Ironman Cutoff Times: How Do Athletes Beat Ironman France 16-Hour Cutoff?
While most Ironman triathlons set a finish cutoff time of 17 hours, some European races have tighter limits. Germany, for example, has a 15-hour cutoff time; France ends its race at 16 hours (in an average finish time of 12:26). Some triathletes need those that last hour to finish. For example, Ironman France 2012 had 2035 finishers, but 236, or 12%, finished in the second-to last hour (from 14 to 15 hours), and 142, 7%, finished in the last hour (15 hours to 16 hour cutoff).
We've been analyzing finishers in the last hour before the cutoff, to understand why the last-hour athletes need the extra time. In our analysis of Ironman Florida, with a 17 hour cutoff, those that finished in the last hour seemed to generally need the extra time for the run.
But what about the last hour finishers at Ironman France, who are racing to beat an even tighter 16-hour deadline? Interestingly, our analysis reveals a different dynamic when a 16-hour cutoff is in place. Why do finishers need that last hour to finish in France?
It's mainly because they lose the most time on the bike course. And, somewhat surprisingly, marathon times for those that finish between 14 and 15 hours are not that much faster than run splits of those who finish between 15 and 16 hours. The last-hour finishers literally have to run for it.
We've been analyzing finishers in the last hour before the cutoff, to understand why the last-hour athletes need the extra time. In our analysis of Ironman Florida, with a 17 hour cutoff, those that finished in the last hour seemed to generally need the extra time for the run.
But what about the last hour finishers at Ironman France, who are racing to beat an even tighter 16-hour deadline? Interestingly, our analysis reveals a different dynamic when a 16-hour cutoff is in place. Why do finishers need that last hour to finish in France?
It's mainly because they lose the most time on the bike course. And, somewhat surprisingly, marathon times for those that finish between 14 and 15 hours are not that much faster than run splits of those who finish between 15 and 16 hours. The last-hour finishers literally have to run for it.
The mix of finishers in the last two hours of Ironman France doesn't vary much from that of the overall field; most competitors overall are male, predominantly in the M30-M49 group.
Taking the analysis to the next level, here are the comparative split comparison between 14-15 hour finishers and 15-16 hour finishers, for the largest age groups.
Ironman Cut-off Times: Can it Really Take 17 Hours to Finish an Ironman?
The Challenge and the Reward: As famously written in on the last page of the first race instructions by Ironman founder John Collins: "Swim 2.4 miles! Bike 112 miles! Run 26.2 miles! Brag for the rest of your life".
How much Time is Allowed to finish? To earn those bragging rights it's this simple: complete the race in less than 17 hours (with exceptions such as France and Germany, with 16- and 15-hour limits, respectively), and you're an official Ironman finisher. (on average, it takes 12 hours, 35 minutes to finish)
How many need 17 hours to finish? In a typical North American ironman around 85% of finishers cross the line under 15 hours, and nearly 95% cross the line in less than 16 hours. For example, at Ironman Florida 2011, 2353 triathletes finished the race; of those, 192 finished between 16 and 17 hours, and another 92 finished between 16 and 17 hours.
What's the difference in race splits and finish times between 15- and 16-hour finishers? In short, more than half is on the run. We compared swim, bike and run splits, and finishing times, of 15- and 16-hour finishers at Ironman Florida 2011, and the results are:
Generally, the distribution of 16- and 17-hour finishers is somewhat similar to that of all the entire field: most are are male, between 35 and 45, for example.
How do the results -- additional time in swim, bike and run splits -- vary by age group? Here are the results.
How much Time is Allowed to finish? To earn those bragging rights it's this simple: complete the race in less than 17 hours (with exceptions such as France and Germany, with 16- and 15-hour limits, respectively), and you're an official Ironman finisher. (on average, it takes 12 hours, 35 minutes to finish)
How many need 17 hours to finish? In a typical North American ironman around 85% of finishers cross the line under 15 hours, and nearly 95% cross the line in less than 16 hours. For example, at Ironman Florida 2011, 2353 triathletes finished the race; of those, 192 finished between 16 and 17 hours, and another 92 finished between 16 and 17 hours.
What's the difference in race splits and finish times between 15- and 16-hour finishers? In short, more than half is on the run. We compared swim, bike and run splits, and finishing times, of 15- and 16-hour finishers at Ironman Florida 2011, and the results are:
- Overall: 16-hour finishers take 56 minutes longer to finish
- Swim: only 5 minutes separate 15- and 16-hour finishers
- Bike: 16-hour finishers use 19 extra minutes on the bike, but that's only a 4% increase over 15-hour finisher splits
- Run: runners who finish in 16 hours take 32 minutes longer to complete the marathon, a notable 9% increase over 15-hour finishers
Generally, the distribution of 16- and 17-hour finishers is somewhat similar to that of all the entire field: most are are male, between 35 and 45, for example.
How do the results -- additional time in swim, bike and run splits -- vary by age group? Here are the results.
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