Compiled and fact-checked by Tommo, Verus founder · Last verified August 2026 · Spot an error?

Triathlon · Middle Distance (70.3)

Grafman Middle Distance 2027

Race day
Sunday, 6 June 2027
Location
Grafham, Cambridgeshire, UK
Distance
113 km total

1.9km swim 90km bike 21.1km run

Grafman Middle Distance: 6 June 2027 — the Grafham Water course, a split-time calculator, and real Verus athletes racing it.

269 days to go

Key Race Metrics & Overview

Date
Sunday, 6 June 2027
Venue
Grafham Water Visitor Centre, Marlow Park, Grafham, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire PE28 0BH
Distance
Middle Distance (70.3) — 113km total
Start Time
Historically 7:00am (2025/2026 pattern) — not yet confirmed for 2027.
Draft-Legal Bike
No — non-drafting
Cut-Off
Overall cut-off: 9 hours 30 minutes. Per-leg cut-offs are not published.

Also this weekend

A Middle Distance Aquabike and a Middle Distance Relay (2-3 person teams) both run the same day at the same venue.

Middle Distance Aquabike

1.9km 90km

Swim and bike only, at the same middle-distance lengths — no run leg.

Leg 1 of 3

Swim — 1.9km

Two laps of 950m each, with an Australian-style mid-swim exit. Swim hats are compulsory and provided.

Venue
Grafham Water
Elevation gain
No official figure published — see notes above
Surface
Reservoir — still water.

Wetsuit: Decided by a British Triathlon Technical Official on the morning of the race, per standard rule 4.2 — water temperature is taken race-morning only.

Leg 2 of 3

Bike — 90km

Quiet country lanes and rolling Cambridgeshire countryside, with a mandatory full stop at a marked right turn roughly 9km into the lap where the route joins a faster road. No elevation figure is published.

Venue
Cambridgeshire countryside
Elevation gain
No official figure published — see notes above
Surface
Public road.

Non-drafting

Leg 3 of 3

Run — 21.1km

A four-lap, 5km-per-lap course around Grafham Water with views of the Valve Tower, on traffic-free, signed and marshalled paths.

Venue
Grafham Water
Elevation gain
No official figure published — see notes above
Surface
Mixed traffic-free paths.

Wetsuit outlook

Will you need a wetsuit at Grafman Middle Distance?

Water temperature at reservoir in June has typically been 12.4°C, ranging from 11.1°C to 13.5°C in eight of every ten years. Against British Triathlon's thresholds for this race's 1900m swim, that means:

Wetsuit mandatory

Below 16°C a wetsuit is compulsory for a 1900m swim under rule 4.2(a).

What would have happened in each of the last 16 years

  • Swim cancelled2 of 16
  • Wetsuit mandatory14 of 16

What the organiser says

Decided by a British Triathlon Technical Official on the morning of the race, per standard rule 4.2 — water temperature is taken race-morning only.

Estimated from air-temperature history — no direct measurement of this water exists, and small, shallow venues tend to run a degree or two warmer than shown. The official temperature is taken an hour before the start, and only that reading decides the rule on the day.

Transitions

Bikes are racked on race morning, closing 5 minutes before the start; all wetsuits must be dipped in a Milton dip bin at the transition exit.

Grafman Middle Distance Split Calculator

Grafman Middle Distance Split-Time Calculator

Enter your own swim, bike and run pace to project a real finish time.

Swim /100m
T1
Bike km/h
T2
Run /km

Projected Finish Time

5:38:03

Swim1.9km @ 2:00/100m
38:00(38:00 total)
T1Swim → Bike
2:00(40:00 total)
Bike90km @ 30km/h
3:00:00(3:40:00 total)
T2Bike → Run
2:00(3:42:00 total)
Run21.1km @ 5:30/km
1:56:03(5:38:03 total)

Racing a different distance? Try the generic split calculator or the swim pace calculator.

Where Grafman Middle Distance starts and finishes

Swim: Grafham Water

These are the start and finish points, not the route. Verus doesn't hold course files for this race, and drawing a line between two pins would be a guess you might end up training on.

Entry & Ballot

Direct entry summary

2026 pricing (for reference, now closed): Aquabike £154.76, Triathlon £175.96, Relay £198.22 per team. First come, first served — most aggregator sites still show a stale 2026 date, but the organizer's own booking system confirms the next edition is 6 June 2027.

Ballot policy

No ballot — entry is first come, first served.

Age requirement

Not explicitly published for this race — the general British Triathlon standard for middle/long-distance age-group competition is 18.

Charity Places

Alzheimer's Research UK is the official charity, supported via donation or GoFundMe fundraising — no fee and no fixed minimum-fundraising figure is published.

Race Day Info & Checklist

On the day

  • Timing uses an ankle-strap chip, managed by Event Chip Timing.
  • On-site café, playground and spectator support stations are available at Grafham Water Visitor Centre.
  • On-site parking is available with payment machines; nearby camping is available via Lakeview Paddock.
  • The organiser (Active Training World) does not publish a full athlete guide online — final race details (maps, exact parking cost, baggage, start times) are emailed to registered athletes about 10 days before the event rather than posted publicly.

Checklist

  • Wetsuit, goggles, swim cap (provided) for the Grafham Water swim
  • Bike, helmet (mandatory) and bike shoes, racked on race morning before the transition closes
  • Run shoes and nutrition for the 90km bike and 21.1km run legs
  • Body marking and race-morning check-in completed before transition closes
  • Payment for on-site parking machines
  • A meeting point agreed with family/friends near Grafham Water Visitor Centre for afterwards
How many weeks do you actually need to train for Middle Distance (70.3)?

Transport, Spectating & Where to Stay

Transport

No specific race-day train guidance is published — this is a rural venue best reached by car.

On-site parking is available at Grafham Water with payment machines.

The bike leg runs on open, not closed, public roads.

Spectator guide

No dedicated spectator guide is published, though generic "spectator support stations" and the on-site café are mentioned.

No official guidance is published on moving between viewing points.

Where to stay

Huntingdon

+ The nearest town, with a good range of accommodation and rail links.

A short drive to Grafham Water for the start.

Grafham Water (wider)

+ Nearby camping is available via Lakeview Paddock, close to the venue.

Limited if you specifically want a hotel rather than camping.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is the Grafman Middle Distance 2027?

Sunday 6 June 2027 — the organizer's own booking system confirms this, though many aggregator sites still show a stale, already-passed 2026 date.

How long is the Grafman Middle Distance?

A genuine 70.3-equivalent: 1.9km swim, 90km bike, 21.1km run around Grafham Water, Cambridgeshire.

Has the Grafman Middle Distance hosted championships?

Yes — it was voted National Event of the Year in 2014, and has hosted the Triathlon England Middle Distance Championships (2015 and 2023) and British Championships (2016).

What is the Grafman Middle Distance cut-off time?

9 hours 30 minutes overall.

Which charity does the Grafman Middle Distance support?

Alzheimer's Research UK, supported via donation or GoFundMe fundraising with no fee.

Does the Grafman Middle Distance have a ballot?

No — entry is first come, first served.

When were Grafman Middle Distance results published?

No results yet — they'll be added here once the 2027 race has actually happened, or check the official results source directly.