Chicago Marathon: Top 10 States, Finish Times: New York is Fastest

At the Chicago Marathon in 2009, the number of finishers in the top 10 states exceeded 23,000, or about 70% of all finishers. Comparing the top 10 states, New York had the fastest field in the Chicago Marathon, with a 4:15 average finish time. Michigan came in second, barely ahead of Ohio, with 4:22 vs. 4:23 average times, respectively. Time will tell, literally, if New York can successfully defend its title in the 2010 Chicago Marathon.


For more, see our Complete Chicago Marathon Coverage.

Chicago Marathon Race Pace: Running to Qualify for Boston


Many of you might be running the Chicago Marathon this year with a simple goal: Qualify for Boston. Many more of you want to know what race pace you might realistically expect to achieve. This article is for both audiences, though it is from the perspective of Boston qualification.


There are different ways to qualify for Boston on the same course. I’ve run a Boston qualifying time in my last nine Chicago marathons, but I have yet to run a perfect marathon in Chicago. I have had good qualifying runs and painful qualifying runs. I have not been able to run negative split marathons. I simply have done the best my conditioning and experience allowed at the time.

And that’s what this article will show you — the details behind several of my Chicago marathons, for insight into my approach to qualifying for Boston at the Chicago Marathon.

The first time I ran Chicago in an attempt to qualify for Boston was in 1995. I was an inexperienced marathoner with two marathons under my belt: a 4:47 debut in Chicago 1994, and a 3:48 at Lake County in April 2005.



Qualifying the Wrong Way

I trained diligently to get comfortable running 7:29 miles, the magic pace that would lead to a Boston qualifying time of 3:15. I approached the starting line in 1995 ready to qualify. And I charged out fast right from the start. Bad idea.

I ran the first half fast; way too fast. I ran the first 13.1 miles in 1:29:53, and then it all began to fall apart. By mile 15 I had slipped to 7:30 miles, creeping steadily slower until I was barely hanging on to 8 minute pace at mile 21. By mile 24, my watch was telling me a 3:15 qualifying time was within reach, but slipping away fast.

I slowed to 8:30/mile pace as the pain intensified and my desire to give up increased. I wished I was not so close to qualifying; it would make slowing down much easier. But I had to keep going, and soon the finish line was in sight. After an excruciating 1:44 second half, I did cross the line with a 3:14:28 finishing time. I had qualified.

Qualifying the Right Way

I returned the next year to run almost exactly the same overall time, but the pacing was far different. More balanced, steadier, in control. Take a look at the mile-by-mile splits. Yes, the pace eased later in the race – as it does each time I run Chicago – but I felt reasonably great when I finished.

Not Just Barely Qualifying: Running Faster

By the time my qualifying standard increased to 3:20, I was running much faster.

My next breakthrough in Chicago was a 10-minute improvement to 3:05 in 1999. I had been competing in triathlons for a few years, and was a better all around athlete. In 1999 I came my closest to running a perfect marathon in Chicago: 1:30 in the first half; 1:35 in the second half. The next three years, I ran about the same time, with subtle differences, mainly slightly faster first halves and slower finishes.

What makes the difference in running Chicago well or poorly, fast or faster? It’s how you handle the course.

Easy Does It

Yes, Chicago is a comfortable, flat course. Yes, it can be fast. But the downside is that it can be terribly seductive in the first 13 miles.

You are with thousands of runners, surrounded by thousands more spectators. There is cheering from within the pack of runners and from both sides of the street.

The first miles feel too easy. You are fast; you’ve trained for this. It’s your day. The pace pulls you along, It’s like running 75 mph in a 55 mph zone; it’s ok, but you might get caught.

You need to control your own race as soon as you can. Allow things to sort themselves out in the first mile or two, then settle down to the pace you planned to run. You don’t need to let your watch control your race. Run at the pace that feels comfortable. But if you see that you’re 30 seconds faster per mile than you expected, that’s probably not a reason to be excited. It’s a reason for caution. Take it easy.

As you head north through the Lincoln Park Zoo toward Fullerton, sometimes the hardest thing is to see people passing you. Let them go. Run your race, and you’ll see them later.

When the course makes the turn to head back toward the loop, most runners around you will have settled into a rhythm. You should, too. Continue to run at your planned pace. It’s a good thing to see mile after mile within a few seconds of each other.

When it All Changes

One of my favorite parts of the race is running through the Loop as the 13.1 mile point approaches. Crowds are thick, I’ll see my family soon, and I’m feeling pretty good. Beware: as soon as you cross the 90/94 bridge on Adams headed west, it all changes.

It gets quiet. The pack thins out. You still have half a marathon to go. You might not feel as zippy. This is the time when you need to make a point of holding onto your concentration, holding onto your pace. Slow down in the teen miles – 14 to 19 – and your chances of qualifying can slip toward the danger zone. You tend to not get faster after that.

You will be running through the West Loop, out, back, out, back, and suddenly the miles seem longer. Just take it a mile at a time. Don’t let yourself lose focus. Give it that extra effort. Tell yourself at this point it can hurt more to run slow than to run fast. Keep going.

The stretch between the dancing dragon in Chinatown and White Sox park is sort of no-man’s land. Still not close enough to the finish, but far enough from the start to have been running hard for more than two hours. Put your head down and focus only on getting to White Sox Park. When you get there, you will have broken through the mythical wall, and will be on your way home.

After Sox park, you turn left over the Kennedy, then left again to face the Sears Tower. In a way, you can see the finish line, just a few miles ahead. You’re getting there.

The Difference

If it’s close, the difference between qualifying for Boston or not will become clear in the last 4 miles. If you have run smart, you will be exhausted, but in control enough to hold onto your pace. You will have the strength to reach the mile 24 marker, and if your watch tells you to speed up, you’ll be able to do so. That’s what you ultimately want. Strength to go fast in the final two miles. That may make the difference.

Take Michigan Avenue north to Roosevelt, and you’re almost there. Rounding the turn to the finish line, the 26 mile clock will be there. It can take from 1.5 minutes to 2 minutes to run those final 385 yards. Don’t slow down now

Run fast. Run with purpose. Run with a smile as you cross the line. Run your way to a qualifying time.

Good luck.

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Ironman Wisconsin 2002-2010: Did Not Start (DNS) and Did Not Finish (DNF) Rates

By Raymond Britt -- Conditions on race day can affect Ironman triathlon outcomes, in terms of DNF (Did Not Finish) rates. Held in September and known for unpredictable weather, Ironman Wisconsin is one race where condition and DNF (Did Not Finish) rates have varied considerably from year to year. [Also see our North American Ironman DNF Rate Comparisons]


I've competed in five Ironman Wisconsins, from cool days to scorchers, from a low of 4% in the inaugural year (though 16% registered but did not start) to 19% in 2005. Competitors in 2003 and 2005 were faced with 90-100 degree conditions; 2006 was a freezing, rainy, awful day, while 2008 and 2009 were perfect.  In recent years, the race norm seems to be a 10% to 12% DNS rate and a 5% to 6% DNF rate, which is reflected in our RunTri's Toughest 25 Ironman Triathlon analysis. Even in perfect conditions, Ironman Wisconsin rates a top 5 Most Difficult races rating.

Ironman Kona 2010 Participants by Age

The 1925 triathletes planning to compete at Ironman Kona Hawaii 2010 represent ages 18 to 80+. For more, see the participant list,  Kona Qualifying Times and our  Complete Kona Coverage.

Number of Annual Ironman Triathlon Finishers

By Raymond Britt -- In the last twelve months, more than 41,000 triathletes finished 25 Ironman Triathlons. Each finisher met the daunting challenge of a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike and a 26.2 mile marathon. Of the finishers, nearly 1600 qualified to compete in the 2010 Ironman Triathlon World Championship.


If you add non-Ironman branded Ironman distance races to the mix, such as Challenge Roth, we estimate a global total of 50,000 finishers. While there is no such thing as an easy Ironman, some were clearly more difficult than others. Our data shows between 5% and 7% DNF rates for most events. Ironman St. George and Louisville, however, posed extraordinary difficulty in 2010; each had DNF rates around 15%. See RunTri's Ranking of 25 Toughest Ironman Races for details.

Ironman Worldwide Allocation of Kona Qualification Slots by Age Group

Here's the complete analysis of how Kona slots were distributed globally, by age group.   For everything else Kona, visit our Complete Qualifying for Kona Coverage, Kona Qualifying Times and Kona Qualifying Slots for each Ironman event.




Half Ironman 70.3 Triathlon: Hardest Courses, Easiest Courses, and Details

Which is the hardest half marathon race? Which is the easiest? We put 32 Half Ironman 70.3 races to the test, analyzing the complete results for nearly 67,000 triathletes. Here are the results, by Raymond Britt



Top 5 Toughest Half Ironman 70.3 Races: Branson, UK, Japan, Philippines and Boise.
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.

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. 


Ironman Lake Placid Bike Course Splits: Where and Why your MPH Gets Crushed

By Raymond Britt -- Everything you've heard about the bike course -- from our analysis, and from others -- is true. This is what it looks like to ride Ironman Lake Placid's bike course, average mph by age group, section by section. Yes, it's downhill from there, so to speak. Your MPH, that is.


You can ride pretty fast on the first 36 miles of the course, but if you get carried away, as many do, you may be reduced to a crawl for those last 20 miles of the first lap. Not only that, but the effort it takes to cover those 20 miles past Whiteface Mountain saps your energy as you enter miles 57-92. Then, prepare to dig deep for the final 20 miles of what you'll agree is an epic 112 mile Ironman bike course. Better be ready; see our Ironman Lake Placid Bike Course Strategy for advice.

Marathon and Triathlon Training Time: Averages and Details

By Raymond Britt --  How much  training time/hours per week should you plan too dedicate when you train for a marathon, triathlon or Ironman Triathlon?  The short answer, from the previous article -- Marathon and Triathlon Training Time: Overview -- is: over the course of a year, you can train an average of one hour per day and still race well.  But, of course, there is a little more to the story. Averages are averages, You want to know:  how much time does it really take, week by week, during different stages of the year?


My typical training time is often less than an hour per day January through April, and the same for the late October through December. This is due to two main factors: the lack of impending races, and shorter days.  In the actual season example above, I raced in New Zealand in March, so I added extra hours for long indoor rides.

From May through September, when I’m a competitive racer – and by that I mean running like a Boston Marathon Qualifier and preparing for the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii – I can average more than an hour of training per day.

Nearly all the extra time I find for training is still what I call ‘transparent’. As the sun rises earlier in summer days, so do I, taking each extra minute of daylight and translating that to additional training time. I still am at the breakfast table with the family, am at work on time, and carry on my day as any other non-triathlete would.

Long weekend training efforts follow the same principle: start the long ride at 4:30 am on a summer morning, and I can be home from a 100 mile run before 10am. Plenty of time to get my daughter to soccer, and to even handle snack duty at halftime.

Prove It

Of course, you want some more specifics. Happy to share. Remember, I have tracked every minute of training for years. (Not a bad idea for you, either. It’s simple – just start a spreadsheet, or use the template on my website)

In a typical year, up until the Boston Marathon in mid-April, I will spend more time running, and cross-train biking and swimming. So far this year, my mix has been 62% run, 23% bike, and 15% swim.

I’m averaging just over six hours per week in 2007, with my longest training week, which included a 26.2 mile training marathon, just topping nine hours. Two other weeks had eight weeks of training, and the rest were seven hours or less.

This degree of training has put me in shape to run Boston reasonably well. Then the mix will change and triathlon training will pick up.

Triathlon Training Season: May through September

These are the months where my training hours will increase as I prepare for three main triathlons: Ironman USA Lake Placid in July, Chicago Triathlon in August, and Ironman Wisconsin in September.

My training mix will shift to 60% biking, 25% running and 15% swimming. My average training hours per week will increase to about 10 hours, but about every four weeks will reach 12 or 13 hours.

But let’s break those really long weeks down. They are really more manageable than meets the eye. My typical 13 hour training week -- remember, this is about as intense as it gets -- will look like this:

• Sunday: 13 mile training run, 6:00am to 7:30am
• Monday: 25 mile ride, 6:00am to 7:15am
• Tuesday: 1 mile swim, 6:30am to 7:00am
• Wednesday: 40 mile ride (fast), 6 mile run, 4:45 am to 7:30am
• Thursday: 9 mile run 6:00am to 7:15am
• Friday: off or 1 mile swim, 6:30am to 7:00am
• Saturday: 100 mile ride, 4:30am to 9:15am then kids soccer and snack duty

Totals: 12.5 hours, 2 miles swim, 165 miles bike, 28 miles run. All done early, all bringing me to home and work without compromise to my real life for the rest of the day.

If I ever get the itch to train a little longer in a long week, but still want to keep my priorities in order, I’ll swap a mid-week swim for a 40 mile bike ride, or I’ll change the Sunday long-ish run to a 50 mile ride and a 6 mile run, starting at 4:30am.

Remember, the above example is the most I’d train in a given summer week. For every long week like that, there’s a much shorter week to counter balance it in four week training cycle called Periodization. Each week builds upon the previous one, and after the fourth week, repeat. For example: 5, 7, 9, 11 hour training weeks in the four week cycle in summer.

Be smart with your time. Get more out of less. Your body, your boss and your family will thank you.

For more, see How to Train for Triathlon

Ironman Wisconsin: Correlation Between Bike and Run Splits

It's the most consistent challenge in all long-distance triathlons: how hard to ride the bike, while still leaving enough in the tank to have a great run. When it comes to balancing the bike and the run, there are four groups:
  1. Fast, Balanced: Rode fast along the fine line that also allowed a fast run
  2. Energy to Burn: Ran a faster than expected after the bike, could have ridden harder
  3. Left it on the Bike Course: the Big Fear, riding too hard, and blowing up on the run
  4. Smooth and Steady: longer bike and run splits on the way to a solid, if slow finish
You want to be with #1 or #4. Which group were you in at Ironman Wisconsin 2010? 


Ironman Wisconsin Results Analysis and Kona Qualifying Times

In both 2009 and 2010, the average finish time at Ironman Wisconsin of 13:16 earned RunTri's rank of Second most challenging Ironman race in the world.

How hard is Ironman Wisconsin at the age group level? These charts lay out the average finish times for each. No matter which way you look at it, 2009 and 2010 were tough years on a tough course. For more, visit our Complete Ironman Wisconsin Coverage.





Ironman Wisconsin: Kona Qualifying Times 2004 vs 2009 -- Women

Kona Qualifying Times by Age Group -- Women -- at Ironman Wisconsin 2004 and 2009: Faster qualifying times are the norm for all age groups, most notably W25-29 and W50-54.  Most likely this is due to the reduction in slots when the race cut its overall number from 80 to 72. Also see qualifying times by all age groups from 2004 to 2009.

Ironman Wisconsin: Kona Qualifying Times 2004 vs 2009 -- Men

Kona Qualifying Times by Age Group -- Men -- at Ironman Wisconsin 2004 and 2009: Faster qualifying times are the norm for all age groups, most notably M40-44 and M55-59.  Also see qualifying times by all age groups from 2004 to 2009.

Ironman Wisconsin Bike and Run Course Maps

Also see our Ironman Wisconsin Bike Course Tips and our Complete Ironman Wisconsin Coverage.

Bike Course


Run Course

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