An exceptional race. The organisation was great, the village is down on the beach by the swim start. That was all smooth. The race started at 7 am and as someone staying in the city, it was very practical to see the underground trains running at 5am (it's then a 15-minute walk from the station) so getting to the start was no problem. The swim was nice, LOTS of jellyfish BUT they do NOT sting. Believe me, I hate jellies but they did not sting at all and you get used to swimming through them. You swim under three bridges that cross the bay which makes for a great spectator experience too. T1 is simple, drop bags into boxes on your way to your bike (they're then brought into the city where T2 is located). The bike course is beautiful, you ride up the coast before doing two loops further inland and then back down the coast into the city. Relatively flat with only a few small hills, definitely a fast course. Support is brilliant and the aid stations were all well equipped. The wind did pick up slightly towards the end so worth keeping something in the legs for the last 20km back into the city. T2 was simple, bike catchers made it very easy to run straight into T2 and not worry about racking your bike. The run is 4 laps through all the nicest parts of the city and off into the park. The city is buzzing, the crowds are incredible, aid stations and volunteers are great. The park gets a little lonely but as with every Ironman, there needs to be a calm section where it's you against your mind. The finish line is great, just like every Ironman finish line and the post race is well done too with plenty of hot and cold foods, beer, massages, etc... Bike check-out wasn't too much hassle either. All in all, the best race I've done and I would recommend it to anyone who's looking for a relatively stress-free race.