Racing · Free tool
Triathlon Finish Time Calculator: Ironman, 70.3 & Olympic
Pick the race distance, then enter the swim pace, bike speed and run pace you expect to hold, plus a guess at each transition. You get your finish time and the split for every leg, and for 70.3 and full-distance races a check against the usual swim, bike and finish cutoffs.
Where the time actually goes
The bike is about half of any long-course race. In a 70.3 ridden at 30 km/h, the 90 km takes three hours; riding just 1 km/h slower adds about six minutes. Swimming 5 seconds per 100 m faster over the same race saves about a minute and a half. If your training time is limited, the bike is usually where it pays most.
Transitions are the cheapest time in the sport. Getting out of a wetsuit, running a long transition area and fumbling with a helmet strap can easily cost five minutes in T1. Rehearse both transitions a few times before race day and you save minutes without getting any fitter.
Your run pace off the bike
The pace to enter is the one you can hold after the ride, not your best stand-alone half marathon or marathon pace. Legs that have just pushed for hours run slower, and the run is where heat and fuelling mistakes made on the bike show up.
The best evidence is your own brick sessions: a long ride straight into a run at goal effort. Without that, start from your open-race pace, slow it down, and let the result tell you whether the finish time looks believable.
Ironman and 70.3 cutoffs
Most full-distance races close the swim at 2:20, require you off the bike by 10:30, and close the finish at 17 hours. Most 70.3 races use 1:10 for the swim, 5:30 for the bike and 8:30 for the finish. With rolling starts, each limit is timed from when you crossed the start line, not from the first wave.
The swim cutoff is taken as you leave the water. The bike cutoff is taken as you come off the bike, so T1 counts against it. Some races with hard courses set different limits, so check your athlete guide before building a race plan around a narrow margin.
Frequently asked questions
How long does an Ironman take?
Most age-group finishers take somewhere between about 11 and 15 hours: roughly 1 to 1.5 hours for the swim, 5.5 to 7 hours on the bike and 4 to 5.5 hours for the marathon. The course closes at 17 hours.
How long is a 70.3?
A 70.3 is a 1.2-mile (1.9 km) swim, a 56-mile (90 km) bike and a 13.1-mile (21.1 km) run: 70.3 miles in all, half the full distance. Many age-groupers finish in five and a half to seven hours, and the usual cutoff is 8 hours 30 minutes.
How long should I allow for transitions?
In a long-course race, allow roughly 4 to 8 minutes for T1 (wetsuit off, often a long run through transition) and 2 to 5 minutes for T2. In sprint and Olympic races, where transitions are shorter and nobody changes clothes, 1 to 3 minutes each is typical.