First off I don’t know a lot about the Ironman in general.
Ok I see men between the age of 25 - 45 finishing in 13,14,15 even 16 hours. How could all of them have qualified. I understand there is a lottery but that can’t be the answer for all of them.
So how did the others qualify? Is there a different way to qualify then winning a slot at a half or full ironman race?
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Maybe they gave it their all to get to Kona and didnt want to kill themselves on the course - and would rather go slow enough to see the sights and enjoy the day. I sure as heck would.
slots for sponsors of the event.
Maybe they gave it their all to get to Kona and didnt want to kill themselves on the course - and would rather go slow enough to see the sights and enjoy the day. I sure as heck would.
ahh good point. So you qualify with a 10.XX race then just take 6 hours longer when you go to Kona lol
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Lottery, Sponsors, and some people just may have had a bad day (not unlikely at Kona)
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So you qualify with a 10.XX race
10:?? Not in my AG!
So you qualify with a 10.XX race
10:?? Not in my AG!
oops sorry forgot you were ancient lol just kidding.
Didn’t know you were over 59
http://ironman.com/events/ironman/florida?show=tracker&y=2006
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No no…30-34 is more like a 9:xx:xx
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No no…30-34 is more like a 9:xx:xx
ahhh gotcha Thanks! Ok so they qualify with 9:xx then do take 7 hours more at Kona.
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Lottery
Sponsors
Race directors slots
CEO Challengers
Charity slots
Ebay
VIP/Special interest/celebrities
Yes, people do have bad days
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Try going 9:35 in Austria and being 22nd in your AG with only 5 slots up for grabs.
This guy we train with has already qualified for 2010 when he ages up to 50-54
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How do you get one of the “sponsor” slots?
Doesn’t Ironman keep finish times? Get the name of some of these people google them or look them up in qualifying races. Compile all the data and tell us.
In addition to some of the reasons given above, first timers over there are often shocked at how that race just sucks the life out of you. With the exception of a few very rare cases, most qualifiers go a lot slower on the Kona coast.
There is Ironman and there is Kona.
How do you get one of the “sponsor” slots?
Know somebody.
I qualified at just under 10 hours, my wife at 10:30 or so. When we did Kona we were too tired to race it and decided to run together and soak it in. I think we were 12 something. Peaking for two Ironmans in one year is damn difficult.
Chip
You “only” need to go in the 10:15-10:25 range in Lake Placid next year 
It often will roll down to those times. Last year Dev got in with a mid 10:20 in the 40-44. I had a friend who qualified via rolldown in 2004 with a 10:18 in 35-39.
As for people in the generally “faster” age groups going more slowly at Kona, one of the reasons can be the race that they got in with. If you go 9:45 at IMC and qualify and decide to go and then try and duplicate the performance in Kona on a hot, windy day 6 weeks later there is a good chance that you’ll be walking a big chunk of the marathon so some of the closer qualifying races can impact the result. Also, distance and travel logistics for some. If you live in Germany and have to travel to the other side of the world to race and don’t have 4 weeks to get there, hang out and get acclimated then you might be in for a really bad day. If you qualified really early (like at Moo or IMFL) you might have been really fit the season that you qualified and then had injury problems or life committments that caused you to be way off your qualifying time.