Second of my pre-race analyses for the weekend is Ironman Coeur d’Alene. Most of my athletes race in Europe so my direct knowledge of US races and their courses is limited, but the statistics suggest Coeur d’Alene is largely typical of North American Ironman races. Perhaps a touch faster, although not significantly and that like most US races there is a broad spread of ability across the field. At the front there are 50 slots available for the 2014 Ironman World Championship in Kona.
More detailed breakdowns of statistics for each age group can be downloaded at the bottom of this article.
My introduction was effectively a spoiler of what’s to come. Compare the median splits in the two charts above – the average Coeur d’Alene splits are not hugely different from the average US splits of 2013. Professional and age group alike, the numbers are remarkably close in this top level comparison.
It’s rare the split distributions disagree with the medians and this is no exception. Patterns are largely the same between the amalgamated Coeur d’Alene and North American times. The only difference that might be of note comes at the front of the bike splits – where times at Coeur d’Alene appear to be distributed a little more slowly. It’s not huge, probably around 5 minute difference at the fifth percentile, but it’s about all I can really pick out.
| Number of Athletes | Number of Slots | |
|---|---|---|
| F18-24 | 28 | 1 |
| F25-29 | 68 | 2 |
| F30-34 | 111 | 2 |
| F35-39 | 124 | 2 |
| F40-44 | 139 | 3 |
| F45-49 | 86 | 2 |
| F50-54 | 67 | 2 |
| F55-59 | 22 | 1 |
| F60-64 | 16 | 1 |
| F65-69 | 3 | 1 |
| M18-24 | 51 | 2 |
| M25-29 | 143 | 3 |
| M30-34 | 257 | 4 |
| M35-39 | 315 | 5 |
| M40-44 | 357 | 5 |
| M45-49 | 306 | 4 |
| M50-54 | 188 | 3 |
| M55-59 | 92 | 2 |
| M60-64 | 44 | 2 |
| M65-69 | 12 | 1 |
| M70-74 | 6 | 1 |
| M75-79 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 2436 | 50 |
As usual I went through the start list, counted up who was in each age group and produced the above estimates of Kona slot allocations. Exact numbers will vary. The spread is typical of Ironman racing in general with lots of slots for 30-50 year old men, the major age groups in the sport. More women race in US Ironman events than European (typically 20% compared to 10% of the field) so a greater number of slots are available to the female age groups.
Finish times in the top twenty of each age group vary year on year, but the gap from first back to fifth and beyond tends to be quite consistent. Averages suggest a 9:30-9:45 finishing time in the major male age groups should be within shot of qualification. While the range is a little broader for women, required times are likely to fall within the 10:30-11:00 hour region. Of course what really matters is final fiish position and that willl come down to performance, conditions and competition on the day.
You can download PDFs below with a lot more detail for individual age groups including all available top 10 age group splits.
Detailed Age Group Statistics
Age group specific Ironman Coeur d’Alene results analysis. More charts and more detailed timings and splits for top age grouper and Kona qualifiers.
Select an age group to view or download PDF
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Just one more race, Ironman France, to go to complete this weekend’s pre-race analyses. I’ll return to Coeur d’Alene next week after the race.
