I feel your pain...dudes are flying

unlucky, 5th for his AG and only 18th overall....i think 35-39 is worse too?

I was going 50/50 I was about to be subjected to another "why not to wear white suits" images.

I did IMFL in 2012 and all three M30-34 slots were spent by 9:05
Seems like it was 25-29 or 30-34 that had no slots >9hrs last year.

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@christopher_borden •
Spinning Spoke • Dimond Bikes • Flo Cycling • Castelli Cycling

Insane.

I guess there is really nothing you can do about a guy (or gal) racing AG who is good enough to have their pro card. It's totally frustrating, but I also can't complain...I would do the same thing if I was in their shoes:)

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Valley Bike & Ski | Run n Fun | Hammer Nutrition | FCA Endurance | Team World Vision

The Kona chase is getting ridiculous.....it's just not worth it anymore, and qualifying for Boston is so much more satisfying IMO.

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"I would definitely smell her seat after a century ride"

Well.....it is a world championship.

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Simplify, Train, Live

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How does Danny Hart sit down with balls that big?

Some people qualified with a 9:50 @ IM NZ. If it's a true World Championship then it needs to have the fastest people there.

funny, this is the last thing I'm thinking of when I see fat, overweight housewives crossing the finish line at midnight..........

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"I would definitely smell her seat after a century ride"

They are both fat and overweight? Yikes.

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How does Danny Hart sit down with balls that big?

well, it is the world championships.......extreme obesity!

and I hate to burst your inane bubble, but bodybuilders for example are overweight (based on the medical avg/height model) and can weigh in at over 260 lbs. with 3-4% bodyfat......but thanks for playing

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"I would definitely smell her seat after a century ride"

would be awesome to see those bodybuilder housewives cross the line at the last hour!

I agree......too bad it's so difficult to qualify

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"I would definitely smell her seat after a century ride"

ummm...so what?

Yep I still have a few hours to shave of my time, damn difficult! :-)

Eh? At kona? I've never noticed any. The OP was about the tough times FOP not BOP

I saw a few.....something called the lottery....

There are a number of people fast enough to get Pro cards but not make a living being a Pro. Uber fast AG in the 9 or sub 9 ( range ) have potential that is all.

It does not get any easier until 45-49 age group. Cuz now you have EX Pros entering AG races in there early 40s when there no longer in the money.

Genetics aside, you can put Kona as #1 priority and get in if it means that much to some one. But for the money I would recommend doing a IM race in Europe.

unlucky although he only missed 3rd place by 2 minutes.
If he was 35-39 he'd be in... I've noticed in a few recent races that 30-34 is getting more competitive than it used to be. In all the races I've done before 2014, 35-39 and 40-44 AG were both faster than 30-34. This year at IMSA I probably wouldn't have KQd in 30-34, whereas in 35-39 it was pretty comfortable.

Looking at his splits, he's definitely up there and I'm sure he will be able get to kona at some point

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Are you ready to do an Ultraman? | How I calculate Ironman race fueling | Strength Training for Athletes |

The time is irrelevant as it's course and conditions dependent. You just need to be at the top of the AG. Isn't that what it should be all about?

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-Of course it's 'effing hard, it's IRONMAN!
Team ZOOT
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There was a time when it was much harder than today. I remember that they would give out a ton of slots, but they just went to the top times overall. You had to do a sub 4;30 at wildflower or so to get in, i would say harder than a low 9 hour on a flat course for sure. Not sure exactly when they factored in AG's, but pretty much the top couple 100 were pros or semi pros. There was some system for allowing in AG'ers, but it was like one slot per AG, and the rest went to overall.

You could even get in at olympic distance races, but of course you had to go under 2 hours minimum, usually around 1;55 was cutoff. I guess you cold say it is easier because we qualified at olympic and 1/2's, but easy is relative to speed. Many who qualify in iron mans now would not even get close in an olympic distance race, but i guess things have gotten more specialized now. We really raced all distances back in the day, not enough good races to be choosy.

Why bother qualifying for Boston, when you can just copy a bib and bandit?

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My triathlon training blog

Why bandit Boston when you can Cowman Amooha!


And be one of the least likely people to have drafted to get there. Stylish!

If it's any consolation for your buddy, there are pro's that win an IM and don't qualify. In fact didn't Lucy Gossage win TWO IM in one season and not qualify? Not saying it's unfair, just might make your buddy feel better. :-)