Triathlon cut-off times: half-distance (70.3®) and full-distance (IRONMAN®)

What are the cut-off times for a half-distance triathlon?

A half-distance race is a 1.9 km swim, a 90 km bike and a 21.1 km run. The usual IRONMAN 70.3 limits are 1 hour 10 minutes for the swim, 5 hours 30 minutes for swim, T1 and bike, and 8 hours 30 minutes overall. Tallinn and Vichy differ on one limit each, and other organisers can differ a lot.

Distances are 1.9 km, 90 km and 21.097 km at an IRONMAN 70.3 race. The Susz regulation allows each leg to differ by up to 10 percent. Cut-offs vary by race, and the athlete guide or regulation of your race is the only authority.

What are the cut-off times for a full-distance triathlon?

A full-distance race is a 3.8 km swim, a 180 km bike and a 42.195 km run. The swim limit at every IRONMAN race below is 2 hours 20 minutes. The bike and the finish limits vary: the overall limit ranged from 15 hours to 17 hours at the races we read.

The spread between 15 hours and 17 hours is the reason not to assume. Roads, daylight and local permits set these limits, not a global standard.

How do cut-offs work with wave starts and rolling starts?

IRONMAN measures your limit from your own start, not from the first gun: at every IRONMAN race we read, the page says times are calculated from your individual start time. Other organisers differ. Checkpoints on the course are often set at a time of day, and those do not move if you start later.

• IRONMAN races: the swim, swim + T1 + bike and overall limits run from your individual start time, as the race pages state.
• Fixed-time checkpoints: several races also list checkpoints by time of day, for example a point at a given kilometre by 14:30 or 15:30. These protect closed roads and do not shift with your start slot.
• Challenge Roth: the regulation names a personal limit of 15 hours plus a general limit for everyone, and later run checkpoints at fixed clock times.
• Susz Triathlon: the regulation names a rolling start and the three limits, but does not say whether they run from the gun or from your own start. Check the race briefing.

How fast do you need to be to make the cut-offs?

For the standard half-distance limits your average must be no slower than 3:41 per 100 m in the swim, 21 km/h on the bike and 8:23 per km on the run. The table is our arithmetic, with 5 minutes for T1 and 3 for T2 at a half distance, and 6 and 4 at a full distance.

Each figure assumes you reach the previous checkpoint exactly on its limit. If you swim at the limit, you have the least time left for the bike, so the real pace you need is faster than the table shows. Read it as a floor and not as a goal.

How do you make the cut-offs?

Work backwards from the limits and give yourself a buffer in every leg. Know the pace you can hold, test the swim early and never plan a race that sits right on a limit. The swim is where most athletes lose margin, because it is the first limit and the hardest to recover from.

1. Find the limits in your race's athlete guide and write them down, including checkpoints at fixed times.
2. Run the arithmetic above with the actual distances, then add a buffer. Our recommendation: aim to finish the swim at least 10 minutes inside its limit and the bike at least 20 minutes inside its limit at a half distance, and double both at a full distance.
3. Do a timed 400 m swim in training and repeat it in open water. If the pace is within 15 percent of the limit pace (our rule of thumb), work on swimming first; see the 18-week half-distance plan.
4. Practise the bike and run together with bricks so the run limit is based on your legs after the ride; see brick workouts.
5. Compare your target time with typical finish times in good triathlon times and with the hours you can train in triathlon training hours.

What happens if you miss a cut-off?

At the IRONMAN races we read, an athlete who misses a limit is disqualified and not eligible for age-group awards or a World Championship slot. At other races, marshals can take you off the course. What happens next depends on the organiser's rules, so read them before race day.

• IRONMAN: the race pages say athletes who miss the cut-offs are disqualified and not eligible for age-group awards or World Championship slots. The 2026 competition rules list DNF for a finish after the course closes and NC (not classified) for a finish before it closes that misses a cut-off.
• IRONMAN 70.3 Tallinn: the page says staff may remove an athlete who has no realistic chance of meeting a limit based on location, time and average speed.
• Challenge Roth: athletes over the time limit on the bike can be taken out, have their number removed and lose their ranking. On the run they must stop and return to the finish area.
• Susz Triathlon: the regulation says you must leave the course. If you stay, you lose participant status, the organiser's medical and technical protection ends, and you follow road traffic law.

Where do you find the cut-offs for your race?

Look in the athlete guide, the race-week page or the regulation of your race, and check again close to the date. Organisers can change limits for weather, road closures and course changes, and some publish the bike and run checkpoints only days before.

• IRONMAN: the race-week page or athlete guide of your event. The competition rules say cut-offs are stated in the event-specific athlete guide.
• Challenge Family: the page or guide of your race. The Challenge Walchsee guide says the race director may set new cut-offs if a leg must be changed.
• Polish races: the regulation (regulamin) and the technical briefing. The Susz Triathlon regulation promises checkpoints at least 14 days before the race.
• A page that is not the organiser's, including this one, can be out of date. Use the numbers here to plan and the official guide to confirm.