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. 

Muncie Half Ironman 70.3 Results Analysis

Nearly 1600 triathletes finished the inaugural Muncie half ironman 70.3 triathlon in an average time of 6 hours, flat. The bike course was fast, with an average split of 2:53 for 56 miles, while the run course was of average difficulty, with a 2:16 split for 13.1 miles.

Ironman Korea Results Analysis

The Inaugural Ironman Korea is one challenging race course, with an average finishing time of 12:56 that ranks it among the top 1/3 of RunTri's 25 Toughest Ironman Triathlons.

By comparison, Ironman Korea was 93 minutes slower than Ironman Austria, held the same weekend. The difference: 45 minute slower bike split, 34 minutes slower marathon.

Scatter-plot analysis of bike/run splits for each Ironman Korea finisher portrays a wide range of triathlete performances, from those who rode too fast and suffered on the run (upper left), those who rode too easily and had energy to spare on the marathon (lower right), to those who managed a steady balance between bike and run efforts.