That’s right – I’ll be racing in the Calgary Ironman 70.3 in Cochrane July 2026!
Racing in this event is truly a full-circle journey for me. I was supposed to do the Calgary Ironman 70.3 back in 2024, at Harmony. I was even registered! But – and its a good “but” – my wife became pregnant with our second boy. And the due date was just days before Ironman Calgary…
Thankfully I was able to change to an earlier race: I opted for the Chinook Classic in Chestermere at the same 70.3 long-course distance (a great event). I ran my race exactly as I wanted to – even though the swim was quite cold being early June in Alberta! I felt incredibly accomplished – but, like so many others, I caught the triathlon bug and felt called back to do it again…
All of my clients know I’ve been into endurance sports for years; I’ve spent over a decade cycling in the Bow Valley, including a Banff to Jasper ride. I’ve completed the Banff Half Marathon and Banff Full Marathon. And of course I completed my first 70.3 distance triathlon in 2024.
I’m extremely excited to see this incredible event come to the amazing community of Cochrane. I’ve spent years riding and running around this wonderful location and I can’t think of a better place to race.
As always, if you’re curious about living in Cochrane or its surrounding areas, feel free to reach out to me personally via text, call or email. No question is too small and I’m happy to help!
For the past several years, the Ironman 70.3 Calgary event has been held in Harmony, a small lake community just south of Cochrane and West of Calgary. But, race organizers decided it was a time for a change in 2026 – and Cochrane was the perfect venue!
Cochrane has so much to offer as a community. Not only is it minutes from Calgary, its less than an hour to the Rockies. So for athletes coming from out of province, the location is perfect for travel and also for adding some mountain adventure onto your trip (I think Ironman athletes enjoy a bit of adventure…).
You can check out the full course map in the race guide FAQ here. Major items of note are:
So what am I hoping for in my race come July?
As far as goals go, I will always be sticking to my main goal: do not get hurt from overtraining!
Like so many other triathletes I love to train. I feel like it helps to keep me centred in life, balancing work and family, and to fight stress. But training too much too soon is pretty typical me… As I write I’ve injured my knee doing a February bike ride that was just a bit too hard after many weeks off the bike.
Beyond that though, I’d like to move a bit faster than I did at my last race. Ideally my race will look like:
Obviously it’s impossible to know what will happen on race day. Cycling is my strongest sport for sure; ideally I will swim without too much nerves, bike fast, and run without pain. Other than that – I just want to have fun and finish!
If you’re looking for a fun atmosphere, a wide field of racers from age-groupers to pros, and a challenging course, I think this will be a great race for you. The water at Ghost Lake is sure to be fresh, the views on the bike course big, and of course the crowds on the run will be all the motivation you need to get across the finish line.
Oh – and if I have one tip for anyone doing their first race: make sure you do a few open water swims before your Ironman! Swimming in a lake with a big group start is A LOT different than swimming in a pool.
Cheers and good luck training!