Is Ironman Chattanooga an exception to the 17 hour finishing limit in North America ironman races?Tha age group swim start is at 730 hours but in the half I did this year it took about 1 hour to get all athletes in the water ie 0830 hr start.You still have 2 20 for the swim which will be fine for all being current aided but the slower athletes bringing up the rear starting at 0830 still have to finish by midnight ie 15hours 30 minutes.I am OK with this but my wife typically will take about 16 hours (age 62 good swimmer and cyclist but challenged runner with osteoarthritis).Am I correct there is a decreased time limit??Have the ramifications been considered for slower athletes?I know this time limit has been discussed at nauseum on Slowtwitch and many younger fast athletes prefer a lesser time for a cutoff.Some of us older athletes less genetically gifted still train very hard and still find the 16-17 hour finish a challenge.
You have until midnight. Regardless of start time. Keep training.
It’s addressed in the athlete guide on page 9. Swim cutoff time is 2:20 from the last swimmer entering the water but anyone taking longer than 2:20 to complete the swim will be DQ’d. Run course closes at midnight, no exceptions.
Keep training.
True story.
I wish you and your wife luck, but I do wonder why a “challenged runner with osteoarthritis” who pushes the 17 hour time limit would choose this race. Not just due to the < 17 hours you’ll have, but it’s also known to be a tough run. But as said, good luck to you both.
Before you could sign up you had to acknowledge the shorter cutoff. You could not get to the sign up page without agreeing. We anticipate the first AG athlete getting in the water at 7:30 and it should take us about 35 minutes to get everyone in. That means you have between 16:30 and 15:55 to complete the race. If its not wetsuit legal (like last year) those folks will go at the end of that line. The athlete guide is correct in that everyone gets 2:20 to complete the swim. The intermediate bike, bike finish, intermediate run and finish line cutoff are there regardless of what time you started. Brian
She likely will be OK will a half time under 7 hrs and did her swim in 33 minutes in the half with the portion against the current.One can be sure that the slower racers will be camped out at the start of the swim so that they can get in the water as close to 730 as possible.