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Race IntelligencePanama City, Panama

IRONMAN 70.3 Panama

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
28 February 2027
Swim
1.9 km
Bike
90 km
Run
21.1 km

Published route evidence. Final 2027 route pending. Checked 14 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.

Your numbers
Distance unit
Weight unit
You and this race
Sharpen your range with more detailOptional. Recent swim, bike and run results, equipment and transitions.

Add only the evidence you have. Every control changes a discipline range, its uncertainty, or an execution-risk explanation.

Swim evidence

Replaces the broad pool-to-open-water assumption.

Bike and equipment

These replace broad mass, aerodynamics, tyre, and power-to-speed assumptions.

Run evidence

A recent effort and honest durability/acclimation answers refine the post-bike run.

Race execution

Transition proficiency changes the T1/T2 range and how wet conditions are treated.

02 The course

What Panama actually gives you

You swim point-to-point on the Panama Canal's Pacific side from Balboa Yacht Club toward the Biomuseo, ride a flat three-loop route past the Amador Causeway and Panama Viejo, then run three waterfront loops out to Isla Naos with views of the Panama Canal and the Bridge of the Americas. The flat bike tempts overriding in tropical heat; hold your number and the run stays available.

Show distances in

Swim

1.9 km

Point-to-point Canal Swim

Setting
the Panama Canal's Pacific side, from Balboa Yacht Club toward the Biomuseo

A calm, point-to-point canal swim gives a controllable, honest opening.

Source: 2027 current route

Bike

90 km

Three-loop City Route

Layout
3 loops
Setting
the Amador Causeway, Cinta Costera, Via Israel and Panama Viejo

A flat, three-loop city route removes any terrain reason to hold back, so pacing discipline has to be self-imposed in tropical heat.

Source: 2027 current route

Run

21.1 km

Three-loop Waterfront Route

Layout
3 loops
Setting
Isla Naos, the Panama Convention Center and the Bridge of the Americas

Three waterfront loops past the Panama Canal, and tropical heat, punish a bike ridden too hard with nothing to force restraint.

Source: 2027 current route
Where these course facts come from

These facts come from the organiser’s latest published material: swim, 2027 current route; bike, 2027 current route; run, 2027 current route. 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

Settle in the canal

  1. 0–300 m

    The start

    Find clean water early

    The calm canal swim rewards an honest, controlled opening.

    • Seed honestly
    • Settle into rhythm

Bike

Ride the flat by number

  1. 0 km–30 km

    First loop

    The flat is a trap, not a gift

    With no hills to force pacing discipline, it's easy to override on this flat city route. Hold your number regardless of how easy it feels.

    • Cap opening effort
    • Fuel early

  2. 30 km–90 km

    Remaining loops

    Protect the run

    Repeat the first loop's effort and finish planned nutrition before the three-loop run.

    • Stay patient
    • Finish planned nutrition

Run

Manage the heat across three loops

  1. 0 km–7 km

    First loop

    Start controlled

    Let the first waterfront loop feel easy, not fast, and manage the heat from the start.

    • Easy first aid station
    • Check posture

  2. 7 km–14 km

    Second loop

    Hold the pace

    Repeat the first loop's effort rather than letting it drift in the heat.

    • Stay tall
    • Keep fuelling

  3. 14 km–21.1 km

    Third loop

    Use what you saved

    Only progress on the final loop once the first two have held together.

    • Choose the last move late

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
24.2–32.4°CDew point centred on 21.0°C
Wind and gusts
13.2 km/hGusts up to 41.8 km/hPrevailing direction N
Rain likelihood
Up to 80%Wet-surface uncertainty retained

Historical baseline, 2019–2025 · Open-Meteo historical archive · Updated 2026-09-14.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.

  1. Your numbersCSS · FTP · weight · run threshold
  2. This raceDistance · water type · elevation · exposure
  3. 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 70.3 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 70.3 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.

06 Next steps

If Panama is your race

Your range is built on today’s numbers. The months of training before race day decide what those numbers become.

The work from here.

Self-guided routeHalf-distance training plansTraining plans for the durability this course asks for.See the plans Personalised routeWork with me on the whole buildCoaching when you want the plan and race decisions joined up.See coaching

Further reading

ArticleHow to pace a 70.3 so you can still runThe longer version of the pacing logic behind this Race Card.ArticleFix the first ten minutes off the bikeUseful when an overridden flat bike needs to become controlled running.

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 2026-09-14.