Compiled and fact-checked by Tommo, Verus founder · Last verified August 2026 · Spot an error?
Triathlon · Middle Distance (70.3)
IRONMAN 70.3 Staffordshire 2023
- Race day
- Sunday, 11 June 2023
- Location
- Staffordshire, UK
- Distance
- 113 km total
1.9km swim 90km bike 21.1km run
IRONMAN 70.3 Staffordshire has been discontinued since 2023 — what the race was, why it ended, and where Ironman UK athletes have gone instead.
Key Race Metrics & Overview
- Date
- Sunday, 11 June 2023
- Venue
- Swim start at Chasewater Country Park, Burntwood; bike through Cannock Chase; run finishes in Stafford Market Square
- Distance
- Middle Distance (70.3) — 113km total
- Start Time
- N/A — this event no longer runs. The final edition (11 June 2023) started at first light, per standard IRONMAN 70.3 practice.
- Draft-Legal Bike
- No — non-drafting
- Cut-Off
- Not applicable — the race is discontinued.
Also this weekend
Not applicable — the race is discontinued.
Leg 1 of 3
Swim — 1.9km
A reservoir swim at Chasewater Country Park.
- Venue
- Chasewater Country Park (reservoir), Burntwood
- Elevation gain
- No official figure published — see notes above
- Surface
- Reservoir — still water.
Wetsuit: Not confirmed in sources checked — the official IRONMAN site was not directly accessible during research. Check ironman.com or your athlete confirmation email.
Leg 2 of 3
Bike — 90km
Widely reported by participants (though not confirmed on an official spec sheet) to include a demanding climb through Cannock Chase, sometimes nicknamed "the Chase Climb" — repeatedly described as one of the more physically demanding branded 70.3 bike courses.
- Venue
- Cannock Chase, Staffordshire
- Elevation gain
- No official figure published — see notes above
- Surface
- Road.
Non-drafting
Leg 3 of 3
Run — 21.1km
Finishes with a red-carpet finish in Stafford Market Square. Third-party race reports describe a steep finish climb near Stafford Castle, reported up to 17% gradient in places — not an official published figure.
- Venue
- Stafford, Staffordshire
- Elevation gain
- No official figure published — see notes above
- Surface
- Road.
Wetsuit outlook
Will you need a wetsuit at IRONMAN 70.3 Staffordshire?
Water temperature at reservoir in June has typically been 12.5°C, ranging from 11.1°C to 13.6°C in eight of every ten years. Against IRONMAN / 70.3's thresholds for this race's 1900m swim, that means:
Wetsuit mandatory
Below 16°C (60.8°F) IRONMAN requires a wetsuit.
What would have happened in each of the last 16 years
- Wetsuit mandatory16 of 16
What the organiser says
Not confirmed in sources checked — the official IRONMAN site was not directly accessible during research. Check ironman.com or your athlete confirmation email.
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
T1 and T2 were in separate locations (swim venue and run venue were not the same place), connected by organizer shuttle buses — a genuinely unusual setup while the race ran.
IRONMAN 70.3 Staffordshire Split Calculator
IRONMAN 70.3 Staffordshire Split-Time Calculator
Enter your own swim, bike and run pace to project a real finish time.
Projected Finish Time
5:38:03
Racing a different distance? Try the generic split calculator or the swim pace calculator.
Where IRONMAN 70.3 Staffordshire starts and finishes
IRONMAN 70.3 Staffordshire starts at Swim start at Chasewater Country Park, Burntwood; bike through Cannock Chase; run finishes in Stafford Market Square and finishes at Chasewater Country Park (reservoir), Burntwood. We haven't been able to place those on a map accurately enough to show one — a pin in the wrong place is worse than no pin.
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. The official course map is the one to use: view it on the organiser's site .
Entry & Ballot
Direct entry summary
This race is discontinued and cannot be entered. IRONMAN ran a UK-calendar restructuring in mid-2023 and confirmed that IRONMAN 70.3 Staffordshire — after eight editions — would not return for 2024 or beyond, following its final running on 11 June 2023 (reported by the BBC and the Express & Star). If you're looking for a UK IRONMAN 70.3, the current England calendar runs races like Bolton and Weymouth instead — see Verus's other UK triathlon guides.
Ballot policy
Not applicable — the race is discontinued.
Age requirement
Not applicable — the race is discontinued.
Charity Places
Not published for this event.
Race Day Info & Checklist
On the day
- This page is kept as a historical record — IRONMAN 70.3 Staffordshire does not run any more and has no future edition to prepare for.
- One of the more physically demanding branded 70.3 courses by participant reputation, given the Cannock Chase bike climb and steep run finish near Stafford Castle.
- A genuinely unusual two-site setup — swim at Chasewater Country Park, run finish in Stafford, connected by shuttle buses rather than a single shared venue.
- Its final (2023) edition's aid stations, per the official Aid Station Guide, served Gatorade Thirst Quencher, water, 226ers Race Day Bars and Gummy Bars, bananas and Maurten gels on the bike (3 stations), and the same plus cola, salted snacks and a dedicated Red Bull Energy Station on the run (7 stations).
Checklist
Transport, Spectating & Where to Stay
Transport
Stafford railway station served the finish-area town while the race ran; Chasewater Country Park is a drive away in Burntwood.
Not applicable — the race is discontinued.
Not applicable — the race is discontinued.
Spectator guide
Not applicable — the race is discontinued.
Not applicable — the race is discontinued.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is IRONMAN 70.3 Staffordshire still running?
No. IRONMAN restructured its UK calendar in mid-2023 and confirmed the race would not return after its eighth and final edition on 11 June 2023 — reported at the time by the BBC and the Express & Star. There is no 2026 or 2027 date, and none is planned.
Why did IRONMAN 70.3 Staffordshire end?
IRONMAN's own 2023 UK-calendar restructuring dropped it, alongside other changes to the England race lineup. No single cause was published beyond that restructuring — it wasn't presented as a safety or venue issue, unlike some other discontinued IRONMAN races.
Was IRONMAN 70.3 Staffordshire a hard course?
By participant reputation, yes — a demanding bike climb through Cannock Chase and a steep run finish near Stafford Castle made it one of the tougher branded 70.3 courses, though exact gradient figures were never officially published.
Where is the closest UK IRONMAN 70.3 now that Staffordshire is gone?
IRONMAN 70.3 Bolton and IRONMAN 70.3 Weymouth are both still on the England calendar — see Verus's guides to each.
Were IRONMAN 70.3 Staffordshire 2023 results published?
Verus doesn't have a direct link to the 2023 results yet. Check https://www.ironman.com/im703-staffordshire for the organiser's own results page.