When it comes to planning your race schedule, there are several important considerations to keep in mind. First and foremost, you need to identify your key objectives for the season. This will depend on your experience level, goals, and where you are in your development as an athlete. Typically, I recommend that athletes focus on one or two key races or phases of racing per season. This might involve a small build of race-specific work culminating in one or two key events in the middle of the season, followed by a break, and then a more concerted build toward a single key race at the end of the year.

It’s also important to allow time for development, particularly early in the season. Unless you are including a special race or bucket-list event, I recommend avoiding early season key races that could potentially compromise your physical development. For example, you might include a springtime Ironman 70.3 event, a.k.a B or C event, as a stepping stone to a more important Ironman later in the same year, but only if it makes sense in the context of your overall training plan.

Once you have established your training objectives and the timing of your races, not to overlap with other life priorities, it’s time to start picking specific events. Essentially, you want to choose races that are well-suited to your strengths that maximize your chances of performing at your best. For example, if you are a new athlete who is traveling alone and dislikes hills and heat, you might want to avoid races like Texas or Boulder and instead choose a flatter terrain course with good support and a strong community, such as Ironman Arizona or Wisconsin.

On the other hand, if you are a strong athlete hoping to qualify for Kona and you excel on challenging courses with hilly terrain, you might want to opt Canada, CDA or Lake Placid.