Hey guys, this Björn guy knows what he's talking about!
And when this is coming from a Finn you know it´s sincere :-)

dude those results are pretty impressive. I checked out your blog - it's pretty cool to see your progression from the first one to where you are now, together with your weight and times for each one. I found it interesting that you seem to be stronger at 77kg/81kg compared to your 74kg at Kona 2006? is that an accurate assumption?

In regard to all european courses being a bit too easy...

http://www.embrunman.com/indexen.php?page=lden

http://www.nxtri.com/

Also www.thebrutal.co.uk


IF running and cycling up the second highest mountain the the UK isn't enough... you can do it twice and to the Double Iron distance ;)

I had the same experience. I did Regensburg in 2011 and finished 42 out 122 finishers in my age (plus 12 DNFs and 2 DQs), while having placed 13th, 9th, and 11th at IMFL, IMCDA, and IMAZ. The bike course kicked my ass, but not as bad as the European athletes. I was strictly a MOP competitor over there.

I also did Kalmar last weekend. Garmin had it at 110.x miles. I found it much easier to maintain a consistant pace/power due to the flat course & cool temps (with a bit of rain to help cool off). The course wasn't pancake flat (cross a large bridge a couple times and some gentle rollers) but it definitely encouraged you to stay aero. I had a reasonable swim (1:01) and didn't run into much drafting until ~90 miles. Seeing blatant drafting really gets me fired up so I spiked my power a few times trying to lose them. That was my first sub 5 hr bike (even though I did Copenhagen the week before), but I was under no delusion that I could hang with some of the better athletes out there. After spending a couple weeks in Denmark/Sweden, I got the impression that they really love their bikes. A middle-aged women in spike heels riding a bike to work was a regular sight; it doesn't take much to imagine that any kid with athletic ability is going to be exposed to competitive cycling at some point.

Sorry to ruin the illusion to all Americans thinking the general AG-level in US i better or even close to equal than in Europe. It is not.

I did IM Regensburg this year and with some technical issue (which I guess costed me 10 min) I finished in 9:25 and 6th in my AG and over 30 min behind the overall best AG. A couple of weeks ago I did IMNYC and finished at 9:12, and 9 min before the next AG overall!! Especially the bike level in Europe is MUCH better.

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Besides the drafting, what was your overall impression of Ironman Kalmar and the logistics surrounding it?

Truly awesome (and I'm not a yank so I don't use that superlative incessantly).

Swim was fine, always hard to judge as one doesn't really sense too much but really impressed that spectators could get up close to the swim and you could hear the music/voice each time under the swim start bridge.

I'd ridden the South Oland loop in parts so I knew that it was pretty spectacular but was hoping for more wind over the Alvar to be honest. Other than the dull but necessary dual-carriageway parts around Kalmar the second loop was very impressive. I wasn't expecting much but the twisty country lanes were very scenic and made the event easy mentally.

Run was so much better than the old course. The north loop worked really well and nicely separated those on the way out from those returning. Bits through the town were tough but stunning, loop around the castle worked well.

Again the aspect I liked the most was the huge numbers of local people who came out to support the race. You felt both their pride in their area and a warmth towards visitors. This was a showpiece event for the region and they didn't disappoint.

Negatives:
Lack of draft enforcement, too static bike age-station helpers so you really had to slow down, crammed and a bit grim finishers area: was happy to get a quick massage some coke and leave.

It really was a great race. Logistics were no problem. I think hotels can be hard to get in Kalmar but I stayed on the island of Oland (where the 1st loop of the bike goes). If you don't stay in town, then you will need a rental car (you can't bike across the bridge except on race day but they do have a bus that runs 1x/hr). They didn't have sponges on the run course but they weren't needed. None of the European IMs have ice during the run but maybe they would if it were hot. Challenge Copenhagen is still my favorite race but Kalmar and Austria are close seconds. Kalmar is not as interesting on the bike due to lack of hills but if you want virtually guaranteed mild weather and a fast course, you can't beat this one. I also like that you can put your shoes on the bike and don't need body marking.

I think he course was fair.
Flat, no wind and perfect temperature. A little bit of refreshing rain.

There has been an ironman distance tri on a similar course for many years in Kalmar (same place) but now it's an official ironman.
Mytimes have been
10.5x
9.28
9.36
9.13
8.57

Surely the race was very fast and quite difficult to qualify for Kona. I was sixth in my AG and got the last slot! With A sub 9 IM (however one guy passes his slot so #7 also got his slot, but he was also sub9).
I race AG 35-39.

If the bike course was short, it can't have been with more than a kilometer or so.


I dont expect to perform so well (sub9) on Hawaii: no wetsuit, no disc wheel, crosswinds and very hard temperatures compared to what I am used to.

Yes I have more muscles now, seems to need them on the swim and bike ;-) I'm at 79kg now, I think I was a little to thin at Kona 2006.

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