Our tour to Ironman 703 Rwanda

The land of a thousand hills is certainly not the 703 you travel to, to get a personal best. But, the land of a thousand hills is CERTAINLY  a finisher’s medal you want in your collection.

Swimming in Africa’s 5^th largest lake, lake Kivua is the cleanest too, the fresh water a warm 23 degrees and still wetsuit legal. The start of the race is a mere 400m from the hotel and an 8am start means a more leisurely start for us South African (normally its 7am in SA).  After the 1900m swim you start the ride, following the road along the great lake for about 12kms of winding climbing beautifully tarred road. Look around on the ride, there is so much to see, but don’t lose focus on the fast and twisty descents. 4 laps, and 4 times past the finish line gets you to 90kms and into T2 back in the grounds of the hotel. Then the vasbyt (Afrikaans for hang in there) begins! A 3 lap run of 400m of elevation into town and back, by now the heat of the day rising up from the sunbaked road and more brutally down from the midday sun. The aid stations every 2kms are a god send.

 But then its over, you run onto the red carpet, get your name called out by world class commentators and if you are lucky enough you get your song played! (Thanks Gordie and DJ Storm). Gooi Mielies!

I hobbled over to the recovery zone and met the athletes there and rested as the others made their way there. The rest of the afternoon is spent around the pool, swapping stories and celebrating.

The awards banquet is nested on the banks of the lake, in the grounds of the hotel. Beautifully lit and set for a huge dinner party. A buffet of local and international food is served up while the awards get under way. Those with energy will drink the night away in a fantasy setting, while tired athletes slink off for a well earned sleep.

The gorillas tour is the cherry on top, and this is included in the tour we organised. Some of the athletes went on Monday and flew out that night, and others took a rest day on Monday and went to see them on Tuesday.

If you are thinking about a 70.3 adventure, I can highly recommend this 703. It’s the second time I have done it, and I want to come back next year again. Keep an eye on our website for updates on the 2025 tour!