Ironman Whistler Canada 2013 Results Analysis

The 31st running of Ironman Canada took place on August 25, 2013, offering 100 Ironman World Championship Qualifying Slots. This was not, however, the same Ironman Canada that we have finished three times in Penticton, British Columbia; instead the race was held in a new venue, Whistler, BC. How did the new Whistler event and course compare to recent Ironman Canada events in Penticton? Fast Facts:
  • Participants: Whistler had the lowest registered entrants -- about 2,600 -- in the last 5 Ironman Canada years
  • Finishers: After an 18% DNS and 7% DNF, Whistler's 1986 finishers fell far short of Penticton's 2,423 in 2012
  • Average Finish Times: 12:52 for Whistler, not dramatically different than Penticton times, ranging from 12:48 to 12:54 in recent years; 2012 was an aberration at 13:09
  • Swim (1:18) and bike (6:28) splits were nearly identical for Whistler and Penticton, and it's a pretty fast run, at 4:51.
[BUT . . . without WTC and Ironman running the show in Penticton this year, that race suffered in many ways, from low participation rate, slow finish times, and more; it's nowhere near the race it was last year; see our complete Challenge Penticton 2013 analysis]
We've run the numbers for the Inaugural Ironman Whistler overall, by age group, by split, by bike vs run correlation, and compared with Ironman Canada/Penticton results from 2009 to 2012. For more, see our historical Ironman Canada Coverage, and see our Stats/Results/Analysis archive to compare Whistler results against other events.


 













In recent years, the Penticton-based Ironman Canada has been the most popular in the Ironman-brand circuit, having drawn as many as 3,200+ registered entrants in 2011. As of May 9, 2013, the Whistler edition of Ironman Canada significantly lags Penticton's historical numbers, with just under 2,600 registered entrants listed on the event's web site. (While the General Entry to the race is sold out, Foundation charity slots still are available.)


The good news is that by offering 100 Kona qualifying slots, the odds of winning a slot at Ironman Canada in Whistler is second best of all Ironman brand events. Overall, as of May 9, 2013, 4+% of registered entrants could qualify at Whistler. These odds are likely to increase, as 15% of registered entrants typically do not start the event.

We'll be presenting complete coverage of Ironman Canada 2013 in Whistler on race day. For now, here's our analysis of registered participants by age group, a comparison of registered entrants in 2013 vs 2004 to 2012, and an extremely unofficial, but likely to be fairly close, estimate of allocated Kona slots by age group.