Toughest/Easiest Ironman Courses: Index of S/B/R Splits by Race and Age Group

RunTri analyzed nearly 50,000 triathletes competing in 25 Ironman distance triathlons (in 2010 season) to answer the question: which Ironman triathlon is hardest? Easiest? The results are here. By Raymond Britt






Race: Ironman Splits by Age Group can be accessed via race name links.
  • Kona: number of qualifying slots per race; like leads to list of athletes qualified for Kona 
  • Swim, Bike, Run:  column headers link to charts comparing all 22 races
  • Finish: Complete Race Results can be accessed via the finish time links
  • RT: Click to see RunTri's Exclusive coverage for these races
  • For more,  see our Index of Comparative Splits by Age Group Analysis.
  • See our notes on methodology and factors here.
Here's the Graphic View of data above.




    New York City Marathon 2013: Options for 2012 Entrants

    In response runner questions after the cancellation of 2112's New York City Marathon due to devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy, here's an update from Mary Wittenberg,  president and CEO, below.
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    Also, for more about NYC Marathon, see

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    Dear Marathon Runners:

    Thank you all for your patience during the last seven weeks as we have worked through issues related to the cancellation of the 2012 ING New York City Marathon. Hurricane Sandy was a devastating event for our city, and our thoughts and prayers remain with the victims and their families as they work to rebuild their homes and lives.

    We are sorry that it has taken us longer to resolve these issues than we had originally hoped. We have been working to offer the best possible solutions in order to meet the needs of the many different groups associated with the Marathon.

    Our goal was to offer a range of options to each of you so that you can choose which option works best for you.

    MARATHON RUNNERS

    2012 Marathoners may choose one of the following options:

    Option #1 – Refund. While NYRR has always had a no-refund policy for the Marathon, given these extraordinary circumstances, we are offering runners who were entered in the 2012 Marathon, and were unable to run due to the cancellation 1, the opportunity to obtain a full refund of their 2012 Marathon entry fee (excluding the $11 processing fee);

     OR

    Option #2 – Guaranteed entry to the ING New York City Marathon for 2013, 2014, or 2015. Entrants in the 2012 Marathon who choose this option will be granted guaranteed entry to the Marathon for the year they choose. Runners will be required to pay all processing and entry fees at the time of application (in the given year), with fees maintained at the same rate as those paid in 2012;

    OR

    Option #3 – Guaranteed entry to the NYC Half 2013. Entrants in the 2012 Marathon who choose this option will be granted guaranteed entry to the NYC Half 2013, to be run on March 17, 2013. Runners will be required to pay all processing and entry fees at the time of application. Availability will be limited.

    CHARITY RUNNERS

    All runners who signed up to run the 2012 Marathon on behalf of Team for Kids or one of the official ING New York City Marathon charities and obtained their entry from NYRR will be offered the same options. The fundraising you did in connection with the 2012 Marathon will entitle you to any of the options above. If your 2012 Marathon entry fee was paid through your charity partner, you will be contacted directly by your charity.

    INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL PARTNERS

    All international runners who gained entry to the 2012 Marathon as part of a travel package with an official ING New York City Marathon International Travel Partner will be contacted directly by their International Travel Partner representative to facilitate their options.

    TICKET-HOLDERS FOR OTHER RACE-WEEK EVENTS

    Ticket-holders for any of the following events will be offered a full refund:

    • Marathon Eve Dinner
    • Reserved Grandstand Seating
    • Blue Line Lounge Presented by Tata Consultancy Services
    • Marathon in a Motorcoach
    • TrackMyRunnersTM via TXT
    • Those of you who were entered in the cancelled 2012 NYRR Dash to the Finish Line 5K will receive a separate e-mail outlining further details.


    THE OPTION SELECTION PROCESS
    Individual e-mails will be sent to all runners on January 10, 2013, and information will be posted on the Marathon website (www.ingnycmarathon.org), providing further details and terms and conditions for the obtaining of refunds and the choosing of an option. The option selection window will open on January 11, 2013, and you will have until January 25, 2013, to choose your option, so we ask that you please act quickly once you receive the instructional e-mail, as there will be no default option.

    Please choose the option that works best for you. If you have any questions prior to receiving our instructional e-mail on January 10, please do not hesitate to contact NYRR customer service at customerservice@nyrr.org.

    On behalf of all of us at NYRR, thank you for your patience and support. Our commitment is to work hard over the coming year to serve our runners and community and to return the ING New York City Marathon to being our city’s best day.

    Yours in running,

    Mary Wittenberg

    President and CEO


    Toughest/Easiest Ironman Swim Course: Comparing 25 Ironman Races

    There are fantastic swim courses on the worldwide ironman circuit. Among my favorites are Kona, New Zealand and Florida. I've completed the Ironman swim in 29 races, and while I'm not a great swimmer, my swim times have sometimes varied from course to course more than expected.

    So I did an analysis of 100,000 Ironman finishers to try to answer the question: Is it possible that the degree of difficulty swimming 2.4 miles differs by location?

    The data says yes, if you assume that all swim courses are measured reasonably accurately. Here's how they compare on average. Then continue reading: there's much more to the story. 

    Factors that impact average swim times can range from a very tight swimming venue, very rough open water, or speedy currents. And these factors can have dramatic impacts. 

    In the slightly dated chart above (newer one to be posted soon) comparing 25 Ironman swims, Cozumel is shown as one of the fastest at an average 1:08 split. However, at Ironman Cozumel 2012, the average time was 1:28:59, see chart below. Reports from Cozumel swimmers indicated a particularly challenge last section of the swim, and some athletes described their times as 10-15 minutes slower than they expected.


    And swimmers at the Ironman US Championship 2012 in New York City cruised with the current to an average 51 minute swim split.


    Want to dig deeper: here's the data for every race and every age group:


    Ironman Average Finish Times and Swim, Bike, Run Split Comparisons


    North America Finish, Split Times by Age Group
    Europe / South Africa Finish, Split Times by Age Group
    Asia/Pacific Finish, Split Times by Age Group
    Central/South America Finish, Split Times by Age Group

    For even more detail on all races, visit our Toughest/Easiest Ironman Race Analysis and our Complete Archive of Stats and Results Analysis.

    Mobile = #3 of 10 Crucial Consumer 2013 Trends; Peapod.com Leads the Way

    According to the latest study by Trendwatching, Mobile = #3 of the top 10 Crucial Consumer 2013 Trends. 

    We're proud that Peapod.com, one of the world's Top 50 ecommerce companies and our client and partner, is one of the trend leaders.

    See the article here: http://bit.ly/PeapodMobileTrend2013. For more about our mobile and ecommerce expertise, contact RaymondBritt@WinSight.net.







    Ironman Cozumel 2012 Results Analysis

    It was a tough year for competitors at Ironman Cozumel 2012, which saw about 1725 athletes finish the race in an average time of 12 hours, 58 minutes, the slowest time since the first running of Ironman Cozumel in 2009.

    Notably, swimmers were confronted by a highly unanticipated current, reportedly on the last segment of the course,  that dramatically slowed swim times to an average split of 1:28, compared to the 2011 average swim of 1:14.

    There's been some confusion about the number of athletes who did not start the race vs those who started the race but were unable to meet the swim cutoff time. Combined, the total represented 27% of total registered entrants.

    How tough was Ironman Cozumel 2012? We've crunched the numbers, overall, by age group, by year, and here are the results.