Simple statistics on Ironman times
By Julien on Thursday, March 27 2008, 19:49 - Ironman - Permalink
Using the Nice Ironman 2007 results available online, I've generated simple statistics by the finishing time (by 30 minutes span). This gives me a bit more insight about potential objectives, although I still have no idea how long I'll take.
The following graph represents the number of finishers by time span. It shows a fairly symmetric shape, with most athletes finishing in about 12 hours. This is quite different from many running races such as marathons where the maximum is usually shifted towards the end. This probably means that most athletes are well trained.
The next graph shows the average split times (in minutes). This has to interpreted with care, as some may be stronger runner, cyclists or swimmers, etc ...
The following table summarises the average split times for 3 finishing time targets. As expected, the swimming time doesn't show a large variation in absolute value. Thus, I'll simply try to swim efficiently to minimise the overall energy expenditure.
Ultra speculations.
The following graph represents the number of finishers by time span. It shows a fairly symmetric shape, with most athletes finishing in about 12 hours. This is quite different from many running races such as marathons where the maximum is usually shifted towards the end. This probably means that most athletes are well trained.
The next graph shows the average split times (in minutes). This has to interpreted with care, as some may be stronger runner, cyclists or swimmers, etc ...
The following table summarises the average split times for 3 finishing time targets. As expected, the swimming time doesn't show a large variation in absolute value. Thus, I'll simply try to swim efficiently to minimise the overall energy expenditure.
| Finishing time | Swim | Bike | Run |
| 12h + | 1h10 | 6h20 | 4h30 |
| 14h + | 1h20 | 7h15 | 5h20 |
| 15h30 + | 1h25 | 8h | 6h |
Ultra speculations.
Comments
Cool - exactly what I was looking for. I have a dream of completing an Ironman by 2012. Do you think I should have run a marathon before I try for it, or just be well prepared for running in general?
I would indeed strongly recommend you to cover each distance (3.8km swimming, 180km cycling, 42km running) independently, as well as back-to-back (brick) training.
THANK YOU. MY SON RAN THIS YEAR IN ZURICH AND THIS HELPS ME UNDERSTAND HOW WELL HE DID FOR HIS FIRST IRONMAN. YOU DID AN EXCELLENT JOB OF PRESENTING TIMES.