Tag: training

With the new Ironman World Championship qualifications system, this has created a lot of confusion — especially around questions like:

  • What finish times actually qualify now?
  • How does age-grading work?
  • What bike and run power levels are typical for athletes “in the mix”?

Under the new system, Kona qualification is no longer based purely on finishing position within your age group.

Instead:

  • Each athlete’s finish time is age-graded using a Kona Standard multiplier
  • Athletes are ranked by adjusted (age-graded) time
  • Kona slots are awarded to the fastest age-graded performances, not just the fastest raw times

Age-group winners still receive automatic slots, but the majority now come from this performance pool.

The goal:

Reward relative performance, not just being in a small or weak age group.

So what is the standard?

The Kona Standard is a multiplier assigned to each age group, based on historical Kona results.

  • The fastest age group (Men 30–34 and Women 30–34) is set at 1.000
  • Older age groups have lower multipliers
  • Your raw finish time is multiplied by your age-group standard to produce an age-graded time

Example

A 9:30 finish in Men 45–49 (multiplier ≈ 0.94):

9:30 × 0.94 ≈ 8:56 (age-graded time)

That 8:56 is what you’re ranked on — not the 9:30.

These are not guarantees, but realistic benchmarks.

KONA STANDARD – Age-Grading Multipliers
Multipliers approximate the relative competitiveness of each age group vs the fastest age group at Kona.

Age GroupMenWomen
18-240.96980.8567
25-290.99210.8961
30-341.00000.8977
35-390.98950.8866
40-440.96830.8707
45-490.94010.8501
50-540.90020.8125
55-590.86670.7778
60-640.82620.7218
65-690.75520.6828
70-740.68760.6439
75-790.67680.5521
80-840.5555TBD
85-890.5416TBD

Who cares about the multiplier, give me finish times…….

Age GroupMenWomen
25-29~8:50~9:35
30-34~8:55~9:40
35-39~9:00~9:45
40-44~9:15~10:00
45-49~9:30~10:15
50-54~9:50~10:40
55-59~10:05~11:05
60-64~10:30~11:30
65-69~11:00

So what does this mean in watts per kg

Watts Per Kg for Men

Age GroupBikeRun
25-293.1-3.43.5-3.9
30-343.1-3.43.5-3.9
35-393.0-3.33.4-3.8
40-442.9-3.23.3-3.7
45-492.8-3.13.2-3.6
50-542.7-3.03.1-3.5
55-592.6-2.93.0-3.4
60-642.4-2.82.8-3.2

Watts Per Kg for Women

Age GroupBikeRun
25-292.7-3.03.1-3.5
30-342.7-3.03.1-3.5
35-392.6-2.93.0-3.4
40-442.5-2.82.9-3.3
45-492.4-2.72.8-3.2
50-542.3-2.62.7-3.1
55-592.2-2.52.6-3.0
60-642.0-2.32.4-2.8
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Durability for Ironman Triathletes

It has become a very big focus in pro cycling in recent years that coaches focus heavily on durability (fatigue resistance) and model a lot of the athlete’s training and nutrition around this principle.

An example of this would be early on in a ride complete a 5min all out effort followed by riding 3000 kilojoules of work while keeping power around 95% of LT1, then repeating the 5min all out effort again and analysing the power differences between the two 5min efforts. Ideally the coach is looking for a power fade between 0-3%.

We are starting to see this lean into triathlon but what and how to test for durability for Ironman athlete.

Bike Test:
4-5 hour ride with 6x 30min @ Ironman Power (70-75% of FTP or 95% of LT1)

Data to Collect:
• Average Power
• Heart rate
• Lactate test (if you own a lactate tester)

Analysis:
Comparing the following from the first interval to the last interval
• Power drift
• Heart rate drift
• Lactate drift

Cycling Durability Benchmarks:

Power Drift
• Good: < 3 % in average power

• Moderate: 3-5% drop in average power

• Poor: >8% drop in average power

Heart Rate Drift:
• Good: < 5% increase in heart rate

• Moderate: 5-8% increase in heart rate

• Poor: >8% increase in heart rate

Lactate
• Good: Within 0.5mmol/L of starting value
• Moderate: <1 mmol/L of starting value

• Poor: >1mmol of starting value

Run Test:
After warm up, 6x 2km @ race pace + 1km easy but staying in zone 2

Data to Collect:
• Average Pace
• Average Power (if you have a run power meter)
• Heart rate
• Lactate test (if you own a lactate tester)

Analysis:
Comparing the following from the first interval to the last interval
• Pace drift
• Power drift
• Heart rate drift
• Lactate drift

Running Durability Benchmarks:

Pace Drift
• Good: < 3 % in average power

• Moderate: 3-7% drop in average power

• Poor: >7% drop in average power

Power Drift
• Good: < 3 % in average power

• Moderate: 3-5% drop in average power

• Poor: >8% drop in average power

Heart Rate Drift:
• Good: <5% increase in heart rate

• Moderate: 5-8% increase in heart rate

• Poor: >8% increase in heart rate

Lactate
• Good: Within 0.5mmol/L of starting value
• Moderate: <1mmol/L of starting value

• Poor: >1mmol of starting value

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