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USA Triathlon 2013 Age Group National Championships Results Analysis and Photos

Results Analysis: USA Triathlon 2013 Age Group National Championships

The USA Triathlon organization, the city of Milwaukee, an army of dedicated volunteers, and the best age group triathletes in the country combined to deliver a weekend of terrific International Distance and Sprint Distance racing in perfect conditions along the shore of Lake Michigan.

We've run the numbers overall, by race distance, by age group, by splits per age group and we ran a correlation analysis between bike and run splits to see how many athletes rode too fast, and suffered on the run, for example. In addition, we were there from start to finish to capture the action in a full set of race photos. They're all here, presented in this order:

Olympic/International Distance Analysis
Sprint Distance Analysis
Action: Race Photos from Start to Finish
(Extra Credit: If you love race analytics like these, visit our Stats/Results/Analysis tab for more than 200 posts analyzing endurance racing from all angles)

1. Olympic/International Distance Analysis

Nearly 2,700 triathletes finished the 1.5k swim, 40k bike and 10k run in an average time of 2 hours, 31 minutes (compared to an average of 3 hours at the Chicago Triathlon).

The spirit of friendly but determined competitiveness dominated some extraordinary performance in all age groups. The swim was smooth, and there seemed to be little of the aqua turbulence associated with most triathlons swims. The riders on the bike course were exceedingly conscious about not drafting; the most diligent group of riders I've witnessed in dozens of races I've participated in or covered. And when the triathletes hit the run course, they were determined to hold nothing back. They gave it 110% all the way through the finish line, where more than a few collapsed from exhaustion.

2. Sprint Distance Analysis

Nearly 1100 triathletes competed in Sunday's Sprint Distance National Championships, finishing with an impressive overall average time of 1 hour, 21 minutes. Of course, we drilled into the age groups to highlight the differences by division, but across the board, great results.

3. Action: Race Photos from Start to Finish

In addition, we captured images from sunrise to the race's finish line. See our USA Triathlon 2013 Age Group National Championships photos at this link, or click the photo set below.

And for the 360 degree view of the finish line experience, see http://360.io/KEaFAT or click the image below.

Ironman 70.3 Philippines Results Analysis

At Ironman 70.3 Philippines 2013, 1,474 triathletes finished in an average time of 6 hours 21 minutes, compared to 6:25 in 2010. The bike was apparently harder this year, averaging 3:01 vs 2:49 in 2010, but the run was faster -- 2:25 vs 2:40. With a similar overall finish time, Ironman 70.3 Philippines remains near the top of RunTri's Toughest Ironman 70.3 Triathlon Rankings. For more, see our Stats/Results/Analysis archive of more than 200 analytics posts, or our home page.

Ironman Lake Placid 2013 Results Analysis

In the 15th edition of Ironman Lake Placid, 2,345 triathletes finished one of the more beautiful yet challenging races on the North American Ironman circuit in an average time of 13 hours and 12 minutes, with a fairly normal DNF rate of 5.4%. At 13:12, (compared to an average 12:35 finish time for all Ironman events) Lake Placid is one of the tougher races in our RunTri Toughest/Easiest Ironman Triathlon Rankings.

The 2013 race results and swim (1:19), bike (6:40, or 50%), run (4:57) splits were consistent with those in races from 2009 to 2011; the outlier remains the unprecedentedly difficult race in 2012, when the average finish time was 13:30 with a DNF of 11%.

We're proud to have been at the first Ironman Lake Placid in 1999, have finished Ironman Lake Placid 6 times, and have been covering the event extensively for years. Here's our analysis of 2013: overall, by split, by age group, by comparison to 2009 to 2012, by DNF rates, our correlation between bike and run splits and more.