Racing the new IRONMAN 70.3 Vilamoura?

The announcement of a new IRONMAN 70.3 in Vilamoura immediately caught our attention.

TTH has been running training camps in the Algarve for many years. Our coaches know the area well, and we’ve spent a lot of time swimming, riding, running and coaching athletes here.

So, if you’ve entered the new IRONMAN 70.3 Vilamoura on 3 April 2027, or you’re thinking about it, we’ll be following the race closely.

As more details emerge, we’ll use this page to share what we learn about the course, what we think it means for your preparation and some practical advice to help you get ready.

There is also an opportunity to come and train with us in the Algarve this October — around six months before race day.

Train with us in the Algarve this October

What do we know about IRONMAN 70.3 Vilamoura?

IRONMAN 70.3 Vilamoura takes place on 3 April 2027, bringing a new middle-distance race to Portugal’s Algarve.

Athletes will take on the familiar 70.3 distance:

1.9km swim | 90km bike | 21.1km run

Every 70.3 covers the same distance, but that doesn’t mean every race should be approached in exactly the same way. Terrain, conditions, pacing and nutrition can all influence how your day unfolds.

And, of course, the biggest variable is you.

If this is your first 70.3, you’ll have different questions from someone returning to the distance looking for a better performance. Good preparation is about understanding what you need to work on rather than simply trying to do more training.

Want to take a closer look at the course?
We’ve broken down the swim, bike and run in more detail, including what we think the course could mean for pacing, preparation and race day.

Read our IRONMAN 70.3 Vilamoura Course Guide TBC

An April 70.3 makes the winter important

One interesting thing about Vilamoura is where it sits in the calendar.

3 April is early.

For athletes training through a UK or northern European winter, that means the months we might normally think of as “winter training” are actually an important part of the build towards race day.

That doesn’t mean you need to start doing race-specific sessions immediately or try to be race-fit by Christmas. Quite the opposite.

The autumn is a good opportunity to take stock. Look at where you are now, what went well this season and what could make the biggest difference next year.

Through winter, the focus for most athletes should be on building consistency and improving the things that need time to develop.

Then, as April gets closer, training can become more specific: longer race-focused sessions, pacing practice, nutrition testing and putting swim, bike and run together.

The aim is not to rush towards race fitness.

It is to use the time you have well.

Train with us in the Algarve this October

Racing in April? Come and train with us in October.

Our October Algarve Training Camp takes place around six months before IRONMAN 70.3 Vilamoura.

The camp was already part of our annual training calendar, but the announcement of the new race gives us an interesting opportunity for athletes who will be returning to the Algarve in April.

You’ll still get the full TTH camp experience: a properly coached week of swimming, cycling and running, with sessions designed around different abilities and goals.

If you’re racing Vilamoura, we can also use the week to start thinking about the race ahead.

There is a difference between looking at a route online and actually spending time training in the environment.

You might learn something about how you pace your bike on the local terrain. You might get useful open-water experience, discover something about your fuelling, or simply realise that one area of your training needs more attention than you thought.

You certainly don’t need to visit a race destination six months beforehand to race well.

But if you have the opportunity to train there, the useful part is that you still have six months afterwards to do something with what you learn.

You don’t need to leave October ready to race.

You want to leave knowing what you need to work on next.

Not racing Vilamoura?

You are still very welcome.

This remains a full TTH triathlon training camp for athletes with different goals and abilities.

Some athletes may be preparing for Vilamoura. Others might be building towards another event, starting their winter training or simply looking for a good week of coached training in the Algarve.

Our job is to make the week useful for the athlete in front of us.

Preparing for IRONMAN 70.3 Vilamoura

If you’ve just entered, you don’t need to have everything worked out immediately.

You have time.

Over the coming months, we’ll be adding more practical advice to help athletes prepare for Vilamoura, including:

  • How to train for an early-April 70.3

  • What your winter training might look like

  • Course and terrain insights

  • Pacing and race execution

  • Nutrition and hydration

  • Open-water preparation

  • Training and racing in the Algarve

  • What to think about as race day gets closer

The aim isn’t to make preparing for a 70.3 more complicated.

It is to help you understand what matters and make sensible decisions about your training.

Want some help preparing for Vilamoura?

You don’t need a personal coach to complete an IRONMAN 70.3. But having the right level of support can make preparing for one considerably easier.

For some athletes, that simply means having a structured plan and knowing what to do each week. Others benefit from having someone to talk things through with, provide feedback and help adjust training when work, family, illness or life inevitably gets in the way. And if performance is a bigger priority, you may want a more individual approach to training, pacing, nutrition, testing and race preparation.

At TTH, we offer different levels of support rather than expecting every athlete to need the same thing.

If you’re not sure what would be useful, book a free 15-minute Discovery Call with one of our coaches. Tell us what you’ve entered, where your training is now and what you’d like to achieve.

We can work out from there how we can help.

We’ve been training in the Algarve for a long time

Vilamoura may be new to the IRONMAN calendar, but the Algarve isn’t a new training environment for TTH.

We’ve been bringing athletes here for many years (since 2010), and our coaches have spent a lot of time swimming, riding, running and coaching across the region.

That local knowledge is useful, particularly now that athletes will be coming here to race.

But knowing the roads is only part of it.

Good coaching is about taking what we know about a race and applying it to the individual athlete: your experience, your strengths, what you need to improve, how much time you realistically have to train and everything else your training needs to fit around.

If you’re racing Vilamoura, our aim is pretty simple.

Help you work out what matters between now and April, prepare well, and arrive on the start line confident in the work you’ve done.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • IRONMAN 70.3 Vilamoura takes place on 3 April 2027 in Vilamoura, in Portugal’s Algarve region.

  • As a newly announced event, more information about the course is still emerging.

    We’ll update this page as details are confirmed and share our thoughts on what the course may mean for training, pacing and race preparation.

  • That depends on where you are now.

    If you already train consistently, you probably don’t need to suddenly change everything because you’ve entered.

    With an early-April race, however, autumn and winter are an important part of the preparation. This is a good time to identify what you need to improve and build the foundations before training becomes more race-specific closer to April.

  • Yes. Our October 2026 Algarve Training Camp takes place around six months before race day.

    Athletes preparing for Vilamoura can use the week to experience the local training environment and start thinking about what they learn as part of their preparation for April.

  • No.

    It remains a full TTH triathlon training camp for athletes with a range of goals and abilities. We’ll simply add relevant Vilamoura-specific opportunities for those returning to race in April.

  • Yes.

    We offer different levels of coaching and training support depending on your experience, goals and how much individual input you want.

    You also don’t need to attend the October camp to work with a TTH coach.

    If you’re unsure what level of support would suit you, the easiest place to start is a free 15-minute Discovery Call.

Racing Vilamoura? We’ll see you there.

There is plenty still to learn about this new race, and we’ll keep updating this page as more information becomes available.

In the meantime, if Vilamoura is now on your 2027 calendar, you have plenty of time to prepare well.

If you’d like to experience the Algarve before race day, you can join us for a week of coached training this October.

Or, if you want some help working out what your training between now and April should look like, come and have a chat with one of our coaches.

Train with us in the Algarve this October