Late September brings cooler temperatures here to Cozumel, the heat and humidity starts to drop, you can feel the change of the season, all is calm and peaceful and then "BANG", a shot rings out across the island and hundreds of top athletes from around the world start swimming, biking and running in the annual MetLife Ironman 70.3 Cozumel event! It is quite a site to see these unbelievably incredible competitors as they strive for dominance and to win a portion of the $75K total prize package for this year's event to the top six (6) elite male and female athletes! The island is packed with not only hundreds of competitors, but thousands of visitors (friends, family and fans) and locals pack the race course to watch and cheer on the competitors! The popularity of this event has continued to grow and we now have top athletes from around the world to competing in this "1/2" Ironman event!
In 2018, this year's activities will begin on Friday, September 27th and culminate on Sunday, September 29th when the official race is held starting on Sunday at 7:00am island time for the professional men and at 7:05am for the professional women (with a time limit of 8 hours)! As noted, there is a total of $75K in cash prizes ($37.5K for both men and women each with the top cash prize for the winners of $15K). The event is used by many competitors as a preparation for full Ironman events worldwide. For the circuit competitors, MetLife Ironman 70.3 Cozumel is a qualifier for the 2018 World Ironman Championship. We have been seeing over 1,500 competitors that compete in the annual event here on the island.
This event is 1/2 the distance of a full Ironman event! The competitors will start out with a 1.2 miles swim at Chankanaab Park, then jump on their bikes for 56 miles that will end next to Cozumel's City Hall in the heart of downtown and will then begin their run (we'd have already passed out by now ourselves) of 13.1 miles, ending at the City Hall Plaza in downtown Cozumel. The times allotted to each phase are the following: swimming has a cut off of 1:10 hours; is a maximum of 1.10 hours; biking time limit is 5 hours; and the run must be completed within 8 hours of the start of the race!
As an observer, you can relax and wait for your favorite competitor(s) to finish at the VIP Lounge (look for us there)! The cost is just $40 US per person (children under 13yo are $30 US) and you will have a catered brunch during the race, will be able to rest comfortably watching all those awesome athletes work up a sweat and will have a "great" spot to view the finish line as the competitors complete the course! There is a limit of 300, so you will want to purchase these in advance to ensure you have the best seat for the race!
There is still availability in hotels and vacation rentals for the race dates, but this always changes as race day approaches with more friends and family coming along to support their athletes. So be sure to book early if you intend to travel to Cozumel during this week of September for your vacation. We still have limited availability this weekend at IslaMar Villas. To view our various Villa choices, please click on the link Read More About Sherri's IslaMar Villas! as we would thoroughly enjoy having you as our guests! Come on down and support the competitors ~ it is a beautiful time of year to be on the island!
2018 MetLife Ironman 70.3 Cozumel Race
To assist you in planning your travel dates, accommodations, etc., please take a look at the MetLife Ironman 70.3 Cozumel Official Program which lists in details all of the activities leading up to and on the day of the event! We have also provided additional Ironman related websites for your viewing:
To view our photo's of past MetLife Ironman 70.3 Cozumel races,
we have provided a photo album below for your viewing pleasure!
Insider's MetLife Ironman 70.3 Cozumel Past Race Photos
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