In Reply To:
Women are making up an ever increasing percentage of the field. Therefore they are getting more spots and the men are getting fewer. I do not disagree with this, because it is the equitable way to do it, but the reality is that Hawaii gets harder to qualify for.
Funny you should mention this. As the anal-retentive type that I am, and someone who is more likely to gain a Kona spot in theory than in practice, I compared the 2005 starters (those that show up in the results, including DNFs) at Eagleman and the 2006 entrants. The entry limit went up from 1800 to 2000. In 2005, there were two female age groups (30-34 and 40-44) that had more than one Kona slot (and no slots in 70 and beyond). The registration numbers for 2006 show a
huge increase in entrants in the male 35-39 (from 207 starters to 339 registrants!), 40-44 (from 220 to 296) and 45-49 (123 to 189). My quick calculations show that no female AG will have more than one slot in 2006; male 30-34 and 45-49 will have 2 each, and male 35-39 and 40-44 will have 4 each. The three guys entered in 75+ will get to fight it out for their one slot.
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"Go yell at an M&M"