An ironman is 140.6 miles long. But I contend the halfway point is NOT at mile 70.3 (mile 67.9 of the bike leg). One could make a pretty good argument that you aren’t “halfway” until you’re running the marathon leg, but I’m talking about a more “objective” halfway point.
I’m not smart enough to do this, but it seems like someone could put the results from an ironman (i.e. Lake Placid) into a spreadsheet and figure out an exact point on the course which is statistically the halfway point based upon finish times. For example, for a 9:00 pro, where were they at 4:30 into the race? For the 17:00 finisher, where were they on the course at 8:30? Take all of those imaginary points and then find the “average” - the single point on the course which represents where the average finisher is when they are at 50% of their ultimate finishing time.
Once you have that point figured out on the course, I think you could really have some fun with it. First of all, it would need an appropriate marker - perhaps a painted line on the street or a sign declaring it the statistical halfway point (is there a better name for this point?). It could be a gathering spot for slowtwitchers not participating in the race to gather and cheer. How awesome would that be if it became a tradition that at every IM event there was some random spot out on the course with a bunch of crazy folks cheering and having fun. And it would be fun for the athletes too - one more opportunity for a mental break during a long day. What do you think?
Time wise it is somewhere near the 90 mile point to the end of the bike.
On the suck scale it is around the 10 mile point of the run. I base this on the fact that the race starts to suck anywhere from the 70 mile point to the 90 mile point on the bike. By which I mean after about 70 miles you have had enough bike riding for the day. In general terms of course.
Then the run will suck until you have a mile or two to go. So my guess is that when you ge tto mile ten you are halfway through the hard mental part of the day. ,
No question that the HALFWAY point is the 13.1 mile point of an Ironman run.
Seriuosly, anyone can fake it up to that point. The difference between a good performance/PB and blowing up badly is the final 13.1 miles.
Don’t believe it, have a look at the first/second half marathon splits at any Ironman NA race. There are around 500 people “in contention” for a Kona slot or PB until then before the 90 min positive split kicks in during the second part of the run.
If you believe that the halfway point in an Ironman is any earlier, you are likely setting yourself up for a very long final 13-16 miles of the marathon.
Totally agree with Dev. Personally, I find it interesting when people say “I was on pace to do , BUT…” The challenging part of any endurance event is nailing the pacing and nutrition and everything else that goes into hitting a certain finishing time. If you blow up badly in the final half marathon of an Ironman, then it’s safe to say that you weren’t “on pace” until then.
Finish Line 1 at 13.1 miles of the marathon…this is where the shoulda-coulda-woulda crowd who were “on pace” ended their race and go into survival mode.
Finish Line 2 at 26.1 miles of the marathon…this is where the PB crowd end their race. They are in control over the event until this point vs the event taking control of them.
I have done enough Ironmans and been in both these groups. Seriously, the road to Kona or PBs is littered with well intentioned athletes who ended their “RACE” at 13.1 miles and let the race “TAKE CONTROL” of them.
The only part of the ironman that has really sucked for me is the second loop of the run where you have to go past the finish chute and do it all again one more time. This is just cruel and unusual punishment especially when you factor in all those people cheering you on saying, “Come on, you’re almost there!” and you feel like saying, “No, you moron, I have 13.1 miles to go!”
I think at one time or another, we’ve all found ourselves in the shoulda-coulda-woulda camp. In my second marathon, I was well ahead of my goal pace, and learned just how bad a move that is when I spent the majority of the second half walking. GREAT learning experience though. I just got into triathlons a couple years ago, and have done two Ironmans since then… but the aforementioned marathon experience dictates the way I race now. I’m not suggesting that people shouldn’t push themselves and test their limits (see my signature)… it’s just a matter of knowing your body and knowing when and how far you can push it without jeopardizing the race.
I think you guys are absolutely right about pacing for the ironman.
For a guy shooting for 10:00 and a kona slot, what psychological effect would passing the statistical halfway point have? I think it would be pretty benign - perhaps a nice mental break as you smile and wave at the crazy folks out cheering at this seemingly arbitrary spot on the bike course. But for the “just trying to finish” crowd, the statistical halfway point might be a meaningful benchmark.
For the L.P. course, I’ll guesstimate the statistical halfway point is near mile 80 - which I think is near the left turn in Jay before you go up the big hill before the out and back. My non-scientific guesstimate is based upon a glance at last year’s results showing that the (approx) 1000th finisher (out of nearly 2000 entrants) had a time of around 13 hours - breaking down as 1.5 hours (swim + t1); 7 hours bike; 4.5 hour run. Where was this person at 6.5 hours? 5 hours into the bike at 16 mph = mile 80.
What Kevin said. To me, an IM is “half over” at the halfway point of the run. Sort of like a marathon is “half over” around mile 20. It’s in the nature of endurance sports.
Kind of funny, as I’ve said here before, I guess I’m not the norm…as I get closer to the end I pick it up. I ran the last six miles of IMAZ last year faster than I’d done anything all day. Just a week and a half ago at the Vegas marathon, same thing got to mile 20 and picked it up. It’s definitely mental for me…I JUST WANT TO GET DONE. Do I hurt, absolutely, but there’s also a pretty cool feeling when you go flying past people at he very end!! Yeah, probably means my pacing could be better earlier in the day, but it works!
Yeah, probably means my pacing could be better earlier in the day, but it works!
OR… it could mean that your pacing was PERFECT earlier in the day, properly conserving your glycogen, and leaving you with just the right amount of fuel in the tank to finish strong!
I have a bike halfway and run halfway mentality…swim is just a warmup for the rest of the day : ) For the bike it’s around 75-80 miles. For the run it’s around 18-20 miles. Things seem to feel like they go downhill (in a good way) if I hit those marks in decent shape.
ah thanks! Not my best, but with the freezing conditions(for San Diego people), hip issues and general lack of training I was happy enough! I am not a fan of stand alone marathons!!!
Dev is right about the 13.1 mile mark, but in my experience you will have some VERY compelling evidence of this impending doom by the 8 mile mark. For me, having warning signs when I still have 18 miles to go is simply terrifying.
