Map: Competi.ro · © OpenStreetMap contributors
Romania's first IRONMAN® race · independent guide
A Black Sea swim, a bike loop around Lake Siutghiol through Năvodari and Constanța, and a half marathon on the Mamaia promenade — Sunday, 26 September 2027.
IRONMAN 70.3 Mamaia-Constanța is the first IRONMAN race held in Romania: a 113 km triathlon — a 1.9 km Black Sea swim, a 90 km bike loop around Lake Siutghiol and a 21.1 km run on the Mamaia promenade — on Sunday, 26 September 2027. Registration opens on 8 October 2026, on ironman.com, and the race offers qualifying slots for the 2028 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship.
Registration
Entries are taken only on the official IRONMAN website, not on Competi.ro.
Tier 1 pricing: 300 EUR for an individual entry (406.92 EUR with processing fee and VAT) and 520 EUR for a relay team (705.33 EUR all-in). Prices rise in tiers, so the first places are the cheapest.
Relay teams have two or three athletes, who split the swim, bike and run however they like.
Follow the race on Competi.ro to keep it in your calendar and find every update here: the athlete guide, the schedule and the results.
Information status
We update this page as the organizer publishes detail. Official source: Check on ironman.com
Course
Described from the routes IRONMAN Europe has published, street by street. The athlete guide remains the final reference.
One counter-clockwise loop in the Black Sea, starting and finishing on Mamaia beach by Aleea Falezei. It goes at most about 370 m offshore and stretches about 780 m along the beach; you leave the water straight into the transition area, right beside the exit.
One loop around Lake Siutghiol: north through Năvodari to a turnaround near Corbu, back through Mamaia into central Constanța, then west through Ovidiu and Lumina and back to Mamaia. It is flat — the highest point is about 45 m, in Constanța — with a few short 2–3% drags (km 43.1, km 53.2, km 63.1, km 66). Several stretches are ridden out and back, and on the coast the wind matters more than the climbing.
Two out-and-back laps on the Mamaia promenade (Aleea Falezei), turning at km 3.6, 7.9, 13.8, 18.1. Completely flat (1–6 m above sea level), and the repeated passes by the finish make it easy to follow as a spectator.
There is a single transition area, on Aleea Falezei in Mamaia right beside the swim exit: the bike and run both start and finish there.
The official distances are 90 km and 21.1 km; on the published routes the bike measures 87 km and the run 20.3 km — the difference comes from how the map was drawn and the transition area.
Each leg on its own page, with a map, elevation profile and GPX file: Swim · Bike · Run
Course: IRONMAN Europe (Strava) · © OpenStreetMap contributors
Water and weather
Over the last 10 years (2016–2025), the daily mean sea temperature off Mamaia on 26 September was 19.7–23.1 °C (median 21.4 °C), according to NOAA satellite data. Across all 110 days from 20 to 30 September it never fell below 18.8 °C. During race hours the wind averaged 6–31 km/h with gusts up to 68 km/h, and the air was 8–25.8 °C.
At IRONMAN 70.3 Mamaia, age-group athletes may wear a wetsuit up to and including 24.5 °C; above that they are prohibited, and below 16 °C they are mandatory. On every one of the 110 days on record (20–30 September, 2016–2025) the water stayed at or below that, so wetsuits would have been legal every year.
| Year | Sea | Mean wind | Max gust | Air |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 22.1 °C | 23 km/h (NE) | 55 km/h | 14–18 °C |
| 2024 | 21.8 °C | 14 km/h (SE) | 39 km/h | 18–26 °C |
| 2023 | 23.1 °C | 29 km/h (NE) | 60 km/h | 21–26 °C |
| 2022 | 19.7 °C | 11 km/h (S) | 29 km/h | 14–24 °C |
| 2021 | 21.2 °C | 6 km/h (S) | 28 km/h | 13–23 °C |
| 2020 | 22.7 °C | 31 km/h (SE) | 68 km/h | 21–26 °C |
| 2019 | 20.6 °C | 18 km/h (SE) | 40 km/h | 18–21 °C |
| 2018 | 21.1 °C | 25 km/h (N) | 50 km/h | 8–16 °C |
| 2017 | 21.5 °C | 31 km/h (NE) | 67 km/h | 20–21 °C |
| 2016 | 20.8 °C | 15 km/h (N) | 30 km/h | 12–18 °C |
70.3 explained
“70.3” is the total distance in miles — about 113 km — half of a full IRONMAN in each discipline. In Romania the same distance is often called a “half”.
The three legs are raced back to back, with two transitions (T1 swim → bike, T2 bike → run), and the finish time includes all of it.
Per-leg cut-offs are not in the IRONMAN rules: each race sets them in its athlete guide, which has not been published for Mamaia yet.
Rules
The race runs under the IRONMAN Competition Rules (2026 edition), not the World Triathlon rules Romanian national races (FRTRI) follow.
Wetsuits: legal for age-group athletes up to and including 24.5 °C and prohibited above (Mamaia runs no non-competitive wetsuit wave), mandatory below 16 °C, and at most 5 mm thick.
Drafting: the draft zone is 12 m for age-group athletes (20 m for professionals). You have 25 seconds to complete a pass, and an overtaken rider must drop out of the passer's zone within 25 seconds.
Penalties: a yellow card costs 30 seconds and a blue card (drafting) 2 minutes, served in the penalty tent on the bike course; a third blue card means disqualification.
Qualification
The Mamaia race offers qualifying slots for the 2028 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship, split equally between women and men; how many has not been announced yet.
Each age-group winner gets an automatic slot; if they don't take it, it rolls to second, then third place. The remaining slots go by a ranking that compares each finish time with a benchmark for the athlete's age group.
Slots are claimed in person at the post-race ceremony, with photo ID and payment by card on the spot.
Build-up
Triathlons, half marathons and road cycling events in Romania that can serve as build-up races.
Getting there
The nearest airport is Mihail Kogălniceanu International (CND), about 27 km by road from the transition area; most flights land in Bucharest (OTP), about 250 km away.
Direct trains from Bucharest Nord reach Constanța in about two hours, and the A2 motorway takes about three by car; Constanța station is 10 km from transition.
By late September some Mamaia hotels have closed for the season: check yours is open on race weekend, or look in Mamaia Nord, Năvodari or Constanța.
FAQ
The race is on Sunday, 26 September 2027, in Mamaia, Constanța. It is the first IRONMAN race held in Romania.
General registration opens on 8 October 2026, on ironman.com. Tier 1 is 300 EUR for an individual entry (406.92 EUR all-in) and 520 EUR for a relay team (705.33 EUR all-in).
The swim is a 1.9 km Black Sea loop from Mamaia beach. The bike is a 90 km loop around Lake Siutghiol through Năvodari, Constanța, Ovidiu and Lumina. The run is 2 out-and-back laps on the Mamaia promenade.
On 26 September over the last 10 years, the daily mean sea temperature was 19.7–23.1 °C according to NOAA satellite data. The official reading is taken on race morning.
At IRONMAN 70.3 Mamaia, age-group athletes may wear a wetsuit up to and including 24.5 °C; above that they are prohibited, and below 16 °C they are mandatory. On every one of the 110 days on record (20–30 September, 2016–2025) the water stayed at or below that, so wetsuits would have been legal every year.
Yes. Relay teams have two or three athletes, who split the legs however they like and cross the finish line together.
Yes. IRONMAN 70.3 Mamaia-Constanța offers qualifying slots for the 2028 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship.
Fly into Mihail Kogălniceanu airport (about 27 km by road to transition) or into Bucharest, then take the train to Constanța (about two hours) or drive the A2 motorway.
No. Competi.ro is an independent guide to races in Romania; the organiser is The IRONMAN Group and entries are taken on ironman.com.
Sources
Updated 5 October 2026
IRONMAN® and 70.3® are registered trademarks of The IRONMAN Group. Competi.ro is an independent guide, not affiliated with the organiser.
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