IMOZ 2023 Important Update (apparently)

no Mathew flinders anymore.....pussies

And you have to do it at 3am, in the rain?

In a further nod to commercialism, Ironman will now sell "vouchers" where you can buy out of sections of the course.

Swim too long?? There's a voucher for that!

MFD too steep? There's a voucher for that!

Last of the run too hard? There's a voucher for that!

From the wording, I too expect something changed about MFD.

So saying, MFD is not the issue that needs to be addressed for the course.

Biggest things that need to be addressed
Firstly - Lighting on the run course - esp at the north west end, it was just dangerous last year. And as they have run the course around there before, THEY SHOULD KNOW BETTER.
For the first 2hours after dark, there was no lighting, and then a little was added later. Overall - this is a safety matter, and is the biggest issue with the course.
(So saying, that is why for the full distance, I keep a headtorch in special needs, I just wish I didn't have to. and before anyone says "just get faster", with sunset at approx 10h20m into the AG race, The vast majority of entrants will "just need to get faster")
Secondly - The quality of the road surface on the bike is why I am not returning, there is coarse chipseal, and then there is whatever sh!t they paved those roads with (where it isn't potholes or badly patched potholes) - until that surface gets better, I won't be back. I would be happy to add two more ascents of MFD for a good quality road surface.

Bike course will now only go up mfd once and only go as far south as lake cathie , the exciting news is that it will go out the old highway , and over the new highway and around some nice quiet country roads
Lots of hills and some (but not all) smoother roads

Will be a great change and it should have happened years ago , local committee have been pushing this but been held up with permits etc and lack of IM commitment to change

Hi Peter,
With iconic races like IRONMAN Australia and IRONMAN 70.3 Port Macquarie, it’s always a challenge to make something great even better. Which is why we are super-excited to reveal our brand-new bike courses.

There are always lots of discussions about the bike course at this event, so with the amazing support of local stakeholders, we have come up with what we think is a game-changing new direction (literally and figuratively) from 2023.

The new IRONMAN course will now start by heading west along Hastings River Dr before a 2-lap section within the beautiful Port Macquarie countryside. This new section of the course will have big open roads, smoother surfaces, a few rollers, and it will be exclusive to athletes competing in the IRONMAN distance. Once out of the countryside, riders will venture back into town, past Transition and head south all the way to Tacking Point Lighthouse (views for days!) before flying down Ocean Dr to the turnaround at Lake Cathie. On the way back, it’s all about that one last push up the infamous Matthew Flinders Drive (you didn’t think we’d leave it out, did you?), before heading back to town and into T2. You can check out the new course maps online here, or our new bike course preview video here.

For IRONMAN 70.3 Port Macquarie athletes, we’ve also made a few tweaks to your bike course. A new 2-lap course will see riders head East as in previous years, also getting to go all the way out to Tacking Point Lighthouse before heading out to the turnaround at Lake Cathie and back to Port Mac to start lap two. For the observant, you’ll know that this means you’ll be tackling Mathew Flinders not once, but twice. You can check out the new course maps online here.

We are sure you’ll agree that these changes will make for an amazing new experience for this iconic race, so why not come and race with us on 7 May 2023.

Thanks,

I like it

It’s far far better out there 
but still not super 
some really nice sections and even some hot mix 

The new course has an elevation gain of 1625m

Does anybody know what Ironman measured the old course elevation gain at?

My Garmin data ranges from 1452m to 1897m

What were people saying? I didn’t see

IM = no MFH
HIM - 2 x MFH

FM

Yes, looking at the profile it's consistently undulating for the full distance and you've got a back and forth through Port hills at the end of course.

Four times (previously two) through the Port hills is going to be tough for some, especially first timers, in the 70.3.

The scale of the elevation chart might be making it look worse than it really is 

Yep, sorry. Once for the softies - twice for the committed. 

FM