Ironman Lanzarote 2014: Results and Analysis

Latest statistics for Ironman Lanzarote

Another Ironman Lanzarote is done and again it punished those who raced there – a mixed bag of results for my athletes, some successes and a DNF. It’s a tough race. Of course it’s that challenge that also makes the event so popular; despite the 3 times I’ve suffered on that course I would still go back and race again. Results from this year’s event look to be very slightly slower than previous years, but let’s take a closer look.

Comparison of Split Distributions at Ironman Lanzarote 2014 vs 2008-2013

It’s a relatively small difference and mostly weighted towards the middle and back of the field, but splits in all three disciplines were slower this year than the aggregate of the previous 6 years. Perhaps the result of conditions on the day, although from the reports I’ve heard they were typical for the event. Perhaps the impact of a growing race field and a broader range of competitors entering the race.

Median Splits by Age Group at Ironman Lanzarote 2014
Median Splits by Category at Ironman Lanzarote 2008-2013

As usual the medians mainly confirm my observations on the distributions. Average times are generally a little slower than they have been, although not always by that significant a margin. The professional race proved largely on par for the men, but the female pros put in a faster race than usual. Also of note is the women’s 35-39 age group which bucked the trend and significantly improved on the previous averages for bike and run. Some seriously fast athletes must have enetered in that age group this year.

Top 20 Male Performances and Kona Qualification by Age Group at Ironman Lanzarote 2014
Top 20 Female Performances and Kona Qualification by Age Group at Ironman Lanzarote 2014

As usual the race at the front deviates from the general trend and finish times in the top twenties tended to be a little faster than average. There are exceptions in some age groups of course and as a general rule most times fall within the bounds of past results. The exception, as already noted, is the female 35-39 age group where the majority of the top twenty finished in faster times than we’ve seen in recent years (results cover the last 7 years).

Overall I suspect race conditions were largely normal for Lanzarote. If they were in any way tougher than recent years the impact was small enough that we could equally account for it by the growing field of athletes at this race. As we’re often seeing, regardless of the rest of the field, the front of pack continues to match or improve on past performances in their chase for Kona qualification.

Extra Age Group Statistics

Details of the top 10 splits in every age group at Ironman Lanzarote 2014 and for the previous 6 years. View or download the PDF (500KB) below

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Or, for those who want the full results and splits from Ironman Lanzarote 2014 in more detail you can access them in spreadsheet form on my Google Drive.

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