Ironman Texas 2013 Results Analysis

See 2014 Results: Ironman Texas 2014 Results Analysis
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Triathletes who have finished Ironman Texas in the past will tell you it's one of the tougher races on the Ironman calendar, and the 2013 event more than proved the point. Nearly 2900 athletes registered to compete, and after 13% DNS, and a remarkable 17%, or 408, DNF, the remaining 2,046 finishers took an average 13 hours and 40 minutes to complete the race. The result was 22 minutes longer than the 13:18 average finish time in 2012 and more than an hour slower than the average time to finish an Ironman:12:35. The main differences between Ironman Texas 2012 and 2013 were an additional 11 minutes on the bike, and a marathon took an additional 18 minutes -- 5 hours and 35 minutes.

Typically we see the bike split consume 50% of an Ironman finish time, with 35% spent on the run. Not this year: 46% on the bike, and a staggering 41% on the run.


These DNF rates are not too dissimilar than those at Ironman St. George 2012: 19%



Athletes whose bike/run time landed in the upper left hand corner -- they went after a faster bike split,  left too much energy on the bike course, and suffered mightily on the run. The share of athletes in that upper left hand corner is among the highest we've observed. At the same time, note the lower right hand corner; that space is reserved for those who held back on the bike, with extra energy to run a better marathon.

For more, see:


Ironman Triathlon Google Search Trends

Web Analytics and Search Trending: Major Marathons, Endurance Races, Sports and Sporting Events

We've been working in the field of web analytics and strategy since the late 1990s, and one of the areas we specialize in is industry and competitive dynamics analysis. One element of our analysis is a focus on trends for clients relative to direct competitors, as well as other-industry peers, over short and long term.

With that as background, we thought it would be interesting to examine trends -- as measured by google search volumes -- for endurance and other sporting events to see what insights emerge when analyzing the following:
  1. Major Marathon Trends: Boston, New York City, Marine Corps, Chicago and London Marathons
  2. Major Endurance Sports Trends: Marathon, Triathlon, Tour de France, Half Marathon, Running 
  3. Major US Sporting Events: Boston Marathon, Ironman, Indy 500, US Open Tennis, Masters Golf
  4. Major Sports Trends: Baseball, Football, Basketball, Hockey, Golf
  5. Major Leisure Sports Trends: Swimming, Cycling, Running, Golf, Tennis 
For example, from the search trends point of view, which is the most popular marathon? How has popularity of the marathon, by event, and in general, changed over time? What are the implications?


On this one, hints are found in our Boston, New York, and Chicago Marathon Analysis: The Web Analytics View.

Additional, selected charts comparing races, events, sports, etc., are below. Any surprises in the data? Yes, there are. Can you spot them? What makes them stand out? What are the business implications of your insights? Let me know by email, if you'd like to. Best answers will be added to this post soon.









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