Challenge Penticton 2013: Ironman Distance Results Analysis

Choosing not to renew its 30-year relationship with Ironman Triathlon's parent company, World Triathlon Corporation, the town of Penticton, BC, Canada, chose the Challenge Organization to manage the area's 2013 Ironman Distance race. Not to be outdone, the World Triathlon Corporation was quick to begin its search for a new location for the Official Ironman Canada, settling on Whistler BC as the perfect venue to replace Penticton.

It was declared that both races would be contested on the same day, the last Sunday in August, the 25th. Then it got interesting. With plans to use the same legendary Ironman course of previous years, Challenge hoped to maintain the triathlete community's intense loyalty to racing in Penticton, to the tune of nearly 3,000 registered entrants each year. But the Ironman brand also has a fiercely loyal following. Of the thousands who had been interested in racing in British Columbia in August, how many would choose Challenge, how many would choose the new Whistler Ironman?

In short: Ironman Whistler generally dominated the battle from start to finish. Some fast facts:
  • Registered Entrants: Challenge -- 751 (compared to nearly 3,000 in Ironman years); Whistler -- nearly 2600
  • Both had about 18% DNS, 7% DNF (but Challenge had an 18 hour cut-off time, though few finished after 17 hours)
  • Average Finishing time (as indicator of the field's competitive talent): Challenge: 13 hours 41 minutes (vs around 13 hours in Ironman years); Whistler -- 12:52)
We've run the numbers for Challenge Penticton 2013, overall, by split, by age group (for some reason, Challenge results did not break out male vs female athletes by division), by correlation between bike and run split, by year, and more. Also see our complete Ironman Penticton Race Coverage from previous years for comparison.





















Ironman Whistler Canada 2013 Results Analysis

The 31st running of Ironman Canada took place on August 25, 2013, offering 100 Ironman World Championship Qualifying Slots. This was not, however, the same Ironman Canada that we have finished three times in Penticton, British Columbia; instead the race was held in a new venue, Whistler, BC. How did the new Whistler event and course compare to recent Ironman Canada events in Penticton? Fast Facts:
  • Participants: Whistler had the lowest registered entrants -- about 2,600 -- in the last 5 Ironman Canada years
  • Finishers: After an 18% DNS and 7% DNF, Whistler's 1986 finishers fell far short of Penticton's 2,423 in 2012
  • Average Finish Times: 12:52 for Whistler, not dramatically different than Penticton times, ranging from 12:48 to 12:54 in recent years; 2012 was an aberration at 13:09
  • Swim (1:18) and bike (6:28) splits were nearly identical for Whistler and Penticton, and it's a pretty fast run, at 4:51.
[BUT . . . without WTC and Ironman running the show in Penticton this year, that race suffered in many ways, from low participation rate, slow finish times, and more; it's nowhere near the race it was last year; see our complete Challenge Penticton 2013 analysis]
We've run the numbers for the Inaugural Ironman Whistler overall, by age group, by split, by bike vs run correlation, and compared with Ironman Canada/Penticton results from 2009 to 2012. For more, see our historical Ironman Canada Coverage, and see our Stats/Results/Analysis archive to compare Whistler results against other events.


 













In recent years, the Penticton-based Ironman Canada has been the most popular in the Ironman-brand circuit, having drawn as many as 3,200+ registered entrants in 2011. As of May 9, 2013, the Whistler edition of Ironman Canada significantly lags Penticton's historical numbers, with just under 2,600 registered entrants listed on the event's web site. (While the General Entry to the race is sold out, Foundation charity slots still are available.)


The good news is that by offering 100 Kona qualifying slots, the odds of winning a slot at Ironman Canada in Whistler is second best of all Ironman brand events. Overall, as of May 9, 2013, 4+% of registered entrants could qualify at Whistler. These odds are likely to increase, as 15% of registered entrants typically do not start the event.

We'll be presenting complete coverage of Ironman Canada 2013 in Whistler on race day. For now, here's our analysis of registered participants by age group, a comparison of registered entrants in 2013 vs 2004 to 2012, and an extremely unofficial, but likely to be fairly close, estimate of allocated Kona slots by age group.




Chicago Triathlon 2013 Results Analysis: International Distance

The 2013 edition of the LifeTime Chicago Triathlon featured more than 9,000 triathletes competing in a variety of distances -- Super Sprint, Sprint, Olympic -- and in several categories -- age group, elite, mountain bike, paratriathletes, and athletes who raced all three distances.

About 2700 finished the International Distance (.75 mile swim, 40k bike, 10k run) in an average time of 3 hours and 14 minutes. Compared with results from 2009 to 2012, the 2013 results indicated it was a tougher event on the run (by 5 minutes vs 2012) than in previous years.

We've run the numbers to provide a complete analysis of results, by year, by age group, by swim/bike/run split, correlation between bike and run splits, and beyond, in the charts below. For more, see our











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