Plan your Port Macquarie Ironman around the course. IRONMAN Australia is the original Australian Ironman, raced on the Mid North Coast for more than 35 years and in Port Macquarie for the last 20. Since 2026 it runs in October rather than May, for warmer water, longer daylight and a spot near the front of the queue for World Championship slots, and the bike course has been reworked on newly resurfaced roads. IRONMAN calls it the most varied course on the continent. This guide walks the three legs, then turns them into a fuelling plan with gel counts for an 11, 13 or 15 hour day.
If you are reading this with a race entry in hand, the UCAN triathlon fuelling guide covers the general method. This page is the Port Macquarie version of it.
Port Macquarie Ironman at a glance
Sunday 17 October 2027
Port Macquarie, NSW. Age group rolling start 7:15 am. IRONMAN 70.3 Port Macquarie races the same morning.
3.8 km swim
One loop of the Hastings River, with a weir crossing on foot.
180 km bike
Two laps. Matthew Flinders Drive is climbed on each one.
42.2 km run
Four laps along the breakwall and through town, finishing at Town Green.
Transition sits at Westport Park on the river, and the finish is on Town Green a short walk away, so the whole day is compact and spectators see you often. The course is honest rather than fast: a sheltered swim, a bike with real hills and a rough surface, and a run that only feels flat for the first two laps.
A single loop in the river, which mixes salt and fresh water and moves with the tide. The feature everyone talks about is the weir: you climb out of the water, cross the flood control weir on foot, and get back in on the other side. It breaks the rhythm, and it is also the one place in the swim where you can glance at a watch.
IRONMAN lists the average water temperature at 23°C, close to the 24.5°C wetsuit limit, so the wetsuit call can go either way on the morning. Pack for both and use the Friday and Saturday practice swims from the Westport Park boat ramp to decide.
What it means for fuelling. You cannot eat in the water, so the swim runs on what you took in before it. One to two servings of Energy Powder 30 to 45 minutes before the start, or an Edge gel 15 to 30 minutes out, is the UCAN pre-swim protocol. Settle it on a long swim in training first.
Two laps that mix rolling hinterland roads with an exposed coastal stretch, on a surface that is coarser than most city riders are used to. The climb of Matthew Flinders Drive comes around on each lap, and it is steeper the second time because you are. The 2026 course changes moved the route onto some newly upgraded roads, which took some of the roughness out without taking out the hills.
What it means for fuelling. The bike is where the day is won or lost on nutrition, because it is the only leg where eating and drinking is easy. Take your fuel on the flatter hinterland sections, not on the descents or on the Matthew Flinders climb. Start your first serving about 15 minutes in and time the last one to finish close to the end of the ride. October days here run from about 13°C at the start to 24°C in the afternoon, and the sea breeze on the coastal stretch makes the second lap feel cooler than it is. Keep drinking anyway. The bike personal needs bag is the place for a fresh bottle of Energy Powder for lap two, mixed the night before and kept cold.
Four laps that head out along the painted breakwall, loop through town past Westport Park and the TriClub village, and come back to the same crowd every 10.5 km. The crowd is loud and the course is flat. By lap three the breakwall feels much longer than it did on lap one.
What it means for fuelling. One Edge gel every 45 to 60 minutes from the first kilometre, not from the point where you feel flat. The laps make it easy: one gel per lap plus one more for the last 10 km is the minimum for a four-hour marathon off the bike. Caffeine, if you use it, belongs here rather than on the bike.
This is the UCAN triathlon protocol from ucan.co, laid over the Port Macquarie course. Every product below is made with LIVSTEADY™, a slow-release carbohydrate, so the fuel keeps delivering between feeds instead of running out before the next one.
| When | What | Port Macquarie note |
|---|---|---|
| 2 to 3 hours before | Your usual race breakfast, the one you have trained on. | The rolling start is 7:15 am and transition opens at 4:45 am, so breakfast is between 4:15 and 5:15. Westport Park is close to most accommodation, so eat at your room rather than at transition. |
| 30 to 45 minutes before the swim | 1 to 2 servings of Energy Powder in water. Or 1 to 2 Edge gels 15 to 30 minutes out. | This is what carries you through the swim and the first 15 minutes of the ride. |
| Bike, first 15 minutes | 1 to 2 servings of Energy Powder from a bottle. | Get it in on the way out of town, before the first hills. |
| Bike, every 45 to 60 minutes | 1 serving of Energy Powder or 1 Edge gel. Plus 1 serving of Hydrate every 1 to 2 hours, more in heat. | Mix 2 servings of powder per bottle with 120 to 180 ml of water per serving, keep Hydrate in a separate bottle, and shake before each drink. Eat on the flat sections. |
| Run, every 45 to 60 minutes | 1 Edge gel. Edge + Caffeine from halfway if you use caffeine. | One per lap is the simplest version. No water needed to get it down, which matters on the breakwall between aid stations. |
| Within 30 to 60 minutes after | 1 serving of Energy + Protein, then a proper meal when you can face one. | Pack it in your finish bag. Town Green is a long way from your kitchen at 8 pm. |
Source: the UCAN triathlon nutrition protocol on ucan.co. Serving sizes are on each product page.
Count feeds, not hours. At one feed every 45 to 60 minutes on the bike and the run, plus the pre-swim serving, the totals look like this. Each feed is either a serving of Energy Powder from a bottle or one Edge gel, and the bike is where most athletes use the powder.
| Finish time | Bike feeds | Run gels | Total feeds for the day | A simple kit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Around 11 hours 5:30 bike, 4:00 run | 6 to 8 | 4 to 5 | 11 to 15 | 3 bottles of Energy Powder, 2 servings each, and 7 to 9 gels including spares |
| Around 13 hours 6:30 bike, 4:45 run | 7 to 9 | 5 to 6 | 13 to 17 | 3 bottles of Energy Powder, 2 servings each, and 9 to 11 gels including spares |
| Around 15 hours 7:15 bike, 5:45 run | 7 to 10 | 6 to 7 | 14 to 19 | 4 bottles of Energy Powder, 2 servings each, and 10 to 12 gels including spares |
Bike and run splits are illustrative. Count your own from training, then add two spare gels for the ones you drop.
Race nothing you have not trained on
Run this plan on at least two long bricks and one long ride before race day, at race intensity, in the bottles and pockets you will race with. Change one thing at a time and give each change a week. An Ironman is the wrong place to find out how your stomach feels about a new routine, and that includes the aid station products on course.
First timers, above all. The race is a few hours from Sydney and Brisbane, the town is built around the event for the week, and the lap format means your support crew sees you a dozen times instead of twice. The weir crossing, the hills and the rough bike surface mean it is not a fast course. Pick it for the day out, not the personal best.
For those chasing more, the 2027 race is a qualifier for the 2028 IRONMAN World Championship, and the October date makes it one of the first chances in the calendar to qualify. Slot numbers and roll-down rules change each year, so take them from the official race page. The Oceania TriClub Championship and the IRONKIDS run are on the same weekend, which is why so many families make a long weekend of it. More than 2,700 athletes raced the 2025 edition across the full and the 70.3.
The 2026 schedule, which is the shape to expect again. The 2027 athlete guide, published a month out, has the final times.
| Day | Time | What | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday | 10 am to 4 pm | Athlete check-in opens | Glasshouse, mezzanine floor |
| 10 am to 4 pm | Expo, merchandise and event information | Town Square, Horton Street | |
| Friday | 6:30 to 8:30 am | Practice swim. Test the wetsuit call and the weir. | Westport Park boat ramp |
| 10 am to 6 pm | Check-in and expo | Glasshouse and Town Square | |
| 4:30 pm | Official opening and live race briefing | Finish line, Town Green | |
| Saturday | 6:30 to 8:30 am | Practice swim | Westport Park boat ramp |
| 9 am | IRONKIDS Port Macquarie | Town Square, Horton Street | |
| 10 am to 3 pm | Last chance to check in. Closes 3 pm. | Glasshouse, mezzanine floor | |
| 10 am to 4 pm | Compulsory bike racking and gear bag drop. Transition tours on the hour from 11 am. | Transition, Westport Park | |
| Race day, Sunday | 4:45 to 7:00 am | Transition open, helmet check, street gear and personal needs bags in | Transition, Westport Park |
| 6:25 am | IRONMAN 70.3 Port Macquarie age group rolling start | Westport Park boat ramp | |
| 7:15 am | IRONMAN Australia age group rolling start | Westport Park boat ramp |
Source: IRONMAN Australia event schedule, last updated October 2025. Fuelling note: the personal needs bags go in on race morning, so mix the lap-two bottle the night before and keep it in the fridge until you walk down.
Whatever your target, the fuelling plan is the same. Settle it in training, practise it on a long brick, and bring more gels than you think you need.
The guide behind this plan
Sprint, Olympic, 70.3 and full distance, one method. What to eat the night before, how to set up the bike bottles, and how to build the routine in training so race day holds no surprises.
Read the triathlon fuelling guideThe Port Macquarie plan in four lines
Before the swim. Energy Powder 30 to 45 minutes out.
On the bike. A serving every 45 to 60 minutes from the bottles, Hydrate every 1 to 2 hours.
On the run. One Edge gel per lap, caffeine from halfway.
After. Energy + Protein within the hour.
The four products in the plan, shipped from Victoria. Order early enough to train on them, not just to race on them.
Swim start and bike bottles
Energy Powder
20g of LIVSTEADY™ per serving. Two servings per bottle on the bike, one more in the personal needs bag.
Shop Energy Powder
The run, one per lap
Edge Energy Gels
Box of 12. 0g sugar, no water needed. Caffeine free, + Electrolyte, or 45 mg + Caffeine for the back half.
Shop Edge
The second bottle
Hydrate
0g sugar electrolytes. One serving every 1 to 2 hours on the bike, more when the breeze drops and the heat comes up.
Shop Hydrate
The finish bag
Energy + Protein
One serving within the hour after Town Green, before you can face a meal.
Shop Energy + ProteinWant it in one order? The race day bundles put gels, Energy Powder and Hydrate together at a bundle price.
Sources
IRONMAN Australia official race page and 2026 event schedule, ironman.com/races/im-australia
IRONMAN Group press release, "IRONMAN Australia Set for Date Change from 2026 Onwards", 26 June 2025
North Coast Times, "IRONMAN Australia returns to Port Macquarie in October with new date and smoother bike course", 26 September 2026
The UCAN Company, "Triathlon nutrition tips", ucan.co/blogs/energy-lab/triathlon-nutrition-tips. Photo credit: IRONMAN Australia.
Triathlon fuelling guide
Sprint to Ironman, the UCAN method for each distance.
Marathon fuel plan
The run leg, on its own, with carb loading by body weight.
Caffeine before running
How much for your weight, and where it fits in a long day.
Best energy gels compared
Carbs, sodium and caffeine per gel, side by side.
IRONMAN Australia moved from May to October in 2026. The next edition is scheduled for Sunday 17 October 2027 in Port Macquarie, NSW, with IRONMAN 70.3 Port Macquarie on the same weekend. Check ironman.com for the confirmed date and start times.
A 3.8 km single-loop swim in the Hastings River with a weir crossing on foot, a 180 km two-lap bike that climbs Matthew Flinders Drive on each lap, and a 42.2 km four-lap run along the breakwall and through town, finishing at Town Green. Transition is at Westport Park.
It is hilly rather than fast. Two laps of rolling hinterland roads and an exposed coastal stretch, with the steep Matthew Flinders Drive climb on each lap and a coarser surface than most city roads. The 2026 changes put the route on some newly upgraded roads. Eat and drink on the flat sections, not on the climb or the descents.
At one feed every 45 to 60 minutes on the bike and the run, an 11-hour finisher needs 11 to 15 feeds, a 13-hour finisher 13 to 17, and a 15-hour finisher 14 to 19. Most athletes cover the bike with Energy Powder in bottles and carry 7 to 12 Edge gels for the run and spares. Practise the plan on long training days before the race.
Mix two or more servings in one bottle with 120 to 180 ml of water per serving, keep Hydrate in a separate bottle, and shake before each drink because the powder settles. A metal mixing ball in the bottle helps. Time the last serving to finish close to the end of the ride.
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