Qualifying for Ironman Kona: 1662 Kona Slots Allocated Across 35 Ironman and Ironman 70.3 Races

By Raymond Britt -- To get to Kona, you need to qualify, and to qualify you need to win one of the very few Kona slots in your age group. For the 2012 season, we estimate 1662 slots are available from 28 Ironman races and 7 Ironman 70.3 races. See Ironman Qualifiers and Slots per Race 2011-2012.

The number of slots per race is just the starting point. The slots are then distributed across age groups. This table presents the slot allocation for Ironman races Kona 2010.

Also see our Analysis of Kona Qualifying Times for each age group and race listed here and our Allocation of Kona Slots by Event and Age Group graphs.

For advice and guidance, see our Complete Qualifying for Kona Coverage, and our book  Qualifying for Kona.

Ironman 70.3 Steelhead 2011 Results Analysis

Rough weather conditions cancelled the swim portion of Ironman 70.3 Steelhead in 2011, converting the event into a bike/run duathlon. We found it interesting to compare the different in bike and run times on the same course in events preceeded by a swim (2010) and events without (2011).

Bad weather conditions led organizers to cancel the Steelhead triathlon's swim leg, reducing the event to a bike/run duathlon, giving us the opportunity to compare duathlon vs. triathlon bike and run splits. Resulting duathlon splits in most age groups were at least 3% or more faster, as shown in the chart below. Notable exceptions were M18-29 bike and run splits, and run splits for W18-24, W40-44, W55-59 and WPro categories.

Behind the percentage differences, here are average bike splits for the 2011 duathlon compared with the 2010 triathlon, by age group.

Here are average run splits for the 2011 duathlon compared with the 2010 triathlon, by age group.

Ironman Kona: 140.6 Miles From Start to Finish: Video

This is what it's like to race the Ironman Triathlon World Championship in Kona. We shot photos on race day, from the swim start, to the bike course through the lava fields, to Alii Drive and to the finish -- 17 hours of inspiring images captured in this 3 minute video.



Photos by Raymond Britt (also presented here: Ironman Kona 2012: 140.6 Miles of Images). Music by Emmy Award-winning composer and electric violinist Mark Wood from his CD Guts, Grace and Glory.

Images were taken at the following locations/times:

1. Swim Start
2. First Mile of the Bike Course
3. Third Mile Bike Course (same spot as #2, as bikes return to Alii Drive)
4. Waikoloa Bike Course, Heading Toward Hawi
5. Mile 107 Bike Course, near Airport, riders returning to transition
6. Alii Drive -- runners in both directions
-- Men's leaders returning from the turnaround
-- Women's leaders heading toward the turnaround
7. Run Course -- runners in both directions to/from Energy Lab
-- Men's leaders returning from the energy lab toward the finish
-- Women's leaders heading to, and soon after, returning from, the Energy Lab
8. Alii Drive Finish Line Before Sun Sets
9. Back on run course, same location as #7, age groupers running to/from Energy Lab
10. Alii Drive Finish Line After Dark

For more about racing Ironman Kona, see www.RaceKona.com and www.RunTri.com.