I am thinking I will be about 1:07 to 1:10 in the swim portion at Kona. I started about 10 rows back in IMAZ last year (my first mass swim start), not knowing where I would end up, and it was a fist fight for a good 20 minutes. I was thinking why not start more towards the front and at least have a shot at some clear water early, even if I get trampled a bit by fast guys behind.
Those of you who have been in a Kona start - what are your thoughts about this??
I leave it for the experienced ones to answer, since I am going there for the first time as well, and similar in swim time…
But keep in mind in a typical IM, a 1:00 hr is like top 100 to 150. At Kona 1:00 swim is like top 800. So I really don’t think it ever ‘clears’ out too much like the other races for those of us in that time range. They are all fast guys.
You might consider your comfort level over the 70min swim if contact bothers you. For a 1:05 swimmer in a wettie, 1:10 is a good guess in Kona if you have favorable currents. As a former 58min swimmer in a wettie I lined up on the far left by the boat, on the far right on the pier and dead center. I swam the same from all three spots (1:02 to 1:03) but the eges were probably a bit less of a battle over a bit more real estate.
This is good input. I did 1:05 in IMAZ in a wetsuit, and just swam 1:13 today in the pool for the same distance, obviously not under race conditions. So maybe 1:10 is a good projection in good conditions. Guess it doesn’t matter and that I’ll be in the thick of the crowd regardless.
I’m wondering how many rows back I might place myself.
My limited experience supports what you are thinking. I swim about 65 at Kona (about 53-57 elsewhere). First year there I heeded the common advice and started 10 or so metres back. Terrible idea. I ran into the back of a lot of slower swimmers almost immediately, couldn’t get through, and there were still others coming up from behind.
Second time I started as at any other race, pretty much on the start line, and had a much better time of it. This year is my third visit, and I think I’ll again aim to be “second row”; just behind all those who would willingly drown their own mother to make sure they are at the front.
YRMV.
My best advice is to stay calm if you feel like you’re getting beaten up, and bank some good karma at any opportunity. In 2006 I stopped to check on a girl who was having an bit of an anxiety attack only about 300 metres from the swim finish. She recognised me out on the bike course and gave me a big thank you. Really lifted my spirits.
I am probably very similar to you - no fists please! 
FWIW, I swam 1:15 in Kona last year and was “in contact” the entire time. Nothing bad. Just constant.
Edit: I started near the floating Ford. Basically right in the middle.
I suggest starting on the outside by the floating car, keeping within 2-4 people of the front. Kona is the easiest swim you will ever have with a bunch of other people around. The speeds sort themselves out quickly.
I started near the floating Ford too… in front of it in the “shadow”. I had clean water for about 3 seconds until everyone merged.
To the OP… I would say that the Kona swim is they type where everyone goes fast. It’s worth it to start wide but front row and hammer and then fall in to a fast group. I’ve done it twice… center-back the first time and left-front the second time. Way easier (for me) starting left front (I’m a 1:04 that year). I would say that there’s plenty of speed to be had by going out even harder than I did… I started passing people 2/3 of the way to the first turn. First year I was beaten up quite a bit (broken watch, broken chip, goggles kicked off a few times). I think it wasn’t so much that I was in the center but rather that I was too far back in that middle area… should have started farther up or farther back.
good luck!
I swim about 65 at Kona (about 53-57 elsewhere).
Wow, that’s a big difference. Up to 12 minutes slower? I have only done Kona once, but was only a minute or two slower (:54 at Kona versus :52-:54 elsewhere). I would have guessed that for the majority of 1 hour-type swimmers, the delta is only a couple of minutes (no wetsuit hurts, but salt water helps).
David
I’ve been to Kona three times and my swim experiences were all different:
Started up front, slightly left of center. I consider this year to be the one where I was “least ready” for the swim. Finished 1:03. Contact for about 2-3 minutes before it cleared up. Got pulled along nicely.
Started maybe two or three bodies further back than year #1 - but still a little left - and got trapped within a group that was slower than my ability. Got hammered the whole swim. 1:06
Started WAY left, up front…nobody in front of me. Had clear water the whole swim. I don’t think I touched anyone until coming up the stairs to transition. 1:06
I swam a 1:07 last year in Kona starting outside by the floating car. There were people around me the whole time, but nothing like previous years where I started closer in. I swam comfortably, perhaps too easy, but once you’re in a pack, you in that pack. Or that’s always been my experience at Kona. hard to get out unless you slow down.
Starting on the right allows you to hold on to a tire by the pier before race starts. Locals will tell you this is the way to go. Go far left if you want to swim with more space. May take a little more time but a lot less frustration energy burned within the first hour of the race which you will want later on during the run. You probably already know that you cannot win the race during the swim leg, only lose it if you get frustrated. If you are comfortable with people around you, then seed about the same percentage as to where you think you will finish. Be prepared for a few people that thought they would swim quicker that you will over swim and ready for a few triathletes that panic in mid-race and pick up the pace right over you.
After watching the swim start last year, I think the right hand side is the worst place to start. Look at the very end of this video (the last 5-10 seconds). Everyone on the right is getting pushed left by the paddleboarders and getting bunched up. It looked to me like the left hand side was the place to be.
not necessarily directed only at you, but to the masses . . . .it seems to me that it’s this type of self-focused attitude that causes much of the scrum (hey, i’m slow but I’ll start up front - fuck everybody else, let them go over/around me; and if/when they do, everyone gets all aggro about it. Expecting a 107 to 110 swim at Kona won’t give you a shot in heck at clear water . … rightfully so). if the fast guys didn’t have to swim over/around you, and you didn’t have to do the same to those who are even slower but want to be super heroes and start front/center, then the swim could be what it should be.
If everyone took heed of “i’ll swim about x% of the overall, and I’m going to start in the appropriate spot” then most would do that swim . .without incident.
Thinking about where to start is a good idea. Also think about your line. I sighted to the radio antenna on the way back from the turn and it made it easy. However, what I didn’t realise is I went a bit wide coming back and hit a current. My time to the boats was 34 minutes out followed by 46 to come back (I’m about a 1:10 swimmer). A local told me that its quite common for that current to be there so stay closer towards shore. Bree Wee or someone from Kona probably knows.
I went dead center between ford and pier. I am a little slower so I seeded a little further back. People were around the whole time but surprisingly little contact. I think the level of the swimmers helps.
I would stay left to start. The trick is timing when and where to start to get over closer to the line. You want to merge with the main line just as you are starting to fade a bit then jump in with a group that are slightly faster than you are. Thus truly benefiting from the draft. If you get in there too soon, you’ll get swum over and it cbn get rough… If you wait too long, you’ll be stuck with slower swimmers or swimmers around your level and not really getting full benefit of the draft. Timing this move over is key!
in terms of getting aggro about being swum over etc. If you start up front and aren’t up to speed then complain I agree. That’s just how it goes if you go with that plan.
The only thing I would add to this though it is a race (especially kona) and if I feel that I am going to have a quicker swim by starting somewhere near the front and getting dragged along by the madness a bit then that tends to be my decision. My perspective is I would rather start up front a filter back to a group at my speed than miss that group as started to far back. As a result I take a few blows on occasion and that is how the game goes.
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