Ironman Barcelone 2027: date, course and training plan
IRONMAN Calella-Barcelona is raced in early October in Calella, on the Maresme coast, about fifty kilometres north of Barcelona: a Mediterranean swim, a bike leg along the coast and a flat marathon between Calella and Pineda de Mar. The 2026 edition, set for Sunday 4 October with more than 3,300 entrants, was cancelled the day before: Catalan Civil Protection had suspended all outdoor sporting events because of a severe weather alert. The race stays on the IRONMAN calendar, but the 2027 date has not been announced yet.
A demanding distance: it is wiser to have finished a shorter race of the same kind first.
Your plan for Ironman Barcelone
A plan set to your level and free days, which adapts to your feedback after each session.
Your level?
14-day trial, cancel anytime.
Ironman Barcelone at a glance
- Date
- 2027 edition: date not announced yet2025 edition: 5 October 2025
- Formats
- IRONMAN Calella-BarcelonaPlan below — 3.8 km sea swim in one loop, 180 km bike in two loops plus a 3 km link (758 m of climbing according to the 2026 athlete guide), 42.2 km run in three loops plus a 1.6 km link, with no climbing. 2026 cut-offs, counted from each athlete’s own start time: 2h20 for the swim, 9h50 to finish the bike, 16h20 to finish. No relays. Aged 18 and over. 2027 price not published yet.IRONKIDS Calella — A children’s race, on the Saturday morning on Passeig Manuel Puigvert in Calella (11 am in 2026).
- Registration
- As of 17 October 2026, ironman.com shows 2027 registration as “opening soon”, with no date or price. Entries are online only, paid by card, and there is no waiting list once the race sells out; in 2025, bibs were gone by 1 April, six months before the race, according to Calella town council. To race you need a one-day licence, bought from your IRONMAN profile, or an annual Spanish federation licence: in 2026, licences from other countries were not accepted. The race offers qualifying slots for the 2028 IRONMAN World Championship.
- Official website
- ironman.com/races/im-barcelona
The 2026 course
Start from Platja Gran in Calella, in a rolling start planned from 7:55 to 8:35 am. Swim: one 3.8 km loop in the Mediterranean, clockwise, exiting on the same beach; transition is on the Camp de Mar football pitch, by the beach. Bike: two out-and-backs on the coast road heading south, through Sant Pol de Mar, Arenys de Mar, Mataró, Vilassar de Mar and El Masnou, turning at Montgat (km 47 and 131) and passing through Calella between the two loops; aid stations at km 28, 51, 76, 88.8, 112, 135 and 160; 758 m of climbing in all. Run: three loops plus a 1.6 km link between Calella and Pineda de Mar, along the seafront and through town, with an aid station every 2.25 km. Finish on Garbí beach. The 2026 race was cancelled the day before: this is the course that was planned.
What the race asks of your training
A flat bike leg, so no let-up
758 m of climbing over 180 km, on the coast road between Calella and Montgat: you pedal the whole way, with no descents to recover. Long rides should be done in the aero position, at a steady pace, in ever-longer blocks. Drafting is banned: 12 m between bikes and 25 seconds to pass, which takes care with over 3,000 athletes on two loops.
Warm sea, wetsuit on the edge
IRONMAN lists an average water temperature of 23 °C; it was measured between 22 and 24 °C from 2023 to 2025. Wetsuits are allowed up to 24.5 °C: close to that limit. Regularly swimming 3 km or more in open water without a wetsuit avoids being caught out if it is banned on race morning.
A build-up through the summer
For a race in early October, the biggest weeks fall in July and August. Long rides and bricks are done early in the morning to keep their quality despite the heat, and the taper fills September.
A flat three-loop marathon
Three loops between Calella and Pineda de Mar, along the seafront and through town, with an aid station every 2.25 km. On such a flat course, the classic mistake is starting too fast: long rides followed by a run at marathon pace teach you to hold your planned pace straight out of transition.
The plan below prepares the IRONMAN Calella-Barcelona format, for an athlete at intermediate level with 7 days available per week. Until the official date is out, the example is set for October 2027. Aiming for another format? Enter its distance when you create your plan, which will be calibrated on your level, your available days and your feedback after every session.
- weeks
- 25
- sessions
- 173
- sessions / week
- 7
- peak week
- 14.1 h
Plan structure
Periodised in phases: build the base, move to race-specific work, then taper before the race.
- General preparationWeeks 1–2 · 2 wk
- BaseWeeks 3–10 · 8 wk
- BuildWeeks 11–16 · 6 wk
- SpecificWeeks 17–21 · 5 wk
- TaperWeeks 22–24 · 3 wk
- Race weekWeeks 25–25 · 1 wk
Volume progression
Week by week: lighter recovery weeks are built in to absorb the load.
| Wk | Phase | Hours | km |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | General preparation | 8.8 h | 30 |
| 2 | General preparation | 9.1 h | 32 |
| 3 | Base | 9.9 h | 29 |
| 4 | Base | 10.2 h | 30 |
| 5 | Base | 10.5 h | 31 |
| 6 | Baserecovery | 8.5 h | 24 |
| 7 | Base | 10.7 h | 32 |
| 8 | Base | 11 h | 33 |
| 9 | Base | 11.3 h | 34 |
| 10 | Baserecovery | 9.1 h | 26 |
| 11 | Build | 11.7 h | 35 |
| 12 | Build | 12 h | 36 |
| 13 | Build | 12.2 h | 36 |
| 14 | Buildrecovery | 9.7 h | 30 |
| 15 | Build | 12.4 h | 37 |
| 16 | Build | 12.6 h | 37 |
| 17 | Specific | 13.3 h | 39 |
| 18 | Specificrecovery | 10.4 h | 31 |
| 19 | Specific | 13.4 h | 39 |
| 20 | Specific | 13.7 h | 40 |
| 21 | Specific | 14.1 h | 41 |
| 22 | Taper | 10.3 h | 37 |
| 23 | Taper | 8.7 h | 30 |
| 24 | Taper | 7.4 h | 25 |
| 25 | Race week | 4.1 h | 8 |
Sample week — week 15 (Build)
Real sessions from the plan with their targets. Each session is detailed step by step, and can be sent to a Garmin or COROS watch.
- TuesdayRunningVery hard3 × 1.2 km at MAS2 min 30 s jog recovery48 min · 8.8 km
- TuesdaySwimmingEasy1 h 14 continuous swim1 h 14 · 3.4 km
- WednesdayCyclingEasy30 min at endurance pace30 min
- ThursdayBrickHard1 h 34 bike + 24 min runincluding 3 × 10 min at threshold on the bike2 h 06
- FridaySwimmingHard9 × 300 m at threshold20 s recovery1 h 12 · 3.5 km
- SaturdayCyclingEasy4 h 23 at endurance pace4 h 23
- SundayRunningEasyLong run 2 h 112 h 11 · 21.2 km
Example generated for a intermediate-level profile (MAS 15 km/h, 7 days available per week). Your plan will depend on your level, availability and feedback.
This plan’s check-up
Pass
A 25-week build (recommended minimum: 16); a longest run never more than 4% above the previous month’s; volume rising at most 8% from one week to the next; 85% of the time at easy effort; the longest session 4 weeks before the race; a taper cutting volume by 71% in race week.
4 worth knowing · 21 checks passed
Remarks
Lighter weeks — 5 loading weeks in a row without a lighter week (up to week 5).
Long run after the long ride — The long run falls the day after the long ride in 9 weeks.
Strength training — No strength session.
Fueling — Long sessions (up to 300 min in this plan) are where race fueling is rehearsed.
The 21 checks passed, in detail
Length of the build — 25 weeks: enough for this race (recommended minimum: 16).
Sessions per week — 7 sessions a week: the minimum for this race is met.
Volume progression — Running volume rises at most 8% from one week to the next (a signal appears beyond 20%).
Long run increase — Each week, the longest run is at most 4% longer than the longest of the previous month (benchmark: 10%).
Intensity distribution — About 85% of the time at easy effort: the most common distribution among trained endurance athletes.
Demanding sessions — No more than 3 demanding session(s) a week: suited to the level.
Hard days back to back — Demanding sessions are separated by easy days.
Rest days — At least one rest day a week.
Timing of the longest session — The longest session falls 4 weeks before the race: the right time.
Bike-run bricks — 9 bike-run bricks over the last 12 weeks.
Taper — Volume drops 71% in race week.
Intensity during the taper — Short race-pace efforts remain in the last two weeks.
Frequency during the taper — The number of sessions stays close to usual (86%).
Swim / bike / run balance — Swim 19%, bike 53%, run 28%: within coaches’ benchmarks.
Frequency per discipline — Each discipline comes back at least 2 times a week.
Sessions per week — 7 sessions a week: enough for a long format.
Open water — 5 open-water session(s) before the race.
Longest ride — The longest ride lasts 300 min (benchmark: 300 to 390 min).
Longest run — The longest run lasts 150 min (benchmark: 120 to 180 min).
Swim distance — The longest swim covers 92% of the race distance.
Long ride increase — The long ride grows in small steps.
Endu runs its own plans through the plan check open to everyone: same public rules, same thresholds, same sources. The rules and their sources, and a check of your own plan.
Why this plan works
Science-based periodisation
Base → build → specific → taper, with a recovery week every 3 to 4 weeks. Load goes up, but never two hard weeks in a row without a breather.
Paces, not vague feelings
Every session has target zones (pace, HR) computed from your MAS or a reference performance. A MAS test is built into the plan if you don't know yours.
Three disciplines, one load
Swim, bike and run are planned together: brick sessions, key sessions spread out, and a coherent total load week after week.
A plan that listens
After each session you rate how it felt (RPE). Too hard? The plan eases what follows. Skipped a session? It reschedules or absorbs it.
On your watch
On Garmin with the Endu app, on COROS by direct sync: the guided workout shows up on your wrist, step by step.
Reviews
What our users say.
4.8/5
Your plan, not a template athlete's
This plan is generated for an athlete at intermediate level with 7 days available per week. Yours will be calibrated on your MAS, your available days and your feedback after every session. 3 minutes. 14-day trial, cancel anytime.
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Frequently asked questions
- When is IRONMAN Barcelona 2027?
- The date has not been announced yet: ironman.com says “TBD” as of 17 October 2026. The race has been held on the first Sunday of October for several years (5 October 2025, 4 October planned in 2026).
- Was IRONMAN Barcelona 2026 cancelled?
- Yes. On Saturday 3 October 2026, the day before the race, IRONMAN announced that it would not go ahead: Civil Protection had suspended all outdoor sporting events in the region because of a severe weather alert. Entrants received an email; IRONMAN said the options offered would be shared later. The race was not moved to another date in 2026.
- When does registration for IRONMAN Barcelona 2027 open?
- Not announced yet: the registration page shows “opening soon”, with no date or price, as of 17 October 2026. The race fills up fast (sold out by 1 April for the 2025 edition) and there is no waiting list.
- Where and when does IRONMAN Barcelona start?
- From Platja Gran in Calella, near the yacht club, in a rolling start from 7:55 to 8:35 am according to the 2026 schedule. The finish is on Garbí beach, in Calella.
- What are the IRONMAN Barcelona cut-offs?
- In 2026, counted from each athlete’s own start time: 2h20 for the swim, 6h05 at the end of the first bike loop, 7h55 at the Montgat turn (km 131), 9h50 to finish the bike, 14 hours at the start of the third run loop and 16h20 to finish.
- Ironman Barcelone: how many weeks of preparation?
- For an athlete at intermediate level, Endu builds a 25-week preparation. If your race is closer, the plan compresses phases while keeping the taper; if it's further away, it lengthens the preparation, and when the gap is large the preparation starts right away, gently and at your current volume, before building up.
- Is this plan well built?
- Pass at Endu’s plan check, the same as for any plan: 21 of 21 checks passed. A 25-week build (recommended minimum: 16); a longest run never more than 4% above the previous month’s; volume rising at most 8% from one week to the next; 85% of the time at easy effort; the longest session 4 weeks before the race; a taper cutting volume by 71% in race week. The rules and their sources are public on endu.fr/en/controle-technique.
- How many sessions per week?
- This example has 7 sessions per week. You choose 6 to 7 training days and the exact days (e.g. Tue, Thu, Sat, Sun): the plan sticks to them.
- I'm a beginner, is this plan for me?
- Not as a first long race: if you declare a beginner level, Endu flags it. Aim for a shorter race of the same kind first; Endu builds that preparation too.
- Can I follow sessions on my watch?
- Yes, on Garmin and COROS. On Garmin, the Endu app (Connect IQ Store) shows today’s session and starts it as a guided workout. On COROS, link your account from your profile: your running, trail and cycling sessions land in the watch calendar. Other brands are not supported yet.
- How much does it cost?
- 14-day free trial, then €7.99/month with no commitment or €59.88/year (€4.99/month). Unlimited objectives and sports.
Checked on 17 October 2026 on the organiser's websites. Details can change: the official website prevails.
- IRONMAN Calella-Barcelona
- IRONMAN Calella-Barcelona — Registration
- IRONMAN Calella-Barcelona — Course
- IRONMAN Calella-Barcelona — Race Week Info
- IRONMAN Calella-Barcelona — FAQs
- 2026 athlete guide (PDF)
- 2026 athlete briefing (PDF)
- Calella acull aquest diumenge una nova edició de l'Ironman amb més de 3.300 participants - Ajuntament de Calella
- L'Ironman Calella-Barcelona torna aquest diumenge amb més de 3.200 participants i un nou punt de sortida - Ajuntament de Calella
- 2026 cancellation — Triathlon Today (press, 3 Oct 2026)
- 2026 cancellation — tri-mag.de (press, 5 Oct 2026)