Dede is way ahead of all the other women. Oh and also the men except for Richard. I crashed out hitting lava rock debris, currently in the ER getting checked out

---

____________________________________

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

Oh crap, soo sorry to hear about that. Will call shortly!

Just got of fb messenger video with Rob from the hospital in Waimea. Given my history of ending up in the ER at races (actually Rob and I informally met in 2011, when I was on the side of the road at IM Switzerland passed out), I was alarmed to see him post on this thread from ER, but he seems in good spirits for a guy who went from leading to ER. No broken bones from what he just said!!!

Real bummer after waiting from 2019. He said that Dede was hauling....he did 4 hrs at 250W and could not get away!!!!

Damn, that sucks. Heal up quick.

---

http://www.sfuelsgolonger.com

Shoot! Very sorry to hear this. Hope everything is OK.

---

clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

I had a hard time understanding how she could go off course. It is literally the only road between Kona and Volcano. Checking the course online it looks like they route riders down South Point Road before having them turn east on Kamaloa Road back to highway 11. Interesting to note that highway 11 mileage is 3.9 miles between these road intersections. Betting she found the second turn sign or her crew caught her by going backwards in hwy 11:( If you only have one turn to make on your course it doesn’t seem that tough to make sure you know what to be expecting.

The turn was marked - we (Rob’s team) had no doubt whatsoever, but his crew are experienced locals. My guess is that some athletes went up Kam III because that’s what the race used to do. But it has used the Bypass since at least 2018.

Ian

First off, I hope you are recovering well and that your body (and bike!) are not too badly banged up. It really sucks that those lava rocks got you - they are next to invisible on that section of road.

I have to echo the respect you have been showing Dede's performances so far this weekend. She has well and truly raised the bar on the women's side with the best performances I have ever seen on both Day 1 and Day 2. Technically today's ride is not a record time, but given that the course is significantly longer now*, it has my vote for best women's Day 2 performance.

Richard also deserves kudos, as his might be the best combined Day 1 + Day 2 performance we have seen since Jonas Colting in 2004. And without those damn lava rocks, you might have been right there with him!

Any way you slice it, we are seeing some top notch racing so far this weekend. I sure hope it continues. Do you think you will be well enough to be on course at all tomorrow?


*or shall I say the Day 2 course is now the regular advertised length, after being 10-15km short for quite a number of years prior to 2018. Plus, the 2km+ detour you guys had to do through Hilo today to avoid high tide debris made it even longer!

---

Are YOU in the Zone?
http://www.discomfortzone.com

Yup I'll be out there cheering for sure. Wish I could manage even a few km run with them out on the course but don't think that's on the cards.

---

____________________________________

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

Hey Mike and hey Rob,great to have a couple of Ultraman World Champ's here chatting away. Legends!!!
Sorry to find out that you have had a crash Rob,at least you are healthy enough to message all of us here on ST.That is good news.

I have a question for both of you? Do you think Richards SUB20 challenge is an achievable time? I have no doubt that he would go close on a flat "easier" course but in Australia it will be a huge effort. Looks like he is going to (bar any Lava rocks jumping out and attacking him) notch another one in the win column this week. Another win for us Aussies!! Yay..
The Man - Kanguru Sub 20 Challenge

Oh and I forgot to mention Dede's amazing weekend.Definately one of the best performances by a female in any Ultraman,anywhere.I reckon this one so far tops her W/R breaking win in Florida.Looking forward to Day Three.
I keep plugging her Ultraman record on Ironman Now every time she commentates Ironman's but never get any response from the Iron Geeks. :-)

Super bummed for you! Hope you can get healed up quick

Ah! KAM III makes more sense. And she mentioned being out of it from the swim.

Richard is one of the fastest UM athletes of all time, but nothing about his current form suggests a Sub 20 at UM Australia is in range. I think he is capable of sub 21, and that would be an incredible accomplishment, but maybe "SUB21 Challenge" isn't exciting enough.

Richard is too successful and meticulous in his execution not to understand this as well. This might be one of those "Shoot for the moon and if you miss you will land among the stars" kind of thing. Going sub 21 (or simply breaking his existing world best time) after generating buzz with the SUB 20 narrative could just as much (or even more) of a win than achieving a stated goal.

It would be awesome if Richard can make me eat these words, but that is the way I see it. Is wild ambition received well in Australian culture?

---

Are YOU in the Zone?
http://www.discomfortzone.com

Him and I have talked about this quite a bit.
I think he needs a course like Florida but with no traffic. The course being open is a massive factor. For example his day 2 time would have been maybe 10-15 mins faster without red lights and the Hilo traffic. And Florida is even worse (I think I calculated 15 mins stopped at lights when I raced there). From what I hear, Australia doesn't have traffic issues on course but there's a 15 minute neutral zone on day 2 that counts towards your time.

And then it would probably help him to have me race with him because we are fairly closely matched on all 3 disciplines, and having someone with you really pushes you that bit extra.

---

____________________________________

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

Did anyone see a full result board from Day 2 yet?

Their FB group has all the daily standings. What an awesome race! Dede is blowing my mind!

Amazing performance by Dede. Clearly her Ironman announcer endurance is showing thru. This woman is amazing

Richard is now about 10k from home. He's overtaken Steven who is now walking. So he has it in the bag.

Dede is not too far behind Steven. Maybe 15-20 mins

---

____________________________________

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

>
I think the Ultraman community is looking forward to seeing what he can do,especially those of us who have seen him race at Ultraman and the Ultra355K. The rest of the triathlon community still thinks of Ultraman as very much a niche thing and a novelty.It is tough to impress anyone in Noosa at Ultraman as you can't turn around in that town without bumping into a World Champion or Olympic medallist triathlete,cyclist,swimmer,surf life saver,kayaker,standup paddle boarder,etc,etc

.
Only a couple of lights for the whole three days in Oz but a lot of the roads are rough and this year,for example,there were road works and delays so thankfully for him he had to skip this year for his attempt.Then there is the hills.
You are right in that he will need one or two fast guys there to push him and I hope a couple speedy dude register to throw a spark in the front end of the race.I can 'maybe" see 20:45 but not SUB20.
The course at MX515 in Mexico would be really fast if he went early to get used to the altitude and dry air.Then again he could go race Petr on his home course where he has posted a Sub 21hrs.

Richard has an amazing race! Will he be back next year?

Was hoping to see a photo finish between Richard and Steven but that never happens in an Ultraman:)

I am guessing Leanda would have done better if she didn't make a wrong turn on day one. That would have brought her closer to Dede and others. Hope she comes back again!

Leanda biked more than 80 minutes slower than Dede on day 2 with no wrong turns... Dede is on a different level altogether.

Dede is a true professional and that can be seen in her level of preparation. She recon'd the entire course in detail, vs Leanda who clearly didn't even look at the first 2 miles of the bike leg, which is actually a critical part strategically.

---

____________________________________

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

.
Not Ultraman but the Sri Chinmoy Three Day Ultra,Canberra in 1999...15k swim/400k ride/100k run
The swim was done as usual on the first morning but unlike Ultraman the bike started the same evening and we rode through the night.The run then started at midnight the next day.

In the 15k swim I was first out of the water beating my old mate Paul Every by 45mins
On the 400k bike later that day/night Paul took back almost all of that time and we started the 100k, 11 seconds' apart total time
Then the run started and after 9hrs 30min'ish we were together running round and round the short run loop (through the ongoing Australian Long Course Tri Champ's transition area).With about 1k to go Paul put in a surge and it was on.We battled it out but Paul was too good and made it to the top of the last hill before me and sprinted downhill to the finish beating me by 29 seconds.
After 15k's of swimming,400k's of biking and 100k;s of running taking us 30hrs,I lost by 18seconds.

(18seconds is also the record for the closest Ultraman winning margin.That happened in Ultraman Canada when Scott Beasley beat Curtis Flock in around 2008'ish)

18 secs, as good as a photo finish! You will be at Noosa right?

She recon'd the entire bike course! Wow, clearly was on a mission!

Leanda's crew is equally to blame. I always tell me crew to be at all turn points, otherwise how would you know when to turn? I know it's your "job" to know the route but in an Ultraman when there are no road closure, it's alot harder!