Man up ya wimp 
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Yes.. I’m here doing my 41st Full (using the T_C measurement of doubles)
Weather has been glorious all week, but apparently there’s a storm coming for eace day.
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And would use the term “complete “ rather than “compete” lol
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Best of luck then 
I’ve got 3 club mates down there also doing it.
Potential to be an epic year 
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I assume @Toyota_Crown is doing it as well, so at least you will cancel him out as he moves towards 250.
Have a great race and I hope the weather is kind
He is 
IM Erkner70.3 last Sunday
So the preparation for this was not perfect, time out of running/cycling in the run up due to a knee issue and a bout of COVID, which for me (Asthmatic) means no training for a number of weeks. However two good months of training in July and August and a good warm up race two weeks prior down at Eton Dorney saw me coming into this the lightest I’ve been for a long time, 64kg, and feeling reasonably confident of a good race. My expectation at the start was a 5:25
Swim 30:28 (Shortened, see below) 19thM60-64 622nd overall
So the week before, Berlin had had temperatures of 34C and the concern was a non wetsuit swim; I need not have worried. A week of colder temps/rain and on race morning the water temp was 16C 
Due to the low temp they pulled in the outer buoys to shorten the swim. In reality it wasn’t the cold that was the issue but the wind. We had a strong wind all day and I really struggled to sight properly. As a consequence I just couldn’t get into a rhythm and just hated the whole thing. Hey ho I was soon out and on my watch I clocked it at around 1550m
T1 5:38
Uneventful really. Had not done an IM branded event for a while so had to play the ‘where is my bag amongst all the other bags which are exactly the same’ game.
Bike 2:47:51 24thM60-64 916thOverall (AvHR 113, NP 122W)
This is my weakest discipline and I had not really done enough 3hr+ training rides. So was cautious (too cautious?) for the this section. Did I say I wasn’t cold in the swim? well I was frickin freezing on the bike for the first hour. Eventually the sun warmed my bones and I got into a rhythm keeping an eye on the HR. The course itself is very flat and the road surface good so I was able to maintain a pace higher than I had hoped. Erkner is just outside of the Berlin border and so as you left town a lot of the route was in wooded areas and open farmland. The former protecting you from the wind the latter not at all. I was passed by lots of bikes but was happy to complete the two laps well under the three hours. The winner of the race had a 1:55 split which is insane.
T2: 5:56
6 minutes!!! should have been 3 but needed the loo, enough said.
Run 1:40:48 4thM60-64 332nd overall
So this was four laps around town and very flat. I had the carbon plates on and felt good from the get go. The weather by now was about 18C and cloudy which was perfect conditions. As I said I was feeling good so the first part of the race was just holding back so as not to blow up later on. However by the time of the fourth lap I felt confident to just enjoy it. The finish is on a track which allowed for a sprint finish.
Finish 5:10:39 14thM60-64 610 out of 1490 overall
The run and bike were quicker than expected, the run in particular I was very pleased with. The moment I saw the finish time I started thinking about going sub 5. There were 10 in my age group who did this!! Would have to add another 6-8 mins for a 1900m swim but there are clearly opportunities to shave off time. Cotswolds next year beckons.
Would I recommend Erkner? I think only if you paired it with a trip to Berlin which is definitely worth a couple days of any ones time. There were 5 of us on the trip and we had to stay in Berlin as Erkner is a small place and does not really have hotels. However it is very flat and fast course and the ride is quite pleasant. Actually on a different day I think the swim would be nice too!
A photo to finish this report, I am not gurning in this one, honestly that is a smile, a very happy smile 
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good luck 
Thanks for the report, I enjoy a good report 
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They didn’t shorten the swim by much, did they? Was it really beneficial to anyone?
Look forward to seeing how you get on next year after a solid winter on the bike 
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Fantastic effort @Sparky , really well done 
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It was a bit strange. They announced the shortening an hour before the race. Then they said you could keep your warm clothes on for another 15mins and then they delayed the start by 5mins. I think that maybe there were perhaps German regulations they had to adhere to? Anyway I was glad that the swim was not cancelled. This happened to me in IM Hamburg in 2018 due to the algae/ hot temperatures
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Well done, Sparky, sounds like a decent race and probably time to be found on the bike by getting more race distance rides in?
I half fancied that race but thought it looked a bit painful logistically, I’ve been to Berlin a couple of times and although I loved it the first time the second time it had almost got a bit up it’s own arse
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Cracking report @Sparky and well done!
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Top work fella
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Well done fella
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Brilliant report Sparky, congratulations great racing 
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Local half marathon for me tomorrow, more a training race as I’m nowhere near any form. Would like to think I’m capable of 95 give or take, but that might depend on conditions, looking grey and overcast with the wind from the NE, and this race isn’t on the coast road for nothing. I’m actually hoping it might be a cross wind mostly.
Anyway, decent form guide and hard effort to see what is in the legs before the 70.3
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Groan, cold and windy for a change and my sinuses are a bit stuffed
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Judging by the times at IM Wales, looks like a tough swim.
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