IRONMAN 70.3 Erkner Berlin-Brandenburg is a single-transition 70.3 with three colour-coded bags — everything sits at the Sportscenter Erkner, so your bike and both the blue and red bags go in on Saturday afternoon and only the white street-wear bag moves on race morning. The swim is in the Dämeritzsee right beside transition. Here's exactly what goes in each and how the day runs.
Swim, bike and run all turn through one transition at the Sportscenter Erkner — you come back to the same rack between disciplines, and the finish carpet is right there too. The swim is in the Dämeritzsee off the Strandbad a couple of hundred metres away, the two-loop bike runs flat along the Spree into Brandenburg, and the four-lap run laps Erkner itself.
IRONMAN's colour-to-bag scheme is the same across European 70.3s, so this part is settled. Three bags, one venue — but two different drop times: blue and red go in with the bike on Saturday, white on race morning.
Erkner runs a mandatory Saturday check-in with the bike racked overnight at the Sportscenter, 16:00–19:00 — there is no race-morning bike check-in. Registration is Friday 13:00–19:00 and Saturday 12:00–18:00, and it's quieter on the Friday. The English race briefing is Saturday 14:30–16:00 at the City Hall, the German one at 13:00.
The 2026 official guide is in. The times below are now confirmed for this edition — a few moved from last year.
Transition opens at 06:00 and closes at 07:30 — the same deadline as the white-bag drop, and you must be inside it by then. Swim-in is open until 07:45, and the rolling start runs 08:00 to 08:45, four to five athletes every four to five seconds. Bike and bags come back between 14:30 and 18:00, in exchange for your timing chip.
Three: blue for the bike, red for the run, white for your street wear. All three are handled at the Sportscenter Erkner, because the race runs a single transition — there's no second venue to drive to.
Blue and red go in with your bike on Saturday between 16:00 and 19:00, during bike check-in, and stay overnight. The white street-wear bag is the only race-morning drop — in by 07:30 on Sunday.
Yes — every athlete needs one. Either an annual licence from your national federation, or a one-day licence, which is 25 EUR in cash only at License Control. Buy it online with your entry to skip the queue entirely. Relay team members don't need a licence.
Yes. Bike check-in closes at 19:00 on Saturday and the bike is racked overnight. There is no race-morning bike check-in, so don't plan to bring it on the day.
The overall cut-off is 8h30 after the last athlete starts and the finish line closes at 17:15. The swim cut-off is 1h10 and the bike 5h30, both measured from your own start — plus an intermediate bike cut-off at KM 44 at 12:15.
Take the train. Parking in Erkner is limited and the roads close on both Saturday and Sunday — the Regionalbahn from Berlin takes about 30 minutes and is the fastest way in. Note the awards ceremony is at 18:00 and attendance is mandatory to collect a trophy.
Add Erkner and RackSide turns this into a personal, deadline-aware plan — your wave time against the confirmed 2026 cut-offs and a packing checklist you tick off.
These editions have raced. Each guide stays up for reference.