My understanding is that the bar I will be sitting at between2-4 on race day instead of hitting 15 km per previous they will only be hitting 10km at that point on alii.

Sorry I am struggling with this as well in terms of beer timing etc.

Looks like an extra 5km on the QK, before you hit the energy lab.

Kona coffee mentions this in his Kona write up.

Cheers,
Maurice

I don't know for sure but I'm guessing it has to do with the recently completed constructions along the queen K. But I'm just guessing. Perhaps konacoffee can chime in.

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The old entrance to the energy lab is no more. There is a new entrance 1/2 mile up the road when heading north.

I can't believe they shortened the out and back on Ali'i drive. That was the only tolerable part of the run. More time on the Queen K is beyond terrible. Why not shorten the pointless out and bak in the energy lab. It is just road that goes nowhere. Cutting that short would not even be noticed!

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"Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." T.S. Elliot | Cycle2Tri.com
Sponsors: SciCon | | Every Man Jack

If you compare course profiles / mile markers ... the the climb up Palani (approx mile 10) and turn around in the energy lab )approx mile 18) ... they appear at very similar spots. If rhat is the case the turn around points do not seem much different. ???

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Dave Latourette
http://www.TTENation.com

That the energy lab is the biggest icon of the run course and the run out is a grind back to the highway...If the entry to the energy lab had changed with the new road mods I'm guessing it was the logical choice.

Good catch Dave. This is definitely the old profile. Earlier today I checked the new course versus Ali’i gps data and the new turnaround is after the small 4th hill on the profile shown. Measuring from Google Maps this cuts off about 3.5miles of Ali’i running which should put Palani hill around mile 7.

The change to Kaiminani extension only appears to add back about 2.8 to 3.0 (QK mapping needs some updating) so the NELA Road turnaround probably shifts north.

Heard some talk that course certification might be underway. Makes sense with IMWC having historically been approved for Boston marathon qualifying.

Be thankful you didn't do the race before the Energy Lab was incorporated into the course. Plenty of Queen K action back then.

It now going into THE PIT

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Yeah, I like running in the energy lab (always seems like a breeze if blowing). The queen K has always represented a black death march. Endless amounts of it on the bike make me want to never see it again.

Seems the run map as it shown is only 40km....

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"Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." T.S. Elliot | Cycle2Tri.com
Sponsors: SciCon | | Every Man Jack

Not that it matters to me (since I have no chance in a stand-alone) but I am curious if this is still BQ certified?

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808 > NYC > PDX > YVR
2024 Races: Taupo

After having done several WTC events (though never kona), I wouldn't 100% trust the exact turn around points on their course maps.

Anyone know when they usually have the course marked for kona? A few days before? A week before?

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Nope.

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Editor-in-Chief, Slowtwitch.com | Twitter

In Kona, the turn around is normally a church (If I recall properly) and was never marked until race morning when they closed the street. As the course has not changed in a long time, most people just know it, or at least that is how it feels when you first go there.

The new map specifically says the turn around is Pahoehoe Beach Park, which is easy to find and mark if you are mapping it.

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"Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." T.S. Elliot | Cycle2Tri.com
Sponsors: SciCon | | Every Man Jack

How does this affect recognition of course records?? I realize the course has changed over the years, though as far as I know, only "unofficially."

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Group Eleven – Websites for Athletes / mikael.racing / @mstaer

It won't be any more difficult or easy. The excluded mile on Ali where the old turn was last year was quite flat and the small bit added out/back past energy lab this year is also quite flat so it would be seconds in the difference.

And the queen K is a bit cooler than Ali drive so those wishing for more Ali drive must be for viewing scenery as its certainly the hottest part of the run.

And running Palani a mile earlier is prob a little bit better as legs would be fresher but again we are talking a mile so not really much benefit. These changes should not change the view on a run course record if one gets set it would be similar.

my 2 cents

Couple of things. On Ali'i drive, I always have felt it was cooler as it is directly next to the ocean whereas the Queen K was hot, hot, hot and nothing in between. As far as being more difficult or easy, the added time on the Queen K may have added ascent/descent as it is rolling through that area so it may be a bit more difficult if it takes in a rolling section on that added bit.

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"Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." T.S. Elliot | Cycle2Tri.com
Sponsors: SciCon | | Every Man Jack

Remember when it was on a different island entirely? (Oahu)

The mile being taken out in alihi had a slight rise and the mile past the energy lab heading to airport is flat and not rolling. Net net I would say the new course “might” be a touch easier but literally seconds.

I’ve never found the queen k hotter. Just me. It’s more open so any breeze you get which you don’t on alihi.

So know Lionel is going to have a second time seeing "the man himself" Patrick Lange coming at him and have "fear strike him in the heart" twice or whatever he said last year.

The added out and back will be interesting for athletes to see each other twice in close succession.

Fake news?

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bn_7mIVn0p1/?taken-by=talbotcox

No way Ali'i gets no breeze and is horrible. It is always a pleasure to get to the Queen K except in 2015 when there was no breeze there either... The mental drag of Queen K is the killer.

I was going to say, Queen K was much much worse...but I only raced in 2015 haha...

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DFRU - Detta Family Racing Unit...the kids like it and we all get out and after it...gotta keep the fam involved!

All I remember is thinking 'I just need to get to the top of Pilani to get some breeze' and there being not a bees fart there... 'This is going to suck...'

https://www.triathlete.com/...arathon-times_124295