Hofheimer Triathlon: Course, Elevation & Route Profile

Course & Elevation

The swim covers two 750-metre laps in the Ellertshäuser See, with a short exit through the start-finish area between them. From transition at the lake the race goes straight onto the bike, and that is where the day is really decided.

The 39 bike kilometres are a point-to-point course with a loop attached: a good three kilometres to the junction at Wettringen first, then a complete 22-kilometre lap via Wetzhausen, Happertshausen, Friesenhausen, Reckertshausen, Hofheim, Lendershausen, Kerbfeld and Aidhausen, and finally the same lap a second time as far as Hofheim. Around 310 metres of climbing spread across long flat sections and gentle rollers; the only pronounced features are a short ramp at kilometre 11 and a climb of just over a kilometre at close to four percent at kilometre 18, shortly after your first pass through Hofheim. From the lake at a good 310 metres down to the sports ground at 265 there is a slight net descent overall.

The 10K is two laps of the 5-kilometre course, which runs out from the sports ground to Reckertshausen and back into Hofheim along the state road. Each lap brings only a good 35 metres of climbing, nearly all of it in one short ramp just after the first kilometre.

Pacing Strategy

This race is decided on the bike, not by attacks but by consistency. Close to 40 percent of the bike course is genuinely flat and another good third runs downhill, so riding below your means there costs far more time than the handful of rollers ever will. Ride the long open stretches between Wetzhausen and Reckertshausen committed and in aero position.

The one place where your power may briefly rise is the climb at kilometre 18, right after your first pass through Hofheim. It is a good kilometre long at barely four percent, so carry momentum into it rather than muscling up. The classic trap is the net descent: the course drops from the lake to the finish overall, which makes the first section feel easy and invites overcooking.

On the run the only rise comes early, roughly 330 metres at four and a half percent just after the first kilometre, and it comes twice. Take it deliberately below target pace on the first lap; the second lap will tell you whether your bike split was chosen well.

Training plan for Hofheimer Triathlon: 12-week build

For the Hofheim short distance expect roughly two to three hours of total effort depending on your level, of which around 60 to 80 minutes on the bike and 40 to 60 minutes on the run. The character is steadily aerobic for most of the day: long flat and slightly falling sections, little genuine recovery, and almost no anaerobic spikes.

The race is decided on the open, wind-exposed farmland sections between Wetzhausen and Reckertshausen and on the climb after the first pass through Hofheim. Both demand the same thing: holding a constant power output in aero position for over an hour without losing rhythm on every roller.

Build your bike training around long threshold and sweet-spot intervals ridden consistently in race position rather than short hard efforts. Add rides into a headwind on open roads; the course offers almost no shelter and is raced without drafting.

For the run, brick training matters most: two laps on tired bike legs feel nothing like a fresh 10K. Run regularly straight off bike threshold sessions and practise taking that short rise after the first kilometre evenly rather than in a rush.