It is awesome to have coverage and I have watched a good deal of it, but that Scottish bloke is grating. I could do with only the calm and quiet Norwegian.

yeah. i slept, awoke, and they're still going at it. seems like they haven't changed places. vold still holding everybody off. jordan was 3rd when i went to bed, 3rd now. seems about 2mi to go for the winner. but i think it's a slow 2mi.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

This finish line is the ultimate anti Kona:

And it's still cold and wet and miserable. Good for Jordan to podium! I have to go climb a mountain (Mt. Charleston) and hope the weather on top isn't as bad as what I see here...still not signing up any time soon.

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DFL > DNF > DNS

The spectators looked so gassed after climbing the stairs to the finish line. Pink cheeks, beads of sweat.... that final climb must be a killer after all the racing that precedes it.

better pic of the finish line with the clouds cleared up

That's a bit harsh. I'm pretty sure he's Irish and its no small thing to carry an endurance race commentary. Think of them as ying & yang

But the waffles inside that mountaintop hut are way better than any pizza I have ever had in Kona! :)

Quick question for your guys....after they finish....how do you get off the mountain? Do you have to actually get down on foot like they have to after the Mount Fuji half marathon (basically for that one you have to come down on foot from 3800m back down to the "halfway point" at 1900m where the road ends....so you basically cover 30+K even though only 21K is timed).

I believe there is an aerial lift taking you down.

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Terrible Tuesday’s Triathlon

Wow. That is bad ass. Amazing coverage and scenery. Watching the "drunk" come out of water last night was first rate. Seeing seeing finishers this morning was better. Looking forward to the edited footage.

There's a funicular that brings athletes down to near the 37.5km point of the run where shuttles will take you to Gaustablikk. One year (the year Halvard did it) it was struck by lightning and wasn't working. Athletes had to walk down.

Here's a photo from 2015:

Rapp on the interview now! Enjoyed watching this!

Now that the racers are being diverted to the white course finish line (after #160), they get the royal treatment of Team Bob, or the "crazy Norwegians" that have been mentioned in the live coverage. These guys bike in from about 180km away just to greet everyone finishing at the ski lodge instead on the mountain top. What a great group of spectators!

   
There is a cable car / funicular inside the mountain that drops you back onto the road. There is limited space so only the athletes were allowed down. Even so, the line up was nearly an hour to get onto the rickety cable car when I raced it in 2014. Given the weather conditions on the mountain, you are lucky if you get a ride down. Many athletes end up walking down due to mechanical issues with the funicular.

You are required to have a support person up with you on the mountain. They have to climb back down to the 38.5k entry point to the Gaustatoppen climb. My support did nearly 25k that day! :)

Yeah, 2013 we all had to walk off the mountain due to a lightning strike wrecking the railway. Was a painful process, but great to be able to cheer on the other competitors on their way up.

looks like pikes peak ascent finish... i loved it more than any grand stand finish. its the top of a freaking mountain!

anyways, what is great is you can replay this coverage even if you missed it live.

what would be great if someone can do 30-90 min high light clip video of the race similar to what NBC does for kona. would be great for my tri club to view as one of the members participated

This is awesome

Pretty sure they do a 5-7 minute high light clip every year. Worth googling

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AJ

-------------------------------------------------------
IM WC Hawaii 2024

A few pictures...

Race day was rainy. Only a few of us took time to put a lot of layers on at T1 (which may be why Jordan took a bit longer there) but it was definitely worth it as support is hard to meet before Dyranut which is at the top of the 35K climb...

We were lucky in that there weren't too much wind, just a lot of rain, all the way to the top.

All in all, this was a great race / experience!

Top 3 men finishers:


Swim start (boat can be seen far away - and 14C isn't that cold if you were wondering):


Mount Gausta (where the finish is, on a fairer day than yesterday...):

Jordan had to take a tad longer in t1 due to having to wear a different/heavier reflective vest. The one he originally brought there were some debates about right as he put it on, so he had to find a new one right then and there. At least, what's what I could tell. I'm sure Jordan will clear it up.

That's interesting because at T1 before the swim start, they checked lights, brakes, helmet and the hi viz jacket. Maybe a police officer / crew member got too zealous with their duty?
I guess we'll know more from Jordan himself.

As a side note, I thought they were pretty lenient on the jackets - but given the little information we got on the requirements, that's understandable. The only precise feedback I got was at the pre race briefing when Bent told us there needed to be "a hand and a half of reflective material"...