Swim
3.8 km
Sea Inlet, Triangular Course
- Layout
- 2 loops
- Setting
- Royal Beach, Eilat, Red Sea
A sheltered, triangular sea-inlet swim, done twice, gives a controllable, low-resistance start to a demanding day.
Source: current course descriptionRace IntelligenceEilat, Israel
Challenge Israman
Know your day before you race it.
Enter four numbers you already train with. You get a likely finish range, target paces and watts, and how I would race this course.
- Race day
- 29 January 2027
- Swim
- 3.8 km
- Bike
- 180 km
- Run
- 42.2 km
Published route evidence. Final 2027 route pending. Checked 15 Sept 2026.
01 Race Card
Build my Race Card
Your first range uses conservative assumptions. Add optional evidence to make it more specific. It is calculated in your browser and saved only on this device.
02 The course
What Israman actually gives you
You swim two laps of a sheltered triangular course off Royal Beach, ride an out-and-back into the desert highland above Eilat that climbs a published 3,766 metres and runs longer for full distance than for half, then run a net-downhill marathon back into the city. This is not a course that rewards ambition on the bike. It rewards restraint on the first climb, because the same road, and the same wind, is still there on the way back.
Show distances in
Bike
180 km
Desert-highland Climbing, Out-and-back
- Layout
- out-and-back, extended for full distance
- Setting
- Route 12, climbing from Eilat into the surrounding mountains and the Arava Valley
- Elevation
- 3766 m published profile difference
A genuinely mountainous out-and-back into the desert highland, extended further for full distance, makes this the hardest and most decisive part of the whole race.
Source: current course descriptionRun
42.2 km
Point-to-point, Net Downhill
- Setting
- downhill along Route 12 from T2 in Netafim towards Eilat's finish line
- Elevation
- 255 m published profile difference
A net-downhill point-to-point back into Eilat rewards legs that survived the bike's climbing honestly, rather than legs that attacked it.
Source: current course descriptionWhere these course facts come from
These facts come from the organiser’s latest published material: swim, current course description; bike, current course description; run, current course description. They describe the character of the course. They do not confirm the final 2027 route.
03 Race plan
How I’d want you to race it
One job for each part of this course. The distance markers tell you when the job changes. The course tells you why.
Swim
Start calm in the inlet
Keep the easy part easy
A sheltered, triangular sea-inlet course, swum twice, is the calmest part of the day by a wide margin. Settle in early and don't spend energy here the desert climb will actually need.
- Settle by 300 m
- Sight the triangle's corners deliberately
Bike
Pace the climb you'll ride twice
Ride the first climb like the desert will ask for it again
The course opens with a steep, crisp-morning climb from the coast into the surrounding mountains. This is the single easiest place on the whole course to spend more than you can afford to.
- Cap power on the opening climb
- Fuel before the exposure starts
A fast opening climb here is the most common way this race goes wrong
Ride the Arava Valley wind by effort
The rolling-hills route overlooking the Gulf of Eilat and the Arava Valley is known for gusty crosswind. Hold your planned effort rather than chasing speed against it.
- Ride to power or perceived effort, not speed
- Keep drinking through the exposed sections
Respect the extra out-and-back on tired legs
Full-distance riders continue past the half-distance turnaround for an additional 44.2 km each direction. This is new ground on a course that has already asked real questions; protect the same effort ceiling you set on the first climb.
- Compare effort to the opening climb, not to how fresh you feel
- Stay on your fuelling schedule
Arrive at T2 with something left for a marathon
The return leg retraces the same climbing and the same wind exposure. Finish planned nutrition and let cadence rise before the run, which starts with a genuine elevation advantage if the bike was ridden honestly.
- Finish the planned bottle
- Let cadence rise before T2
Run
Collect on a bike you didn't overspend
Don't let downhill feel like free speed
The run starts downhill along Route 12 towards Eilat. A net-downhill opening feels fast regardless of fitness; run it at your planned effort, not at the pace gravity offers.
- Shorten stride on the descent
- Check effort, not just pace
Hold what the bike left you
As the course levels out approaching Eilat, this is where a well-paced bike actually pays off. Hold your planned pace rather than reacting to how the legs feel after 180 km and real climbing.
- Reassess pace every 5 km
- Keep fuelling on schedule
Spend what the desert climb left you
The closing kilometres bring you into Eilat's finish line. If the bike was paced honestly, this is where you find out. If it wasn't, protect the finish rather than forcing one.
- Decide the finish honestly
- Save something for the finish line
04 Race week
What I would keep an eye on
There is no useful 2027 forecast this far out. For now, past race dates give us a point of reference. Closer to the race, the forecast will tell us whether the plan needs changing.
Forecast statusToo early for a forecast
A race-day forecast is not meaningful yet; check back closer to the event.
- Temperature
- 11.1–22.3°CDew point centred on 4.3°C
- Wind and gusts
- 10.1 km/hGusts up to 41.8 km/hPrevailing direction N
- Rain likelihood
- Up to 35%Wet-surface uncertainty retained
Historical baseline, 2019–2025 · Open-Meteo historical archive · Updated 2026-09-15.Historical comparison only. This is not a forecast for 2027.
05 Method
What goes into your range
Your CSS, FTP, weight and run threshold create the first range. Open-water, bike, run and execution evidence can replace broad assumptions. Course data and the historical conditions baseline shape every simulation.
- Your numbersCSS · FTP · weight · run threshold
- This raceDistance · water type · elevation · exposure
- Your Race CardFinish and discipline ranges, with target paces and watts
Confidence is built from four inputs
- Athlete evidence
- Builds with recent open-water, bike and run efforts
- Bike setup
- Builds with equipment, mass, aero and tyre detail
- Course evidence
- Partial while the 2027 route is unconfirmed
- Race-week conditions
- Historical baseline until a forecast is useful
How the model works
It starts with the targets in your Race Card, then samples the parts of a full distance that vary: open-water pace, transitions, bike speed at the planned power, and the drop in run performance after the swim and bike. Repeating that calculation produces a likely range rather than a single heroic number.
The current time calculation uses this race’s published distances, or standard full distance distances where none are published, with the available course headings, elevation and exposure evidence. Weather scenarios vary temperature, dew point, wind, gusts, rain and water conditions together. Unknown route detail stays visible as uncertainty rather than false precision.
It is not predicting your exact finishing time, placing, or race-day weather. It answers a narrower question: given the plan and the information we have, what range of day is plausible, and where is the uncertainty coming from?
Confidence is not a permanent “low”. It is recalculated across four separate inputs:
- Your evidence: consistent inputs and recent race-like swim, bike, and run results.
- Bike setup: measured or specified aerodynamics rather than a broad prior.
- The course: verified distance and route character, including elevation and technical sections.
- The conditions: a current forecast is more useful than a historical comparison.
It starts low when those inputs are broad. It can become moderate or high as the evidence improves. A narrower range means better information, not a guarantee.
Evidence
Sources and verification
Course status: Partially verified. The organiser’s descriptions and latest published route profiles are in use. The final 2027 route is not yet confirmed. Last checked 2026-09-15.
- Challenge Family official race pageofficial · accessed 2026-09-15
- Challenge Family race calendar (start time)official · accessed 2026-09-15
- Open-Meteo historical archiveweather · accessed 2026-09-15