Race Report: Ironman Canada-Ottawa 2025

On August 3, 2025, I became an Ironman. It was actually my first triathlon, my first Ironman, and my first time racing in an event of this scale. The entire experience was surreal—from the intense prep and logistics in the days leading up to the race, to the 12 hours and 27 minutes I spent swimming, biking, and running through the streets of the capital. This is a full recap of my experience racing Ironman Canada-Ottawa—along with practical insights for anyone considering this event in the future.

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About the Race: Ironman Canada Ottawa

2025 marked the inaugural Ironman Canada event in Ottawa, making it the only full-distance Ironman in the country (previously, it was held in Penticton, BC). Unlike many other Ironman venues set in resort towns, Ottawa offers a unique urban backdrop.

The 3.8 km swim is a single loop that takes place at beautiful Britannia Beach on the Ottawa River, west of the city. The 180 km, 3-loop bike course winds through picturesque parkways and lively downtown streets. And the 42.2 km, 2-loop run covers scenic stretches along the Rideau Canal, starting and finishing at Major’s Hill Park near Parliament Hill.

With both the bike and run courses passing through the heart of the city multiple times, this is an extremely spectator-friendly race — and the crowd did not disappoint. There were supporters cheering us on all along the run course, and throughout much of the bike course.

The energy was electric. Combined with the beautiful scenery, fantastic volunteers, and a closed, rolling course, this was a fantastic race for both first-timers and seasoned Iron-distance athletes.

What to Expect

Venues

Ironman truly took over Ottawa for race weekend, with multiple venues spread across the city.

The Ironman Village was held in Confederation Park downtown near the finish line. This is where athletes checked in, attended the athlete briefing, shopped for Ironman gear, and connected with local vendors and support services. It had a strong, positive energy all weekend.

As for the race-day venues, Ironman Ottawa uses a two-transition format:

• Start and T1 (Swim to Bike): Located at Britannia Beach
• T2 (Bike to Run) and Finish Line: Major’s Hill Park in downtown Ottawa

This layout creates some logistical challenges, but Ironman did a great job ensuring everyone got where they needed to be. Shuttle buses ran between Confederation Park and Britannia Beach on race morning (for both athletes and spectators), and return shuttles were available after bike check-in at Britannia Beach on Saturday.

Logistics

Just like all triathlons, Ironman Ottawa has a lot of logistics to navigate in the lead-up to and on race day.

Surprisingly, I wasn’t nervous about racing, but I was a bit overwhelmed with all the logistics (lesson learned: be more organized next time!). Both my boyfriend and I were racing, so we had a lot to coordinate between the two of us. Getting around to the different venues, checking in, prepping nutrition, organizing gear bags, getting the bikes ready, and dropping everything off took more time than expected. Add in travel on top of this, and we really didn’t have much downtime in the days leading up to the race.

Next time, I’m going to make sure we have everything organized well in advance so we’re not too busy the day before the race.

Here are a few key things to know:

Check-in and Briefings

Athlete check-in typically opens Thursday afternoon. You’ll receive your race bib, wristband, timing chip, swim cap, transition/personal needs bags, bike and bag stickers, and a swag backpack. There’s also a mandatory athlete briefing held several times from Thursday to Saturday (including briefings in French).

Transition & Personal Needs Bags

• T1 (bike gear) bag: Drop off at Britannia Beach on Saturday (you can also access it on race morning if needed).
• T2 (run gear) bag: Drop off at Major’s Hill Park on Saturday.
• Bike and run personal needs bags: Drop off at Confederation Park on race morning (next to where you’ll get the shuttle to Britannia Beach).
• Morning clothes bag: Bring this with you to Britannia Beach on race morning. You’ll drop it before the swim and collect it after the race.

Bike Check-In

Bikes are racked Saturday at T1 (Britannia Beach), but you can access them on race morning to add nutrition and inflate tires.

Getting to and from Britannia Beach

Parking at Britannia Beach is very limited, so athletes were encouraged to either ride their bikes or park at the nearby Cineplex (about 1.5 km / 1 mile away) when dropping off their T1 bags and racking their bikes. Shuttle buses were available to transport athletes back to downtown or the Cineplex parking lot afterward.

Race Day Transportation

Shuttle buses took athletes from downtown (Confederation Park) to T1 between 3:30–5:30 am. The buses were located near the personal needs bags drop area.

Race Morning

Although shuttle buses run until 5:30 am, you should aim to catch one much earlier. We arrived at Britannia Beach around 5:30, thinking we’d have until 6:00 am to organize ourselves in transition—but race officials were soon trying to close the transition area and usher athletes toward the start line. We ended up feeling rushed, so next time I’d plan to arrive earlier to avoid the stress and take in more of the pre-race atmosphere.

Bike and Gear Check-Out

You’re required to collect your morning bag, T1 and T2 bags, and bike from T2 at Major’s Hill Park after your race, between 6:00 pm and 12:30 am. (Your morning bag and T1 bag are transported here from Britannia Beach for you.)

Cut-Off Times

• Swim: 2 hours 20 minutes from your start
• Bike: 10 hours 30 minutes from your start
• Run: Finish within 17 hours total (11:00 pm for a 6:00 am start)

Rules to Know

• There are two no-passing zones which are closely monitored
• Drafting on the bike is illegal
• Littering outside of aid stations is prohibited and penalized
• Athletes can only receive assistance from volunteers or staff (no outside help allowed)
• Time penalties or disqualification can be issued for rule infractions (there were 2 DQs at the 2025 race)
• You can run, walk, or crawl the marathon!

Where to Stay in Ottawa

I highly recommend staying downtown near Confederation Park (the Athlete’s Village) and Major’s Hill Park (T2 and the finish line). There are tons of hotel options, and it’s easy to get around most places on foot. You’ll be able to access the Athlete’s Village, catch the shuttle buses to and from Britannia Beach, and get back to your hotel quickly after the race.

The ByWard Market area, in particular, is a great option—centrally located with loads of nearby restaurants.

We chose to stay at the ByWard Blue Inn, which is a fairly low-key option but suited us perfectly. Our room had a kitchenette, which was really helpful for prepping our pre-race meals, and the complimentary breakfast was very much appreciated in the days leading up to the race!

We also had family and friends stay at the Courtyard by Marriott Ottawa Downtown—another convenient and relatively budget-friendly choice in the ByWard Market area.

Some of my other top hotel picks include:

• The Westin – Very close to the finish line/T2 and the Athlete’s Village
• Lord Elgin Hotel – Right next to the Athlete’s Village at Confederation Park
• Fairmont Chateau Laurier – For a more luxury stay close to the finish line/T2

One important consideration when booking your accommodation is whether or not the hotel allows bikes in the room. All of the hotels listed above did, but not all do—so it’s definitely worth checking in advance before you book.

Race Conditions

Although Canada is typically thought of as a cold country, the summers here do get hot—and Ottawa is no exception! Early August tends to be hot and humid, with daytime highs averaging around 26–28°C (79–82°F), though temperatures in the low 30s are not uncommon. Nighttime is typically much cooler, averaging around 16°C (60°F). This means temperatures throughout the race can vary significantly, usually peaking in the early to mid-afternoon.

If you’re planning to race in Ottawa, make sure you’re prepared for warm conditions, strong sun, and potential humidity spikes. You should also expect light wind and possible air quality issues, as August falls in the middle of Canadian wildfire season.

The weather on race day (August 3, 2025) was challenging: 30°C heat, moderate wind gusts, and wildfire haze. The air quality index was around 7 (high risk), but I found the smog actually helped block the sun, keeping me a little cooler and helping prevent sunburn (a big concern for me as I have very fair skin!). Despite the tough forecast, the conditions weren’t as bad as I had feared. Having trained through multiple heat waves and high humidity in Toronto this summer, I actually found Ottawa relatively comfortable—and the haze and wind helped take the edge off the heat.

While I didn’t personally notice the air quality affecting me, I’ve heard that some athletes did struggle with breathing or lung issues during or after the race, possibly due to the smoke. Some even chose not to start because of it. I know many athletes also found the heat to be a major challenge, but fortunately most were able to push through to the finish line!

Race Recap

Swim

A couple of days before the race, I did an orientation swim at Britannia Beach and couldn’t believe how warm and calm the Ottawa River was. Plus, the soft sand felt like a real treat compared to the beaches I’m used to in Toronto (which are beautiful, but much rockier and colder!). After this, I was really looking forward to the swim.

Water Conditions

Despite the very warm water, Ironman managed to find a cool-enough spot to take the official temperature, so fortunately the race was wetsuit legal (23.7°C).

However, the water on race morning was choppy and murky, with poor visibility. This made sighting difficult and caused some athletes to swallow a lot of water. While I was pretty terrible at sighting, swallowing water wasn’t a big issue for me—and the small amount I did take in, I just thought of as mid-swim hydration! That said, I did hear some athletes felt unwell later in the race and struggled with nutrition, which they attributed to taking in too much water during the swim.

Start Line

The race began at 6:00 am, following the singing of the national anthem and the iconic Viking clap (although it was a little out of sync). Athletes entered the water in a rolling start format, organized by predicted finish times in 10-minute corrals ranging from sub-60 minutes to over 2 hours. We opted to start in the 1:21–1:30 corral, which ended up being spot on for us. Five athletes were released every five seconds, and everyone was in the water by 7:00 am.

Swim Course

The swim course is a single big loop, against the current on the way out and with the current on the way back. I didn’t really notice the current heading out, but the return leg flew by—so I do think it made a difference.

The most memorable part of the swim was an unexpected shoal about 1800 meters in, which caught most of us by surprise! This shallow, rocky section was about thigh-deep, and most athletes (myself included) chose to walk across it for around 20 meters. It was definitely a surreal experience looking up to sight and seeing everyone ahead of me walking on water. Although walking over it felt a little unstable, I fortunately didn’t encounter any sharp rocks or mussels.

Final Thoughts on the Swim

Having practiced open water swimming in similar—or worse—conditions a couple of times during training, I felt fairly prepared and didn’t find the swim too difficult. I was actually surprised to hear that many people did. Overall, I really enjoyed it and was able to find my rhythm—although I’m sure it would be even better on a calm day. I’m excited to try other Ironman swims that might offer smoother conditions.

I finished the swim in 1:26, which I was really pleased with—especially as an ‘adult-onset swimmer,’ having only learned freestyle last summer!

Bike

I took more time than I should have in T1 (9 minutes), largely because I reapplied sunscreen and was a little slow finding my transition bag and bike—in the excitement of everything, I just couldn’t think properly! But the volunteers were very quick and helpful in pointing me in the right direction, and then I was on my way.

Bike Course

The bike starts with a short but fairly steep uphill section straight out of transition. I took this section very slowly, as I realized I’d messed up the tracking on my watch and was busy trying to reset it. But once that was fixed and I was at the top of the hill, I was off.

The first 10 km of the bike course is only ridden once, while the rest is made up of three laps involving three out-and-back sections with U-turns along the Kichi Zibi Mikan, Colonel By Drive, and the Sir George-Étienne Cartier Parkway. Once you finish your final lap, you’re directed to a short but steep uphill into transition, which was a little punchy. However, I didn’t find the climb difficult—by this point, I was just excited to get off the bike and hand it off to a volunteer.

Overall, it’s a fairly flat course, but there was more elevation than I expected (my watch recorded around 850 meters), and there were headwinds (gusts up to 30 kph) on the return leg of each loop that picked up throughout the day. Still, it was a fun route to ride, with plenty of stretches where you could get your head down and pick up speed. The only real slow spots were the two no-passing zones (one through downtown and one through an aid station), plus a few of the steeper (but short) uphills.

Aid Stations & Nutrition

Aid stations were located roughly every 20 kilometres and offered water, electrolytes (Mortal Hydration), bananas, and Maurten gels and bars. I only took water, as I was carrying my own nutrition and electrolytes—which I didn’t even fully get through.

I had quite a few bars with me that were great during training but weren’t going down well during the race. So I mostly stuck to my liquid nutrition, gummies, and salt tablets. I managed to get around 60g of carbs down per hour, which was less than I was aiming for but seemed to do the trick. That said, I’ll definitely be making some changes to consume more next time, and I know I also needed to take in a lot more electrolytes.

The personal needs bags were located at the 89 km mark—we actually passed by them three times but were only allowed to access the bag once, on either the second or third loop. I only had a couple of emergency items in mine, which I chose not to stop to collect.

Road Conditions

The biggest challenge for me on the bike was the condition of the roads. I know there have been a lot of complaints from other athletes about this too, although I’ve also heard some positive feedback—so my recap isn’t necessarily reflective of everyone’s experience.

There were lots of cracks, bumps, and potholes that made it a bumpy ride, particularly along the Kichi Zibi Mikan and the small section on the Gatineau side. I’m not very experienced riding in aero yet, so that might be part of why I was more sensitive to the bumps than others. I also really started feeling them more on the final lap, when I was getting quite uncomfortable in the saddle.

To deal with the rough sections, I came out of aero quite a lot—I just felt more confident handling the bike upright. I (and many others) also rode in the shoulder for much of the course, since that was often the smoothest part of the road.

Final Thoughts on the Bike

Despite the bumpy ride, I really enjoyed the course. It had a nice mix of gradual ups and downs, with both beautiful natural and urban scenery—which is pretty unique for a race like this. There were also many more cheering spectators than I expected, especially since we passed through downtown several times. And it was just fun to ride fast on fully closed roads.

I finished the bike leg in 6:13. Since this was my first race and I’m new to road cycling, I used a road bike (Cervélo Soloist) with clip-on aero bars. Overall, this setup worked well for me, but I was pretty sore from the saddle by the last lap (and for several days afterward!). So I’ll likely need to tweak my fit—or maybe consider a TT bike—for future races.

I know there are a lot of upgrades I can make to go faster next time (like a more aero helmet or race wheels), and there’s definitely more training to be done to improve my riding. But overall, I was very pleased with my time—and even more pleased to be off the bike and starting the run!

Run

As soon as I got off the bike, my legs were like jelly—but by the time I finished in T2, they were good to go. Once again, I took way longer than I should have in transition (almost 10 minutes!), largely due to a much-needed sunscreen application and my only porta potty stop of the day (luckily, I rarely need to go during races).

Exiting T2 was exciting, with so many spectators cheering us on. The run course soon quietened down for a short stretch during the descent to the canal, and I quickly came upon the first aid station.

Aid Stations & Cooling Strategies

Aid stations were positioned around every 1.5 km (with the exception of one slightly longer gap between two, which felt like forever). They offered water, electrolytes (Mortal Hydration), Coke, fruit (bananas, grapes, and orange slices), chips and pretzels, Maurten gels, and ice.

They were also supposed to have broth after 5 pm, but I never saw it on the course and heard it wasn’t brought out until after 8 pm. Either way, hot broth didn’t appeal to me during a hot run (although I did enjoy some at the finish line!).

Like most athletes, my approach was to walk the aid stations. I was carrying some gels and salt tablets/chews, which I’d usually consume just before reaching an aid station so I could wash them down with water. Other than water, all I initially wanted from the stations was Coke and orange slices. But eventually, I started taking some of the Mortal Hydration and chips too. I also started putting ice down my trisuit—which felt amazing—and would chew on pieces of ice between aid stations to keep my mouth from getting too dry.

Although it was a 30°C day, between the ice, wildfire haze coverage, and all the training I’d done in even hotter conditions, I really didn’t feel too hot during the run. In fact, I was quite comfortable and ended up having a really strong run.

Run Course

The course was two laps, mostly along the Rideau Canal, and lined with spectators cheering you on. The only section you did once was the first and last 4 km between the finish line/T2 and the start/turnaround of the laps. It was a beautiful route, passing through a mix of scenery—parks, downtown, and even some farmland.

It was originally advertised as a “flat” course (although Ironman has since changed this to “rolling”), and while it wasn’t particularly hilly, there were a lot of long, gradual inclines and some short uphills. The final few kilometers also included a very steep climb back up to Parliament Hill, which was tough after a full day of racing. My watch recorded about 200 meters of elevation gain.

Pacing & Mental Strategy

Thanks to my ultra running experience, I knew to walk the uphills to conserve energy—and because I’m a fast walker, I wasn’t much slower than I would have been running them. Aside from this (and walking the aid stations), I was able to hold a solid, consistent running pace that continued to pleasantly surprise me throughout the run.

Seeing how strong my pace was every time I checked my watch really helped to motivate me. But the biggest motivator was the supporters—the crowd who showed up to cheer us on far exceeded my expectations and made me feel a bit like a superhero. The energy, encouragement, and excitement were incredibly uplifting and kept me going.

My first lap felt like it went by quickly and with relative ease, but as soon as I hit the turnaround for the second lap, my legs started to feel sore and heavy. I was able to push through, though, knowing I only had a couple of hours left. I also experienced some shortness of breath several times throughout the run, which I quickly recognised as a physical response to my emotions rather than anything serious. When that happened, I slowed to a walk, focused on the energy around me, visualized the finish line, and did some runner’s mental math!

While my pace dipped a little in the second half of the run, I kept moving forward consistently. And when I hit the fork toward the final 4 km to the finish line, I found a second wind and picked up the pace—except for the final steep climb, which I walked.

Becoming an Ironman

Coming into the finisher chute is a surreal experience—there’s really nothing quite like running down the red carpet with all the excitement, the cheering, and hearing the words “you are an Ironman.” And since it was my first time, I of course made sure to ring the bell before crossing the finish line!

I finished my run in 4h28, with a total finishing time of 12h27, a lifetime of bragging rights, and an experience I’ll never forget.

Final Thoughts on Ironman Canada-Ottawa

Ironman Canada-Ottawa was a fantastic first Ironman. Although it was tough at times, it was totally worth it—and it went as well as I could have hoped.

Even though this was the inaugural Ironman Ottawa, I found it to be a really well organized event. The course was amazing, and the crowd support was electric. With what they’ve learned from this year’s race, I’m sure it’ll be even better next year.

Ottawa is also a fantastic city to visit—not only is it beautiful, but it has tons of activities for visitors, including museums, historical sites, and entertainment. Plus, there’s a huge range of accommodation and dining options close to the main race venues.

While I wouldn’t necessarily recommend doing an Ironman as your first-ever triathlon (it worked out well for me, but I know it’s a bit of a crazy move!), I would absolutely recommend this race—both for first-timers and experienced Iron-distance athletes alike.