Showing posts with label 70.3. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 70.3. Show all posts

Easiest Half Ironman 70.3? Hardest? RunTri's Ranking of Best Half Ironman Races

By Raymond Britt -- There is no such thing as an easy Half Ironman. Covering 70.3 miles on any course, any day, in any variety of conditions, is a monumental challenge. Everyone who crosses the finish line knows how hard a half ironman can be. But we were curious . . .  RunTri analyzed nearly 95,000 triathletes competing in 40 70.3 distance triathlons to answer the question: which half ironman triathlon is hardest? Easiest? We've completed this analysis twice, and both are presented here.

RunTri's Toughest/Easiest Ironman 70.3 Races

We've taken our original analysis of 35 Ironman 70.3 events, expanded the list to 40 races, and then dug deeper, ranking races by discipline -- swim, bike or run -- to help athletes more accurately assess which races are easiest or toughest, depending on which elements of their triathlon skills are best or weakest. (we know you'll have many questions; see FAQs further down in this post)















RunTri's Original Top 35 Toughest/Easiest Ironman 70.3 Races

Next, our original analysis, the Top 25 Toughest/Easiest Ironman Races and related analysis. Our original analytics in response to key questions about comparing the races still hold true for the new rankings.



Top 5 Toughest Half Ironman 70.3 Races: Branson, UK, Japan, and the Philippines. Boise was in the top five originally; dramatically faster results in 2011 will move Boise to the middle of the pack next time we revise the complete rankings.

Half Ironman Triathletes. In the 2010-2011 season,  67,500 triathletes registered to compete in 40 of the world's best half ironman distance events, or about 1700 per race, on average. In 2012, about 95,000 athletes were registered to compete in one of 62 races.









For further details and links to data for each race, see  Index of  Best Half Ironman 70.3 Races.

For similar comparative charts, see our analysis of toughest half Ironman 70.3 swim, bike, run courses.

We've compared Ironman and half ironman 70.3 races, and have found that about 50% or your time in a triathlon will be on the bike.


Further, see out bike/run correlation analysis to get an idea of what your run split should be in a half ironman, depending on bike course difficulty.



Wondering what your Ironman finish time might be, based on your half Ironman 70.3 time? See our Analysis of Ironman Finish Targets vis a vis Half Ironman Finish Times


Between 10% and 20% of those who sign up to compete in a half ironman will not start the race. Another 3% to 8% will DNF.

Toughest. The UK Ironman also ranks among the toughest Ironman distance races.  Branson's challenging bike course left many short of energy on the run. Philippines triathletes fared well on the swim and bike, but the run -- the toughest of those we've ranked -- that landed it on this list. Both UK races -- 70.3 and Ironman -- rank as top 5 toughest.

Clearwater. The 70.3 World Championship in Clearwater has the fastest time, but we expect that, because of the world-class line-up of athletes racing there. Same is true with Ironman Kona; it ranks as fastest among the 25 Ironman races we've analyzed. For now, Clearwater is left out of the charts.

Fastest.  Brazil, Austria and Pucon are clearly the fastest courses of this group. We're not sure what to make of Brazil's times; they might be too fast. Austria's rank is similar to the country's full Ironman distance race. Steelhead triathletes turned in very fast times this year, as did those in Kansas and Mooseman, making these the four fastest half Ironman courses.

In-Between. As for the rest, at 6+ hours, they all are proof that there is no such thing as an easy half ironman. Once you're on the course in any of these races, you're going to have the challenge of your lifetime, and the finish will be something to be proud of, forever.

Comparisons Year to Year: Variances in weather conditions take less of a toll on half ironman triathletes; finish times don't tend to vary widely from one year to the next due to weather. Example: comparing Half Ironman 70.3 2009 and 2010 average times, overall and by age group.


Other Races: There are several additional Ironman 70.3 races, some of which will be added over time, as race results become available. 

Notes on Methodology: see notes in  our post of Hardest/Easiest Ironman, nearly all apply here. 

Predicting Your Ironman Finish Time, Based on Half Ironman 70.3 Results

One of the frequent questions we hear: What can I expect my ironman time to be, based on my half ironman finish time in another race?

The answer, based on our analysis of 25 top ironman race times and 25 top half ironman race times: on average:

Full Ironman Time = half ironman time * 2.1 = 2x half ironman time + 40 minutes

Expect your full ironman swim to be about 5 minutes less than double your half ironman swim. Double your bike split and add 15 minutes. And double your half ironman time and add about 30 minutes. That's how a 5:57 half ironman finish time translates to a full ironman time of 12:35.

To address the naturally occurring variations from race to race, we have matched full- and half-ironman distance races that take place on the same course (e.g., China), races that take place in the same country, and races that appear to share common characteristics such as climate, terrain, etc.

These pairings are, of course, subject to change. Use your race experience and the data on this chart to predict a most accurate ironman finish time based on your half ironman results.

For more, see our new analysis by Age Group for New Zealand and Texas vs New Zealand.


For more, see our Analysis of Top 25 Ironman Races and Top Ironman 70.3 Races.

Lance Armstrong Ironman Triathlon Results Analysis

Lance Armstrong's doping confession: why now? The answer could be: Ironman Triathlon.

There's speculation that Lance wants to resume the ironman triathlon racing career he began in 2012. Starting with his first Ironman 70.3, in Panama last year, Lance raced with and ultimately beat some of the best longer-distance triathletes in the world.

Undoubtedly, he had hoped to compete in the Ironman World Championship, Kona Hawaii in 2012, before he was  suspended from competition following USADA's doping charges.

If Lance earns the chance to compete again in ironman triathlon, could he become world champion? Our analysis of his successful 2012 season suggests the answer could, someday, be 'yes'.

Lance Armstrong Ironman 2012 Results Analysis
  1. Ironman 70.3 Panama (3:50:55, 2nd place)
  2. Ironman 70.3 Texas (3:54:32, 7th place)
  3. Ironman 70.3 St. Croix (4:07:08, 3rd place) (also see our Triathlete Magazine article about Lance's race)
  4. Ironman 70.3 Florida (3:45:38 1st place)
  5. Ironman 70.3 Hawaii (3:50:55, 1st Place)
Also see Lance Armstrong Inspires Ironman Triathletes in 4000+ Worldwide Cities.

Ironman Hawaii 70.3 Results Analysis






 




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Previous Lance Armstrong Ironman Racing Articles: Ironman Florida


In his fourth event of the year, Lance Armstrong overpowered the field at Ironman 70.3 Florida, winning his first major triathlon in a time of 3:45:38. After seeing his lead evaporate on the run in each of three previous attempts, Lance finally put it all together in Florida to crush his nearest competitor, Maxim Kriat, by 11 minutes.



Lance had a good start. His swim of 24:52 put him in the top 4 out of the water.


Lance won the race on the bike. Lance returned to Tour de France time trial form: his 27mph bike split was untouchable. He covered the first 38.5 miles on the bike at a pace of 29mph. He slowed to 25mph on the remaining 17.5 miles of the bike course, to conserve energy for the run. Exiting Transition 2 with a 10 minute lead, Lance never looked back, nor did he slow down.


Lance simply dominated the 13.1 mile run course. He ran the first 4.4 miles at 5:40/mile pace, and only slowed slightly to 5:45/mile for the next 4.4 mile loop. Wrapping up the run in 1:15:56, Armstrong crossed the finish line in 3:45:38, his fastest Ironman 70.3 race, for a richly deserved first victory.


Facing a relatively light field of pro men, it was not completely unexpected that Lance would win. It's also not terribly surprising to see Lance finish the 56-mile bike course a full 10 minutes faster than his closest rival.




What does seem to stand out is his run split. He had been broken on the run in his three previous races, but this time he delivered the fastest run split overall.





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Previous Lance Armstrong Ironman Racing Articles
Featured by Trlathlete Magazine

After three events -- Ironman 70.3 Panama and Ironman 70.3 Texas and the just-completed Ironman 70.3 St. Croix -- Lance's results are remarkably consistent: a decent swim, followed by taking over the lead on the bike (and setting a course record at St. Croix), then holding onto the lead at the start of the run. Here's how Lance's results in St. Croix compared to the Top 10 Finishers.



The problem is, in each event, he's lost the lead and the chance at victory by faltering on the run. Lance was known for toughing it out to win brutal stages year after year at Tour de France by outlasting his toughest competition.  As of yet, he's been unable to demonstrate the same unrelenting drive on the half ironman run course; others are making him suffer.

Here's a summary of Lance's finish rank in each specific part of the race: his performance within swim, bike and run, relative to the Top 10 Overall finishers. The pattern is clear: 6th or 7th fastest swimmer, fastest cyclist, 6th or worse runner. No question about it -- he's not going to win until he learns how to win on the run.


In Panama, he had the 6th fastest swim, the 2nd fastest bike split and the 6th fastest run; all three individual performances resulted in 2nd place overall. In Texas, he was 7th out of the water, then hammered the top bike split, then paid for it by running the worst half marathon of the Top 10, finishing 7th overall. And in St. Croix, it wasn't just how Lance ranked relative to other top 10 pros in the swim, bike or run; it was also the remarkably large gap between his time and the swim and run leaders' times.








Where did Lance really lose Ironman 70.3 St. Croix? On the second loop of the half marathon. He was holding his own through the first 6.2 miles, but it all fell apart after that. His 7 minute 40 second gap between the first and second look was the worst of any in the top 10.


And in each discipline -- swim, bike and run -- Lance turned in his slowest times yet.


 



Ironman 70.3 Panama and Texas Notes

Compare the splits of his 2nd place finish at Ironman 70.3 Panama with the splits of his 7th place finish at Ironman 70.3 Texas.



Below are recaps of Lance's races at Panama and Texas. Click the appropriate links to see our complete analysis of Lance's performance at each event.

Ironman 70.3 Texas Recap

Lance Armstrong started Ironman 70.3 Texas with a decent swim (15th place), took it easy on the first 28 miles of the bike course (25mph) before unloading a 28mph second lap to take the lead heading into the run course. The lead was short-lived, and from there, things only got worse: suffering to the point of walking the late stages of the run, he settled for a disappointing 7th place overall.


One look at Lance's run time, compared to the rest of the top 10 finishers, tells the story. At 1:22:38, he ran 1:30 slower than the next slowest runner, and he was a full 8 minutes slower than Timothy O'Donnell, the race winner.

For more see our complete coverage of Lance Armstrong's race at Ironman 70.3 Texas.

Ironman 70.3 Panama Recap

Lance Armstrong finished second in his debut half Ironman race, coming within 42 seconds of victory.  For most of the 13.1 mile run course, it looked like Lance would win, but Olympic triathlon medal winner Bevan Docherty caught Armstrong in the last mile, in dramatic fashion, to take the win. 


Lance raced very well: he had the 10th fastest swim, 3rd fastest bike split and 8th fastest run.  He had the finish line in sight . . . he was so close . . . could he have won? Could it be Lance lost the race with slow transitions?



For more, see our analysis of Lance's race in detail to see where he might have saved precious seconds needed to win.

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