is even a food truck for your supporters who have got up early to support you. The streetwear (white) bag drop is on the beach just before your start – your bag will be waiting for you at the finish line.

There is a quirky swim start. You self-seed by swim time so that you are not swimming over people or being swum over.  You then wade about 150m through shallow water to a pontoon, from where you are started in groups of 4 people every 5 seconds (that is where your race time starts).  The course is easy to follow and very well marked, with very visible numbered buoys.  The exit is shallow, so you are running out of the water for about the last 100 metres.

Swim course: one lap in shallow water from a beach in a bay in the Baltic Sea. Water temperature 19 degrees.  The water was dead flat for the Ironman on Saturday, a bit choppy with a bit of a swell for the half Ironman race on Sunday.  The race is always likely to be wetsuit optional.  This is a good swim course for people who are not confident in open water – it is shallow, sheltered, easy to navigate and very well supported by the water safety team.

T1: well organised and short – plenty of places to sit to get on your bike gear, and separate male and female tents if you need privacy.  Lots of portaloos. 

Bike course: a frying pan shaped route of 45km, which you do twice.  Very flat – my Garmin registered a 700m ‘climb’ averaging 3% which turned out to be an overpass over the dual carriageway and which I barely noticed either time.  Good road surface, closed roads, plenty of space for passing.  

T2: the Ironman route had bike catchers; for the 113km you rack your own bike in you numbered spot. (The volunteers directed me to mine).

Run course: two laps out and back along the beach. One short (<100m) hill, which you do twice. Lots of support, music, witty signs. Good, well stocked aid stations with everything from gels and bars to hot soup.

Finish line:  The best finish line experience I have ever had in a triathlon. You get your medal, a big travel towel and lots of water, and then you are reunited with your white streetwear bag.  There are hot showers, saunas and hot tubs; unlimited food (meat and vegetarian pizza, meat and veggie poke bowls, fruit, protein bars, cake etc) with no queue, and plenty of places to sit and eat and chat with the other athletes.  Pro tip: make sure you have a change of clothes in your white bag, and some shower gel, so that you can make full use of the showers.

Vibe: There is a big international crowd (for example, more than 80 participants from India). The race organisers pay attention to every detail to make the race special for the age-groupers.  During race week, the hub is the Unibet Arena, where you pick up your race number, stickers, bags and rucksack; and also where there is a reasonable selection of Ironman merch, and other shops for the things you haver forgotten.  There are talks and interviews on stage, as well as the race briefing.  There are food trucks, and a shopping centre next door for a bigger range of things to eat and drink.  My favourite signs from the run course:  “Enjoy it – remember you paid for this”, “Why do all the cute people run away?”, “Pain is just the French for bread”.

Logistics:  You can get from Tallinn airport to the centre of town by bus (which will happily carry several bike boxes in the pushchair space in the middle).  Just tap your payment card on the card reader by the door of the bus (€2 per trip, or cheaper if you buy several trips in one go).  There are lots of hotels in town at various price points. There are free Ironman shuttle buses from the town centre which go to the Unibet Arena (registration etc) and to Stroomi Beach (T1 and start).  There is a truck that goes with the bus for bikes.  I chose to cycle to bike check in the evening before the race, which was also quick and easy.

Tallinn:  Tallinn has a pretty, touristy old town, which is worth the visit and a  good place for a pre- or post- race dinner. Lots of restaurants and nightlife.

About my race:  I was recovering from a long, lingering cold.  I had abandoned my intention of doing the London T100 two weeks before because I was on antibiotics, and had not done any serious exercise for 4 weeks. So I was banking on baseline fitness to get me round, but had scaled down any ambitions I might have had to do a good time.  I deliberately held back on the swim as I wanted to ease myself back into things after so long without exercise; but also it was quite tough because it was blowy.  I pushed a bit harder on the bike – the roads were wet, but there were few corners that might have been treacherous in the wet. I didn’t notice the cold, but lots of athletes were complaining about it afterwards.  The run was fantastic – again I decided not to push myself too hard, and enjoyed it. I was pleased to maintain a pretty even pace, albeit not very fast. Overall, I was happy to feel pretty good all the way, and was disciplined about not pushing too hard.

Note to self: lessons learned

I’ve done a few middle distance triathlons, but every one is different and I am still learning (and re-learning) lessons from each.  Here are some takeaway from this particular race:

• Take wet-weather lube (I did, and was glad to have put it on the chain before the race)
• Have a gilet and a rain jacket in your bike (blue) bag – this was the first time I have worn a gilet in a triathlon, and I was glad to have it in this weather. I also took my rain jacket with me on the bike, after regretting not having it in Lahti. I didn’t need it this time but it was reassuring to have the option available if it got any colder.
• If it is cold or wet, cycling gloves will help keep your hands warm. Well worth the 30 seconds it takes to put them on.
• If it might be wet, have a spare pair of dry socks in your run (red) bag even if you are wearing socks for the bike section (I did and it was very nice to change to dry socks)
• Take your preferred race-day breakfast from home in case your hotel breakfast isn’t early enough (I bought porridge and rice pudding in a Tallinn supermarket, but it wasn’t quite the same as what I normally have)
• It is really nice to be able to shower and change into clean clothes at the finish. If that is an option, put a complete set of clean clothes in your white bag.
• If you are not well, don’t race (I am glad I pulled out of the T100). You can always do another race, but you only have one set of vital organs.
• If you haven’t been well, adjust your race ambitions accordingly. The day will go much more pleasurably if you have realistic goals.  
• A big advantage of wearing a Serpentine Tri Suit is that you get lots of support. 
• If it isn’t sunny, clear or photochromic lenses in your sunglasses are helpful (I stupidly had dark lenses). Ditto clear or photochromic goggles.
• If you are exercising for more than a few hours, it is going to be much more fun if you manage your nutrition properly. I could do a better job of taking on enough energy during the bike ride.  I was better about forcing myself to eat a gel on the run, which seemed to help but probably isn’t enough. Avoid trying new gels and drinks during the race, which means you need your preferred nutrition on your bike and in your run (red) transition bag.