Compiled and fact-checked by Tommo, Verus founder · Last verified August 2026 · Spot an error?
Triathlon · Middle Distance (70.3)
IRONMAN 70.3 Melbourne 2026
- Race day
- Sunday, 8 November 2026
- Location
- St Kilda, Melbourne, Victoria
- Distance
- 113 km total
1.9km swim 90km bike 21.1km run
IRONMAN 70.3 Melbourne: 8 November 2026, St Kilda. A new swim course, two laps of Beach Road, a flat waterfront half — cut-offs and entry.
59 days to go
Key Race Metrics & Overview
- Date
- Sunday, 8 November 2026
- Venue
- Catani Gardens, St Kilda
- Distance
- Middle Distance (70.3) — 113km total
- Start Time
- A rolling start in front of the St Kilda Sea Baths. Exact times are confirmed in the Athlete Information Guide during race week.
- Draft-Legal Bike
- No — non-drafting
- Cut-Off
- Measured from your individual start: 1 hour 10 minutes for the swim and 5 hours 30 minutes for the bike, with riders who miss it collected by the sag wagons. The overall limit is published in the Athlete Information Guide.
Also this weekend
Melbourne is a standalone 70.3 rather than a festival — the day is the half-distance race and its relay and aquabike categories.
Leg 1 of 3
Swim — 1.9km
A new course for 2026, starting with a rolling start in front of the St Kilda Sea Baths. Athletes swim 100m west, turn left south towards St Kilda Marina, then right and west, then right and north under the new St Kilda Pier, before a final right into the swim finish chute directly in front of Catani Gardens — the shortest possible run into transition. The change also means spectators can watch the whole swim from the pier.
- Venue
- Port Phillip Bay, St Kilda Beach
- Elevation gain
- No official figure published — see notes above
- Surface
- Sheltered bay.
Wetsuit: Port Phillip Bay averages around 18°C at this time of year, which the organiser expects to make it a wetsuit-optional swim. Confirmed on the day against the measured temperature.
Leg 2 of 3
Bike — 90km
Two clockwise laps of Beach Road — the road every cyclist in Melbourne already trains on. From T1 the course heads briefly north, then south along the coast past Half Moon Bay and the southern point of Beaumaris, turning just before the Mordialloc Life Saving Club and returning to St Kilda for the second lap. Fast, flat and, by the organiser’s own description, some of the best riding Melbourne has.
- Venue
- Beach Road, St Kilda to Mordialloc
- Elevation gain
- No official figure published — see notes above
- Surface
- Sealed road — flat.
Non-drafting
Leg 3 of 3
Run — 21.1km
Two clockwise laps along the St Kilda and Elwood waterfront, out south on Pier Road onto the Bay Trail, the length of St Kilda Beach to a turnaround just past Elwood Beach, and back north to Catani Gardens. The second lap finishes down the palm-lined avenue at Catani Gardens, with the Melbourne CBD skyline across the water the whole way.
- Venue
- St Kilda and Elwood waterfront
- Elevation gain
- No official figure published — see notes above
- Surface
- Sealed path — flat.
Wetsuit outlook
Will you need a wetsuit at IRONMAN 70.3 Melbourne?
Water temperature at open sea in November has typically been 16.7°C, ranging from 15.6°C to 18°C in eight of every ten years. Against IRONMAN / 70.3's thresholds for this race's 1900m swim, that means:
Wetsuit optional — and recommended
Up to and including 24.5°C (76.1°F) every athlete may wear a wetsuit and remain eligible for awards.
What would have happened in each of the last 16 years
- Wetsuit mandatory4 of 16
- Optional (recommended)12 of 16
What the organiser says
Port Phillip Bay averages around 18°C at this time of year, which the organiser expects to make it a wetsuit-optional swim. Confirmed on the day against the measured temperature.
Calibrated against measured sea-surface data, to within about 1°C. The official temperature is taken an hour before the start, and only that reading decides the rule on the day.
Transitions
Transition sits at Catani Gardens, with the new swim finish chute directly in front of it. The bike dismount line is 100m from transition on the opposite side to the swim exit, with entry on the western side; toilets and a small water station are inside, and the run exit is on the south-east.
IRONMAN 70.3 Melbourne Split Calculator
IRONMAN 70.3 Melbourne 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 Melbourne starts and finishes
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 .
What you can qualify for
IRONMAN 70.3 races award age-group qualifying slots for the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship. Allocations are published per race and per age group before race day.
Entry & Ballot
Direct entry summary
Entry is direct through IRONMAN at tiered pricing that rises as the race approaches.
Ballot policy
No ballot — entry is direct and tier-priced.
Age requirement
Not published for this event — check the official race website.
Charity Places
Not published for this event — check the official race website.
Race Day Info & Checklist
On the day
- The swim course was rebuilt for 2026, moving the finish chute directly in front of Catani Gardens and opening St Kilda Pier as a spectator vantage point.
- The bike is two laps of Beach Road, which is closed for the race — the one day a year Melbourne’s busiest training road belongs to the field.
- The whole course sits within a few kilometres of the Melbourne CBD, which makes it one of the easiest 70.3 races anywhere to reach and to spectate.
- Water in Port Phillip Bay averages around 18°C in November — cool enough that most people will want a wetsuit even where it is optional.
- On-course fuel is typically PURE Sports Nutrition Electrolyte and Maurten Energy Gels/Bars, the nutrition partners confirmed in official Athlete Information Guides for other Australian IRONMAN races — not independently confirmed for this specific event.
Checklist
- A wetsuit, even though the swim is likely to be wetsuit-optional at around 18°C
- A bike plan for a genuinely flat two-lap course, where the temptation is to ride too hard early
- Sun protection for a flat, unshaded two-lap run along the bay
- Gear bags packed to the published transition process
- A tram plan — the 96 runs from the CBD to the door
Transport, Spectating & Where to Stay
Transport
The 96 tram runs from Southern Cross and the CBD to St Kilda beach, and Balaclava station is a short walk. This is one of the most public-transport-accessible 70.3 races in the world.
Not published for this event — check the official race website.
Beach Road is closed from St Kilda to Mordialloc, along with the St Kilda foreshore roads.
Spectator guide
St Kilda Pier for the whole swim — new for 2026 — Catani Gardens for both transitions and the finish, and anywhere on the Bay Trail for the run.
You do not need to move. The swim, both transitions, the run and the finish are all within a few hundred metres of Catani Gardens.
Where to stay
St Kilda
+ Walk to everything. Plenty of accommodation, and the beach and Acland Street on the doorstep.
– St Kilda on a Saturday night is not quiet.
Melbourne CBD and Southbank
+ The widest choice, with a direct tram to the start.
– A tram ride on race morning, before the trams are frequent.
Elwood and Brighton
+ Quieter, on the run and bike course, and a genuinely pleasant part of Melbourne.
– Further from the event village and its logistics.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is IRONMAN 70.3 Melbourne?
Sunday 8 November 2026, from Catani Gardens in St Kilda.
Is the IRONMAN 70.3 Melbourne swim wetsuit legal?
Port Phillip Bay averages around 18°C in November, which the organiser expects to make it wetsuit-optional. Bring one — at 18°C most people want it even when it is not compulsory.
What is the IRONMAN 70.3 Melbourne bike course like?
Two clockwise laps of Beach Road, from St Kilda south past Half Moon Bay and Beaumaris to a turnaround near Mordialloc. Flat, fast, and on the road every Melbourne cyclist trains on.
What are the IRONMAN 70.3 Melbourne cut-offs?
From your individual start: 1 hour 10 minutes for the swim and 5 hours 30 minutes for the bike. Riders who miss the bike cut-off are collected by the sag wagons.
Where can spectators watch IRONMAN 70.3 Melbourne?
From Catani Gardens, which covers both transitions, the run and the finish — and now from St Kilda Pier, which the 2026 swim course was redesigned to open up.