RunTri: July 2011

Ironman Lake Placid Kona Qualifying Times Analysis

At Ironman Lake Placid 2011, 65 outstanding triathletes qualified for Kona, earning the right to race at the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii this October.

Here's our analysis showing the last qualifying time (LQT) and number of qualifying slots distributed by age group, since 2004. [also see our complete Ironman Lake Placid 2011 Results Analysis]

Competition was tough this year, but we were surprised at how many age group qualifying times were similar, if not a bit slower, compared to 2010 results. The differences, even compared to earlier years, jump out when graphed from 2004 to 2011. One explanation for the slower times might be that only those who did not complete the swim in a wetsuit were eligible to qualify.

Note: we were able to identify 64 Kona qualifiers directly, and we estimated that the 65th slot was awarded in the M70-74 age group, which had multiple finishers.

For more, see our Qualifying For Kona analysis, and our complete Ironman Lake Placid race coverage.

World's Best Triathletes: Which Country has the Fastest Competitors?

One of the common issues raised when it comes to ranking the top 25 toughest ironman distance races is geography. Some maintain that european triathletes are better than north American athletes, for example.

Faster europeans may lead to faster average finish times in certain european races, so the argument goes, making those races appear 'easier' than north American races. To be specific, the most often example raised is the comparison between Ironman Germany and German athletes and North American Ironman events and US/Canada triathletes.

So we put it to the test: does one country consistently have faster triathletes?

To find the answer, we analyzed the best athletes from top triathlon countries -- those that qualified for Kona -- competing head to head at the 2010 Ironman Triathlon World Championship in Hawaii.

Results? Somewhat inconclusive; it depends on the age group. When you compare Kona competitors' average finish times by age group across the 13 countries with the most qualifiers, it's not immediately clear that one country consistently produces faster finishers.

In M25-29, triathletes from Germany and the US delivered nearly identical times, and those times were within 10 minutes or so of finishers from Australia, Austria, UK, New Zealand and Switzerland.

In M30-34, US athletes combined for the slowest time, but most of the other countries have average finisher times within 10 minutes or so of 9:55: Australia, Austria, Canada, France, UK, Germany, Japan, New Zealand and Switzerland. Ten minutes or less separate these countries' triathletes.

Of the others, Brazil's finishers are fastest in M30-34 with a 9:37 average time. Does this mean Brazil has the fastest triathletes?

Not if you look at the M35-39 age group, for starters, where the average time of Brazilian finishers is second slowest. In M35-39, finish times from UK, 9:46 on average, are definitively the fastest of the division. Does this mean UK triathletes are fastest?

Not if you look at the M40-44 age group . . . and so it goes.

Which country has the fastest triathletes? If the answer depends upon which age group you're talking about, there's not a definitive answer. Take a look at other Kona age group average finishing times by country, and you'll see what we mean.

Ironman Marathon or Regular Marathon: Which is faster?

Is it possible that a marathon in an Ironman Triathlon -- after swimming 2.4 miles and riding 112 miles -- might be faster than simply running a regular marathon?

Yes, it is. When you look at finish times of several top marathons and several top Ironman triathlons -- each of which we've competed in -- you'll see that an Ironman marathon can be faster, on average.

The marathons at Ironman Austria, Ironman Switzerland, New York City Marathon and Chicago Marathon are all in the 4:25 range. Ironman New Zealand and RnR Arizona Marathon are nearly identical at about 4:35, on average. RnR San Diego Marathon's average finish time of 4:52 roughly equals the average of 25 Ironman marathons, and is only a few minutes faster than Ironman marathons in Lake Placid, Canada, Florida and Arizona.

Very interesting, all fact-based, nice trivia, but still, perplexing . . . how can it be?

It's a bit of an illusion, actually.

A first reality check is our own experience running marathons on each of these courses. Our regular marathon times were roughly 40 to 45 minutes faster than on Ironman courses. Our fastest marathon was a 2:54 in Boston; the same year we ran a 3:36 personal best Ironman marathon in Lake Placid.

The next check is comparing the average of 25 top marathons -- 4:24 -- with the average marathon at 25 top Ironman triathlons -- 4:50 -- a difference of 25 minutes.

The reality is, there's more to an average marathon finish time than meets the eye. A very recent trend has shown more women than men run regular marathons; but Ironman triathletes tend to be male. Women's regular marathon times are slower than men's; see our analysis of New York City marathon results and number of runners per age group, for example. In contrast, it's not uncommon for men to represent 75% or more of the field at an ironman triathlon. And the men run faster ironman marathons.

We'll be presenting a side-by-side age group marathon comparison shortly. Until then, you have to admit, it's pretty interesting that an ironman marathon can be faster than a regular marathon.

Vineman Half Ironman Results Analysis

Triathletes finished the Vineman half Ironman in an average time of 6:02, about 6 minutes faster than last year. The average bike split was identical in both years -- 3:04 -- but conditions were conducive to a 5 minute improvement in the run split, to 2:10. Most age groups delivered faster average times as well.

With a rolling bike course that's a bit more challenging than most, there's always a higher chance that triathletes will expend too much energy on the bike, retaining too little for a fast run. But with the average 2:10 run split and only a 2% DNF rate, it seems that most avoided this pitfall. The not-so-lucky ones who suffered on the run are represented by the datapoints in the upper left quadrant.

Racine Half Ironman Results Analysis

Image by Raymond Britt

A very hot day for racing at the Racine half ironman distance race pushed athletes to their limits on a run course that featured a heat index of nearly 100 degrees. Overall, the average finish time was 6:09, and while the bike split average of 2:58 was speedy, the heat slowed runners to a 2:21 average.

Evidence of the heat's impact resulted in a 7% DNF rate and a higher than normal number of triathletes who rode too hard and suffered on the run (upper left quadrant).

Rhode Island Half Ironman Results Analysis

The average finish time at this year's Rhode Island half ironman distance event was 6:04, just a few minutes faster than last year's 6:13. However, the difference, resulting from slightly faster bike and run splits, will move the half ironman Rhode Island from the top 1/3 in our ranking of Toughest Half Ironman races to about the middle of the pack.

The triathlete's major challenge -- on the Rhode Island course or any other triathlon -- is getting the balance right between a fast bike split with enough energy left over to also execute a fast run split. In Rhode Island, most either got it right (lower left quadrant) or took it too easy on the bike.

Ironman Cutoff Times: Impact of Different Time Limits on Overall Results

In our ranking of the Top 25 Toughest Ironman Triathlons, all but three events can be officially completed in 17 hours. Switzerland and France adhere to a 16-hour cutoff limit; Germany (Frankfurt) recognized finishers completing the race in 15 hours.

To compensate for these three races' earlier cutoff limits, we're adjusting their overall ranking by estimating average finish time results if athletes could race 17 hours.

First we looked at Ironman Switzerland results, which has many similarities to Ironman Germany. Switzerland has a 16-hour cutoff, but we calculated the average finish time for a hypothetical 15-hour limit. The difference: 14 minutes.

To confirm the Switzerland analysis and to estimate the difference between 16 and 17 hour cutoffs, we examined Ironman Canada results next.

Results: the average finish time increase between a 16-hour and 17-hour cutoffs is about11 minutes. And backing into a hypothetical comparison of 15 and 16 hour limits, using actual results, we get a 15 minute difference, nearly identical to the difference in our Ironman Switzerland analysis.

Based on these outcomes, to make all Ironman events comparable, we adjust 15-hour cutoff time races by adding 26 minutes to approximate a 17-hour finish time, and we adjust 16-hour cutoff time races by adding 11 minutes.

Even after the adjustments, Ironman Germany and Switzerland courses remain among the fastest in our Top 25 Toughest ranking.

Marathon and Triathlon Statistics, Analysis and Advice

Over the years, we have gathered databases full of marathon and triathlon information. With that information, we have dug deep to create more than 100 articles featuring charts and analysis that we find interesting or thought provoking. Here are the most popular and the most recent: