70.3 Higashi Mikawa: What we know about im 70.3 Japan

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Ever since this race was announced, everybody has a lot of questions. 
And for good reason.
The information provided on the IRONMAN website is limited - there's no real course map, the travel and logistics details are sparse, and at this point, race day is less than three months away. 

Below, we've wrapped up what we know about the race: ​

• Important Locations​
• Schedule
• Race Venue Transportation & Logistics
• Accommodation
• Spectators, Supporters & Sherpas​
• ​Background Details

​Unfortunately, the lack of details is frankly unsurprising - it's about on par with the vast majority of events here. We try to keep things honest around here and the truth is that we suspect this will probably be an event that tests your patience. Not only is it an inaugural event, the repeated delays in opening registration, and the current lack of information don't give us confidence. 
​Pessimistic? Realistic? Only time will tell.

​last update March 17, 2023

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IMPORTANT LOCATIONS

ATHLETE CHECK-IN, START, T1, T2:
​Shiroya Beach Park (maps)

FINISH: Toyohashi Total Sports Park (maps)

PRIMARY TRAIN STATION: Toyohashi (maps)

• Shiroya Beach Park <-> Toyohashi Total Sports Park: approx. 24km 
• Toyohashi Total Sports Park <-> Toyohashi station: approx. 6km 
• Shiroya Beach Park <-> Toyohashi station: approx. 20km
• Point to point run starting at Shiroya Beach Park, finishing at Toyohashi Total Sports Park (source)

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Schedule

• With just one day and five hours allotted for athlete check-in and bike check-in on Friday (June 9), athletes should plan to arrive as early as possible. 
• Officially, practice swim is limited to two hours between 1300 and 1500 on Friday - your wetsuit might still be cold and wet for the race the following morning. However, Shiroya Beach Park is a public area and it may be possible to enter the waters at other times (most likely without lifeguard supervision).
• Bike check-out is listed at the finish in Toyohashi Sports Park, so it's assumed bikes and transition bags will be transported by the race organizer from T1/T2 at Shiroya Beach Park (approximately 25km away).

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RACE venue TRANSPORTATION & Logistics

Word is that free shuttle buses will be made available for key routes before and after the race. The tentative shuttle bus schedule is as follows:
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JUNE 9 | Friday 
Toyohashi station <-> Shiroya Beach Park 
for athlete check-in and bike check-in 

JUNE 10 | Saturday
Toyohashi station -> Shiroya Beach Park 
for start line from about 0400AM on a rolling basis 
Toyohashi Total Sports Park -> Toyohashi station
from finish line
* assumed that bikes and transition bags will be transported to the finish from T1/T2 by the race organizer

Still To Be Determined

• ​Whether shuttle buses are available ONLY for athletes, e.g. what about supporters on Friday? And spectators on Saturday? 
• Whether shuttle buses will accommodate bikes on Friday for bike check-in, e.g. will bikes need to be packed for transport? If so, athletes will have almost no time to test their bike before checking it in - less than ideal. Or, will trucks take assembled bikes and follow shuttle buses to bike check-in? 
• Whether shuttle buses from the finish to Toyohashi station will accommodate bikes. Since bikes are collected at the finish area, will trucks carrying bikes accompany buses? Or will athletes need to figure out how to get where they need to on their bikes with their transition bags?
• Ideally, personal vehicles could be parked at the finish area in the morning to facilitate dispersal of athletes after crossing the finish line. Buses could then be arranged to take athletes from the Sports Park to the start (not just from Toyohashi station). ​

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accommodation

The following hotels are listed on the race website as accommodation options by the official travel and accommodation partners: 
​
​Wind City Hotel
AB Hotel Tahara
Hotel Associa Toyohashi
Loisir Hotel Toyohashi
Plaza Inn Toyohashi
Just Inn Premium Toyohashi Station Shinkansen Exit
AB Hotel Toyohashi
APA Hotel Toyohashi Ekimae
Business Hotel Okadaya Bayside
as listed by JTB (source) 

Athletes who plan to rely on the shuttle buses should find accommodation by Toyohashi station - because the current (tentative) shuttle bus routes indicate that Toyohashi station will be the main hub for pick up and drop off. 

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spectators, supporters & Sherpas

SWIM 

• Should be able to gather at Shiroya Beach Park to support athletes and watch the swim, as well as T1

BIKE 

• With a one-lap course that's TBD, it's hard to tell where supporters could watch the bike (and whether it would be worth a few seconds to watch their athlete fly by). 
• T2 is at Shiroya Beach Park, so supporters may have better luck sticking around all morning

RUN 

• With a point to point run course, supporters should consider planning out a journey from the run start at Shiroya Beach Park to the run finish at Toyohashi Total Sports Park. 
• Based on Google Maps, this is about a 30 min. drive but nearly 2 hours using a combination of buses, trains, and walking. If relying on public transport, you may not make it in time to watch your athlete cross the finish line, especially if your athlete is expected to complete the run in less than 2 hours.

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background details

Who are the race organizers? 
Athlonia (link - Japanese only). Led by former professional triathlete and multi-Kona qualifier Taro Shirato, Athlonia is one of Japan's largest triathlon race organizers and have been in the business for nearly two decades. 

What happened to IRONMAN 70.3 Japan Centrair Chita Peninsula? 
As far as we know, it's been canned. We suspect the last edition of 70.3 Centrair did not sit well with local authorities and the IRONMAN powers. However, both 70.3 Centrair and 70.3 Higashi Mikawa take place in Aichi, so it appears that IRONMAN (or triathlon generally) remains a valued presence at the prefectural level. 

Back in September 2020, 70.3 Centrair took place on a significantly compact race course compared to previous years. As a means of minimizing the potential spread of COVID-19 and to decrease human traffic flow over broad areas, a seven-lap bike course and multi-lap run course were created. Unfortunately on race day, a serious head-on collision resulted in at least three triathletes injured (link).

The cycling course came to a stop to accommodate emergency vehicles and ultimately, with no safe way to restart hundreds of cyclists on the compact course, the bike portion was called off. Regardless of whether one lap or six laps had been completed, all athletes were guided back to rack their bikes at T2 and prepared for a rolling start to complete the run.