One lesser-known option between the north side of Kona and Waikoloa is the Hualalai resort - though it has a guard entrance, just tell them you're going to the market, which is right in front of the entrance to the Four Seasons. (They also have a gas station that believe it or not has normal prices.)

The public beach access there, btw, has awesome OWS and is a great place to see turtles. There was a family of five hanging out on the rocks every afternoon when we were there a couple of weeks ago. Again, just tell the guard you're going to the public access, and you will be handed a parking pass and likely shown a shaka.

Ian

Any info on the TGINR (thank god I'm not racing) party this year?

It's usually Friday night of race-week ( the night before the race) and at Huggos.

I heard somewhere that IRONMAN bought the Huggos property - true?

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

Sweet, thanks. Yeah, Waikoloa Rd is nice now, after being the most horrendous ride on the island IMO before the upgrade, and there's the other Lava Java in the Village half way up for a nice coffee stop. I'll probably do the full Mamalahoa a few times anyway.


This is great news - the addition of shoulders on the Waikoloa Road. We've ridden it in the past, and I never felt good about it - it was a bit sketchy in sections and I know there was an unfortunate death along there a few years ago.

It certainly opens up some great options for alternative rides - that are now safer. Is the new shoulder all the way from the Queen K up to the Upper Levels Hwy?

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

Yep, bottom to top. It's a nice ride now. Only problem is if you ride to the top you end up in the middle of nowhere. Turn left and it's 11 miles to Waimea and usually into a headwind all the way. Turn right and it's 22 miles back to Matsuyama store. Or just turn around and coast back down, 12 miles back down to the Queen K. So it's a good plan to stop halfway at Waikoloa Village - Lava Java or the grocery store - to fill up the bottles. Kawaihae is probably better for a climb since you can refill down at the Kawaihae turnoff and then again at the top when you get into Waimea, since the climb takes you right into town.

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Sylvan Smyth | http://www.sportstats.asia | sylvan@sportstats.asia | Starvas

Great Read...Thanks.
This will be my first Kona race and I have a fairly large group coming to watch and they keep asking this question..."will we be able to nudge our way in to see the finish line?" They have done the WTC VIP every race but are not paying these prices. Any thoughts on seeing a 10:15/10:30ish finish? Thanks..

They won't be able to meet you st the finish line but they will be able to see you finish. They just need to push their way into the crowd neAr the finish line on the mauka side of the road. Some people meet their racers at the hot corner, Kuakini and Palani and the head straight down Palani to the finish line area they'll be you as you have a mike to go and they only have a few hundred yards or so.

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The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits. -- A fake Albert Einstein "quote"

This will be my first Kona race and I have a fairly large group coming to watch and they keep asking this question..."will we be able to nudge our way in to see the finish line?" They have done the WTC VIP every race but are not paying these prices. Any thoughts on seeing a 10:15/10:30ish finish? Thanks..


Let me be clear - this is an awesome race in an awesome place and the finish line is hallowed ground and it's been in that same location for a long time but, the whole set up is not very crowd friendly.

The Race organization does there best to make it as open as possible, but you can only get so many people into the small space/place that is available outside the race foot-print. Getting really close to the finish line is a bit of a challenge. It does ebb and flow - Big crowds for the finish of the Pros Men and women, in the mid afternoon, then it will drop off for a bit in the late afternoon early evening (top age-groupers), but ounce really dark, the crowds tend to pick up again as they ramp things up for the last couple of hours from 10pm - midnight - really big crowds again.

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

This is such helpful information! First time racing Kona, first time to Hawaii, been too nervous to actually sit down and read this whole thread, haha. Thank you for the time and effort you put into this!

First time racing Kona, first time to Hawaii, been too nervous to actually sit down and read this whole thread, haha.


There is all kinds of great information in KonaCoffee's main post as well as others chiming in with tid-bits of info. KonaCoffee knows his stuff - he LIVES there!

Meanwhile, others like myself have visited many times. I've raced the race (2X), been there to support my wife racing it two times, and now been for a number of years as someone who works in the both the endurance sports events business and the bike/tri business. I've experienced all aspects of what it's like to be in Kona for Race Week!

For the first-timers like yourself - I would suggest reading over the first post - the Survival Guide and then if you have any questions (no question too dumb), ask away!

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

Same for me. Also first time. Thanks a lot to KonaCoffee.

I'm happy that I found out that the bottles with water and gatorade (probably the electrolytes are gatorade) are slightly too small for normal bottle holders (this is basically unworthy for such an event (yes THE event in triathlon) in my opinion) and that it is wise to experiment with rubber bands because of that.

A question from me is that I have asked in another thread already but nobody knew: at most IMs the positions of the aid stations are marked in the course maps, is there something like that for the Kona course? (Obviously not on the official site). Thanks.

What's the issue with the bottles? Just do as Faris did ;-)

Yes that's exactly what I mean. Isn't that a bit silly for a WC?

I've been around long enough to remember events would have "real" bottles with race logos, etc. (I still have a few). I know it's expensive. A few years ago at a race I had a water bottle turn sideways on my seat tube cage and my foot ended up kicking it where it proceeded to flip into my spokes (and luckily, out) - scared the heck out of me.

Oh well...

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I saw this on a white board in a window box at my daughters middle school...
List of what life owes you:
1. __________
2. __________
3. __________

Allow me to add my huge congrats to KonaCoffee for this. What a great help.
Jtaylorh, let me add a couple of suggestions for Honolulu, if you have the time. If you're a shopper, make sure you get the bus to Ala Moana, which is a massive shopping mall not too far from Waikiki. In Waikiki (at least this was how it operated when I was last there a few years ago), you'll see people around the streets selling bus tickets for the Waikele Outlet Centre - if you have a day spare and you want to get some bargain shopping done, this is a must.
I haven't done this, but I know one or two people who have done the submarine dive (not the Pearl Harbor exhibit, but an actual tourist sub near Waikiki). Apparently it's not cheap, but it got a big thumbs-up.
And I can vouch for a day at Pearl Harbor - an excellent and evocative history lesson.
By the way Jtaylorh, well done on the Kona start. I hope you and KonaCoffee have great days at the race.

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"Find a way, not an excuse". Goony, Kona, 2009

KC, thanks for the "Guide"!! I am in this year for my only chance to race in Kona (Legacy after 13 finishes) and am thrilled with all the great info you've shared. THANK YOU!
I come into this race intimidated beyond words, mostly because my training has been pure shit! I have had a difficult time with nerve damage in my low back effecting my sciatic nerve thus my run training sucks. Bike training is acceptable and swimming is on par with past IMs.
My question of the vets is, how screwed am I? All of my IMs have been sub 14 (most sub 13). I ride the bike well and enjoy open water ocean swims. My body handles heat well so with the correct feeding schedule on race day, I should be okay there. The "run" is completely a mystery as to what to expect. Another epidural injection or two still scheduled before race day might get me back to light running....
Truth is I've never worried about cutoffs and this is the race I might face the time limit due to the possible lack of ability to run at all.
Any sage advice??

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Sponsored by RUDY PROJECT...check out http://www.e-rudy.com
Was mich nicht umbringt, macht mich stärker.
"What does not destroy me, makes me stronger."
-Friedrich Nietzsche, Götzen-Dämmerung (1899)

Yesterday (9/16/2017) we had the first bicycle accident that can be attributed in a very large degree to the elevated bike lane between the airport and the harbor and the varying elevations as it ramps up and down approaching intersections. The cyclist was taken away in an ambulance and although he's not seriously injured it serves as a warning to everyone (including locals).

Please be very careful on your training rides particularly while going into and out of town. This accident happened to a local who knows the area, those who don't are at an even greater disadvantage. The IMWC office is planning on a couple of things to help warn athletes of the hazard (extra signs and 'ambassador riders' in the area), but extra vigilance on your part will be necessary. You worked too hard to get here, don't jeopardize race day by putting your mind on vacation as you ride.

Aloha.

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The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits. -- A fake Albert Einstein "quote"

There's no requirement you run a full 26.2 miles. You have 17 hours to finish. If you come off the bike in a decent time before bike cutoff, you're in good shape. Keep the minimum required pace in mind and try to give yourself a bit of a margin using a run-walk. Do what all of us after dark people do, run-walk. Listen to how the body is doing and keep moving.

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The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits. -- A fake Albert Einstein "quote"

As hard as it might seem to be honestly I'd recommend that you just do your own "race" and not worry about the day. Control yourself on the bike. I mean really control yourself on the bike. Enjoy the first 10 miles of the run along Ali'i Drive and then just get through the final 16. Run/walk is your friend.

Heck, do what I did my first time there and sit down and enjoy a beer at run special needs - there's a small beach park in the Energy Lab with spectators and beer should be easy to find. I was offered a beer from a keg when I sat down to change my socks and thought "why not, it's not like I'm going to win this thing."

Congrats and enjoy the day!

I saw Babbitt on Tuesday, same day and place as before.

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Shawn
TORRE Consulting Services, LLC
http://www.TORREcs.com

As hard as it might seem to be honestly I'd recommend that you just do your own "race" and not worry about the day. Control yourself on the bike. I mean really control yourself on the bike. Enjoy the first 10 miles of the run along Ali'i Drive and then just get through the final 16. Run/walk is your friend.


Yes, yes, and yes!

There is something about THIS particular race - the swim, is VERY competitive and deep. Thus many will OVER-swim.

Then onto the bike - the first hour or two is VERY deceptive. It's often calm with no wind and maybe even a slight tail wind, you are jacked up by the big crowds on the side lines in town, the numbers of riders around you on the course, the numbers of false flats you encounter in that first couple of hours of riding, - this all adds up to many people WAY OVER-biking for that first couple of hours. They get to Kawihae and the climb to Hawi and, in short - they are cooked. If you are gassed, here . . . . it's going to be a VERY long day for you!

You turn at Hawi, and you get a bit of respite on the long run back down to Kawihae, and you then realize, you are now riding into somewhat of a gusty head-wind. You get a bit of a reprieve from this head-wind, on the short - 2k - climb from Kawihae back up to the Queen K Hwy, but it now feels like you are riding in a blast-furnace and it suddenly feels insanely HOT! Then back into the straight and quartering head-winds for the long ride back to Kailua-Town and T2. The hill past Waikoloa to the Scenic Look out will feel like a "mountain", and it's still a long way from there to Town!

What am I getting at here - this race, more than any other IM race, pays MASSIVE dividends to those who can pace and ride well within themselves for at least the first half of the bike. If you do that, you will see all kinds of carnage on the road back from Hawi, and MOST importantly you will set yourself up for a strong run, because VERY few, just a select few, will ever run close to their potential in Kona!

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

If you take the newly widened Waioloa Road from the Queen K up to Hwy 190 and turn towards Waimea, the Saddle Road turnoff is only a few miles away which goes past Waikii Ranch and ends at Daniel Inouye Hwy which has very wide paved shoulders so you can make it a loop and come back down to Hwy 190.

The scenery up through Waikii Ranch and beyond is beautiful and gives you 4000+ ft of climbing from the Queen K. This is a great road to ride without much traffic if a) you have the gearing to get up it and b) you have the brakes to get back down.

As for riding from Kawaihae to Waimea on Hwy 19, the road is twisty and has minimal shoulders in places for the first few miles going uphill from just past the T intersection. There is plenty of traffic including transport trucks on weekdays, particularly if a container ship has unloaded at Kawaihae Harbor. It can be a narrow and scary ride until the road widens and straightens closer to Waimea.

Aloha, Brian

This. It's a long day no matter where you're at in the pack. Pace yourself.

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The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits. -- A fake Albert Einstein "quote"

Winds:

I have no clue what the winds will be like on race day. You will have wind though.

2011 was the last year conditions were "mild." That year the race featured very strong crosswinds from the resorts through Mahukona and then a nasty headwind to Hawi. 2014 was the last year with stunningly nasty winds. That year featured strong direct headwinds from Veteran's Cemetery to Hawi and again from Hapuna Beach to Veteran's Cemetery (mile 100). Be that as it may, the norm is for light to no winds in the in town loop (T1 to Kuakini to Makala to the Queen K to Palani to Kuakini south bound to the turn around to Palani to the Queen K). Once you're on the Queen K you can expect no winds or as Fleck said, tailwinds. That will last until around Kukio or perhaps the resorts depending upon where you're at in the race.

After Scenic Overlook (prior to the resorts north bound) plan on strong cross winds from the Saddle (your right side) and perhaps a quartering head or tailwind component to that. From the Mauna Lani to Kawaihae Junction you may have no wind or on a crummy day (2014) a headwind. The descent from Kawaihae Junction to Kawaihae won't be affected by wind much unless it's bad. Kawaihae to Mahukona is rolling hills trending into a climb. Expect strong crosswinds and a complete reversal of winds momentarily when you come out behind the grading cuts.

From Mahukona to Hawi the norm is a direct headwind though a strong cross wind from the right is also not terribly unusual.

The wind shifts between 9:30 am and 11:00 HST. It shifts almost 180 degrees turning from a land breeze to an onshore breeze. Plan on having the winds be almost exactly opposite of your trip to Hawi for your return from Kawaihae unless you're in the elite of the elite category.


Pace yourself, it's a long day.

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The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits. -- A fake Albert Einstein "quote"

I wondered when this was going to happen. I rode that section in late August - it's not that tricky if you know about it but it would be super easy to go down if you're not paying attention. I didn't count the exact number of elevation transitions, but there are a lot of them (or were in August). Some depend on whether you follow the bike lane to continue straight where the shoulder section widens for a right turn or whether you stay to the right on the new part of the shoulder.

Glad the guy wasn't seriously injured.

Ian

First time to Kona, and love this thread, cannot wait! Question about swim start/position. I'm a reasonable swimmer (usually ~55m in wetsuit swim, understand I won't swim that in Kona). I do however sometimes have issues with crowds. I'm wondering where you'd recommend to start that's a combination of potentially less crash n' bash vs. starting so far wide or out the back that it really impacts my swim? I also plan on doing the swim the week before which will hopefully give me a better idea too, cheers.