Zero to full Ironman, all under 2600EUR
I've never done a triathlon before, but doing an Ironman has been a life goal of mine since about seven years ago. I knew I wanted to do it at least once in my life. But the only thing holding me back was having to own a bike and the training volume needed, which would be very hard to do while also working. Luckily for me, I started studying for my Master's in 2024-2026, and that gave me some free time. And who knew, you didn't actually NEED to own a bike yourself to be able to train! Before I signed up, I hadn't touched a road bike in my life! My friend, Sai, from the Masters was extremely kind to lend me his Gravel bike for almost a year to train for it. Now, many triathlon enthusiasts would scoff at the idea of borrowing a bike and even using a gravel bike for a full Ironman training! Well, keep scoffing; there's much more of that to come! I'll cover some of this in the mindset and goals section, where I discuss the mindset that I had coming into this and the goals I had for myself at the start and as the training progressed. Unlike what many people claim, gear does not matter much if your goal is simply to complete an Ironman! I finished the race under 12h with no tri suit, no bike of my own, no cleats, no (store-bought) gels and here's how I did it!
Contents:
A Rich Man's Sport?
A survey conducted in 2015 for the World Triathlon Corporation found that the average household income for Ironman participants was $247,000. It's no secret that competing in Ironmans is expensive. The entry ticket for my race in Ironman Copenhagen 2026 cost 6,897 DKK, which is about 922 EUR. And that's just the entry; if you include flights, accommodations, equipment, and gear, the total cost can easily shoot up to more than $5,000. Participating in an Ironman, no matter how barebones you do it, requires a significant financial investment. I'm really grateful to be able to do this race at all.
Mindset and Goals
In August 2025, I signed up for the 2026 Ironman Copenhagen. It was the first triathlon I attempted. I didn't have any ambitious goals; my only aim when I signed up was to finish it before the cut-off time, which for Copenhagen was 15h 45min. It was one of those things to prove to myself that I can do hard things. As the training progressed and I grew accustomed to my pace, I decided to aim for a sub-12 hr time.
Being a total outsider to the triathlon scene, I didn't have any equipment or gear that triathletes or cyclists would have. So naturally, I researched what kinds of gear are needed for an Ironman. There are tons of opinions online; some believe that a TT (time-trial) bike is a must for full-distance triathlons, while some believe a cheap road bike will do; there are even those who would attempt one on a rental city bike. Besides the bike (which is the bulk of the expense), other smaller items are also often talked about, things like helmet types, cleats, tri-suits, aero bars, chest HR monitor, power meters, wetsuits, running shoes, goggles, bottle cages... and the list goes on.
After some time, I decided that I only needed 3 main things: a bike, a wetsuit for the cold water and a decent pair of running shoes to deliver the finish. For my bike, I opted to rent a road bike in Copenhagen. For the wetsuit, I bought one (Zone3 Agile) 2nd hand, for 100 EUR. The shoe was the only thing I bought at full price, which was a carbon-plated race shoe from Anta. Everything else was either just a quality-of-life improvement or would only give me very marginal gains, and since I wasn't doing this for the timing, it was unnecessary. For compulsory gear like goggles or helmets, I got the very basic kind or borrowed them from a friend. What really mattered most was my training and execution, not the gear. Halfway through my training, I even learned from a friend how to make my own gels, so that I didn't need to spend 1-2 EURs/gel every time I did long runs or raced longer distances.
The mindset going into this was very important in my journey. Given my lack of experience in triathlons and lack of my own bike, some along the way doubted whether I was really taking this seriously, but luckily there were many others who supported me to the fullest, and I'll be forever grateful for that. If the goal is only completion, you honestly don't need 90% of the gear that the pros use. Even using a trisuit only saves you several minutes in changing time, which is almost nothing in a 12hr race. Not to mention, wearing a fresh set of clothes in every leg feels much more comfortable. Triathlon, in its rawest form, is simply three basic modes of transport: swimming, cycling and running. If you can do each of them confidently, all you need is to be able to do them long enough to complete it.
Training For It
I signed up a year before the race, and by then I already had a solid background in running. I've raced many shorter races (10 - 30 km) in recent years, and I also did two marathons almost 10 years prior. For swimming, I was always a decent swimmer. I never swam competitively, but 10 years back I was in the Navy, and we practised open water swims. I just needed to brush up on my technique and extend the duration of my swims. Cycling was the hardest part, as I only cycled once or twice a year before that, and I had never even touched a road bike in my life. So it was something that I needed to work on much more.
I didn't follow a strict plan during the training. Mainly, my goal was to gradually increase the volume and distance of training over the one year of training. Also incorporating brick workout of gradually increasing distances over time. During this period, I was also actively training for survival run races in the Netherlands, which helped a lot in adding variation to my routine. My weeks for the whole year consisted of roughly: 1 swim, 3-4 runs, 1-2 cycling sessions. With cycling reduced during wintertime due to the cold and darkness.
Along the way, I had several "smaller" races that served as checkpoints to test my fitness level. I had a 50k trail run in Feb, a road marathon in May, a 3k canal swim in June and a 21k swim-run event in July. In Aug and July, I also did 2 simulated half Ironman distance trainings, which meant I had to cover the distance of a half Ironman race, but the pace didn't really matter and longer rest was afforded in between the disciplines. The first simulation in Aug was very tough, partially because it was done in 32 degree C weather, but also because it was the first time I attempted such a long training. When the second simulation came, I was much more prepared both in training and for the nutritional preparation for it. It went very smoothly, and by the end of the simulation, I was quite surprised that I actually wasn't dead tired! It was after this simulation that I knew I was ready for the full Ironman.
Some stats for my full year of training are below:
Total run time: 267hr
Total run distance: 1624km
Total cycling time: 102hr
Total cycling distance: 2331km
Total swim time: 30.5hr
Total swim distance: 92.5km
Total training time: 399hr
Weekly training time: 7hr41min/week
It averaged out to roughly 7.5hrs/week of training. In reality, it was more about 5hrs/week at the start and 8-10hrs/week nearing the end. As you probably notice, my cycling training time was significantly shorter than the running, which I would end up paying for in my race-day timing.
The Race
After training 6 days a week for the past 1 year, I was ready for the big day. We in Copenhagen arrived 3 days before the race to settle in and register myself. I came in on the first day of registration and had the shorter queues. The next few days had really long queues, which we were glad we did not have to queue for, as the registration tent was really hot.
We did some mandatory merch shopping! Bought a few mugs, a cap, a towel and 2 shirts!
Also collected my rental bike from a bike shop about 13km from our Airbnb. It was a really nice Principia (Danish brand) carbon bike with clip-on aero bars provided. It was very well maintained and even came with fresh outer tyres and a mini bike repair kit when I collected it. I would really recommend this shop for its quality bikes, although it's a tad on the expensive end, but then again everything in Denmark was expensive... The shop name is called Café Parforce. The 13km from our accoms made for a perfect test ride on it.
The next few days went by in a blur. The anticipation after a whole year of non-stop training... every day, my thoughts were just on this race; it became almost like a part of who I was. It almost felt unreal to be here for the actual thing. Part of me couldn't wait for it to be over and end this wait, but part of me wished it would never come, lest I disappoint myself.
Bike check in Bike check in Bike check in
My main focus in the 2-3 days before was carb loading. I don't measure exactly how many carbs I take. I just eat lots and lots of rice, pasta and whatever carb source there was. When I felt that I didn't take enough, I used fruit juices to fill in with liquid carbs. Some say that you should cut down on fibre the day before to reduce chances of shitting yourself on race day. However, my tried-and-true method was to keep my fibre intake the same and make sure I get a nice long poop the morning of the race. In the end, nutrition strategy is a highly personal thing and is quite different for everyone; try and test out your own methods before a big race. For me, my go-to food on the morning of the race was 2 large chocolate muffins; I used this for previous big races like the 50k trail and the marathon.
The day has come. The night before such a big event, sleep is hard to get. But some say that it doesn't matter how much or how little sleep you get the night before. Months and years of preparations got you here, and the result will show itself regardless. I arrived at the start about 1.5hrs before the start to do a final check of the bike and place my nutrition in the T1 transition bag.
They had a small test swim zone for us to do some warm-up and test the water. I took a dip and swam a few laps there. To my surprise, the water was much clearer and the temperature (18°C) much better than I expected. I took a last photo with Ashlyn and a good luck hug, and it was time.
For real, I had the smoothest swim of my life here. The swim course was simple: swim out, turn around, swim back. Because the whole course was in a bay, there were practically no waves or currents. The combination of favourable conditions and my training kicking in made the swim a real pleasure. Although it lasted 1 hr 13 min, it felt like I was only in the water for half an hr. I exited the swim surprised that I finished the 3.8k swim with a pace of 1:56 min/100m! My personal best!
T1 was almost like a warzone; I was in the mid of the pack, and hundreds of people were rushing to get to their bags and fighting for a space to change up. I didn't practice the transitions in my training, but it didn't bother me much. Methodologically, I de-suited, put on my cycling pants and jersey, loaded my nutrition, put on sunblock, shoes and helmet. I also went to pee before getting on the bike. In total, T1 took me 8:41min.
The bike course was relatively flat; the elevation measured on my Garmin was 1464 m, and there were 6 aid stations roughly 30km apart. Biking was by far my weakest discipline, and it shows in my time. I optimistically aimed for a 30 km/h pace, but only managed to achieve 27.3 km/h, with a finish time of 6:26 hrs.
The first stretch to the loop went by quickly due to fresh legs. We had some headwind, which slowed us down a little, but the legs were still strong here. Then Geels Bakke came, which was a series of several hills continuously. It seriously took me by surprise the first time it came. Training in the flat Netherlands did not prepare me for even these "gentle" hills. After the torture, we took a right turn into some forest and farmland. It was very enjoyable to cycle here, with winding roads and not much elevation gain. I took a quick pee break at the 66km aid station, where I witnessed a small bike crash between people stopping at the station and people continuing to cycle. And another one at 166km.
The first time round the loop was almost unbearable, knowing that all this is going to come again in 2 hrs time. The 2nd round felt much better after going through Geels Bakke again. After entering the forest/farmlands, I actually enjoyed the windy roads and scenery. Although, my butt was really starting to hurt from the saddle that didn't fit me very well. My lower back also ached a little, as the body position on a road bike was more aggressive than the gravel bike I used during training. But these were just minor distractions. I slogged through the remaining kms, constantly thinking in my head: 90k more, 70k more, 50k more, just 30k more, 10k more and finally, I was there at T2, Kongens Nytorv!
As I re-entered the city of Copenhagen, I got a little too excited and think I accidentally passed someone in the no-passing zone. Normally this would mean a disqualification. I was really bothered by this initially, but decided that ultimately, it wouldn't matter. What really mattered was that I knew that I finished the race. Luckily, it didn't affect anything.
Finally, the run came. I had been waiting for this all day! The transition at T2 was less chaotic than T1. The participants had been spread apart during the long 6.5 hrs of biking. Still, I had no time to lose; I quickly took off my bike pants and put on my favourite running shirt, took a last mouthful of my homemade gels, and started running.
In the months leading up to the race, I kind of gave up a little deep inside about hitting my sub 12 hr goal. My riding pace and swim pace weren't good enough during practice, and I wasn't sure how fast I could run a marathon after 8hrs of continuous effort. But when I got out of T2, 7 hr 56 min had passed since I flagged off. I couldn't believe it! Sub-12 hr was actually in reach! A few months before, I ran a 3:33 hr marathon, and I was pretty sure that I had a 4hr marathon in me left.
Knowing that my goal was in reach bolstered my confidence tremendously. I started off at an incredible pace, too fast in fact. I remembered seeing a 4:20 min/km at one point. I knew that I had to slow down to sustain the run and hit my goal. The first 10k went by like a breeze, easily averaging 5:20 pace (5:40 pace was needed for a sub 4 hr marathon). From 10-20k it was still relatively easy, but I started to feel the fatigue building up slowly.
The race was 4 loops of 10k, and they used colored hair ties to tell which lap you were at. I remembered eyeing everyone else's hair ties to see if they were in front of or behind me. It was inspiring to see those in their last laps still keeping up a strong pace. But also daunting to know that there's still so much left. There were 3 aid stations in the whole course, but they were placed such that you would pass each of them twice in each loop. So in practice there were 6 aid stations per loop, making 24 aid stations in total. Which was plenty! They had Coke, Maurten gels, energy bars, redbull, electrolytes, water and other nutrition at each aid station. For me, I took two Maurten gels (40g carbs each) and plenty of Coke each round, making about 80-90g carbs/hr.
20 - 30k was the toughest part of the run for me. The finish was still so far off, but the fatigue had already accumulated and was taking its toll. My pace at some point slowed to 6:20min/km. But I was determined to finish the marathon under 4 hours. In some parts, the path was cobblestone roads. I was really careful with my steps because it's very easy to twist your ankle on this type of terrain. As I approached the 30km mark, it became real. The end was so close! Just a mere 10km more to go. My body was almost spent at this point. Halfway through, I calculated that I only needed a 6:00 min/km pace to hit sub-4. So I readjusted my pace to hit the goal. The last 30 - 42 km felt strong. All the training from the past 12 months, it was all for this moment and there was no way I was going to let it go to waste at this point 11 hrs into the race.
After 11 hr 53 min, I crossed the finish line of the longest race in my life. Barely hitting the sub 12 hr mark. Strangely, I didn't feel an overwhelming sense of happiness or emotion. What I felt was like a constant sense of calmness and peace. I was really happy, of course, but it felt more like the war I've been fighting was finally over and all the pressure was off now.
I went to the resting area to collect my shirt and medal and had some food there. The food was average: some hot dogs, pizza and fries. I took a protein shake they had for recovery. After that, I went off to meet with Ashlyn, who had been supporting and following me throughout the race! We went off together to collect my bike and return home for some well-deserved rest and a huge McDonald's meal!
My final splits were:
Swim (3.8k) - 1hr 13 min
T1 - 8 min 46 s
Bike (180k) - 6 hr 29 min
T2 - 4 min 21 s
Run (42k) - 3 hr 57 min
Cost Breakdown
As I mentioned, I skimped on a lot of the standard costs usually associated with an Ironman and went for only the essentials and a select few quality-of-life items. Below is a breakdown of all the costs I had, including registration, flight, accommodation, and gear. I started as someone already having some running gear and swimming trunks, but no bike or bike gear at all.
Item | Cost (EUR) |
|---|---|
Ironman Entry Fee | 922 |
Return flights | 361 |
Accommodations (Airbnb) | 679 |
Wetsuit | 100 |
Carbon shoes | 126 |
Bike rental | 321 |
Swim goggles | 24.3 |
TOTAL | 2533.3 |
The entry fee, flights and accoms together form ~75% of the cost. This can be reduced if you choose a cheaper location and the accoms are cheaper as well.
I opted not to get a trisuit as I don't expect to be doing this sport after this Ironman. I simply wore a pair of 2xu compression tights underneath my wetsuit during the swim. On the bike, I changed to bike shorts worn over the compression shorts and a cycling jersey. And in the run, I just wore the compression shorts and a running tee. The wetsuit I got was a Zone3 Agile bought second-hand.
I bought a pair of carbon shoes (Anta C202) because I had no race shoes at all and wanted to try this new technology. It also helped a lot in the several races I had, ranging from 5k to 42k road races. This is probably the biggest expense I had, which wasn't completely necessary for this Ironman race.
For biking, I borrowed a friend's gravel bike to train. It had drop handlebars, which helped me get used to the position and handling, as I had never touched or used such a bike a year before the race. I also did a few rides with his road bike just to get a feel for the difference between the gravel and road bike. For the shoes, I did all the training and also the race in a pair of trainers. Again, I don't see myself staying in this sport, so I didn't invest in a pair of cleats.
Reflections
One of the things I learned in the past year was that there's much more time in a day than the "past me" had imagined. No time at night? Wake up at 5 for a run. No time in the day? Swim at 10 pm at night. Time is always there, but sacrifices must be made for the things that you truly want. Time to relax and wind down may be shortened during hard training periods. Social life and gatherings may have to be skipped for your body to rest for a long run the next day. I believe this can also be applied to other ambitions in life besides an Ironman. It could be a hobby, studying for an exam, or getting good at playing an instrument. There is always time for it. The only question is whether you are willing to make the sacrifice to achieve your goals.
Would I do an Ironman again? Probably, but not in the coming years. If I were to do another, I would probably get into cycling first. I don't regret renting a bike for my first Ironman. But if it were to turn into something regular, I think getting my own bike is the smarter thing to do. I also wouldn't do it aiming for a fast time. I find myself enjoying the race much more when I am just doing it to finish and going at an easy pace. The views and scenery along the way are very much worth it. Perhaps an Xtri?
Comments