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Race IntelligenceState College, United States

IRONMAN 70.3 Pennsylvania Happy Valley

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
23 May 2027
Swim
1.9 km
Bike
90 km
Run
21.1 km

Published route evidence. Final 2027 route pending. Checked 13 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 Pennsylvania Happy Valley actually gives you

You swim a simple one-loop reservoir course at Bald Eagle State Park, ride 90 km of rural Pennsylvania farmland over three named climbs (Beaver Bluff, Old Main Grind and Nittany Summit), then run through Penn State's campus and the Beaver Stadium tunnel to a finish on the field itself. The named climbs are the whole story here; ride them by plan and the stadium finish is yours to enjoy.

Show distances in

Swim

1.9 km

Reservoir Loop

Layout
1 loop, two right turns
Setting
Foster Sayers Reservoir, Bald Eagle State Park

A simple reservoir loop with just two turns at Bald Eagle State Park gives a calm, spectator-friendly start.

Source: 2026 current route

Bike

90 km

Rural Farmland Roads With Named Climbs

Setting
central Pennsylvania farmland, via the Beaver Bluff, Old Main Grind and Nittany Summit climbs

Three named climbs through central Pennsylvania's farmland make pacing discipline the whole test of this course.

Source: 2026 current route

Run

21.1 km

Campus Streets and a Stadium Finish

Setting
Penn State University's campus, through the Beaver Stadium tunnel

A campus run through the Beaver Stadium tunnel to a field finish rewards legs that respected the climbs rather than raced them.

Source: 2026 current route
Where these course facts come from

These facts come from the organiser’s latest published material: swim, 2026 current route; bike, 2026 current route; run, 2026 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

Use the reservoir

  1. 0–300 m

    The start

    Settle into the reservoir

    The simple, two-turn reservoir loop gives calm water and easy sighting before the climbing bike ahead.

    • Seed honestly
    • Settle into rhythm

Bike

Climb by plan

  1. 0 km–45 km

    Through the farmland

    Cap the named climbs

    Beaver Bluff, Old Main Grind and Nittany Summit each invite a hard push. Ride them to a power cap instead.

    • Cap power on the climbs
    • Fuel early

  2. 45 km–90 km

    Toward campus

    Protect the run

    Hold effort through the remaining terrain and finish your nutrition before the campus run.

    • Stay patient
    • Finish planned nutrition

Run

Save the stadium finish

  1. 0 km–10.5 km

    Onto campus

    Start controlled

    Let the early campus streets feel easy, saving something for the stadium finish.

    • Easy first aid station
    • Check posture

  2. 10.5 km–21.1 km

    The stadium finish

    Earn the tunnel

    Only progress once the earlier running has held together. The Beaver Stadium tunnel and field finish reward legs that still have something.

    • Stay tall
    • 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
9.9–24.6°CDew point centred on 10.8°C
Wind and gusts
10.5 km/hGusts up to 43.6 km/hPrevailing direction SW
Rain likelihood
Up to 75%Wet-surface uncertainty retained

Historical baseline, 2019–2025 · Open-Meteo historical archive · Updated 2026-09-13.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 Pennsylvania Happy Valley 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 a hilly 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 2026-09-13.