• Ironman South Africa 2018 – Analyzing Results By Thorsten on April 15, 2018 in IM South Africa If you want to have a look at older Reports, please subscribe to my Mailing List.
• Lastly, IRONMAN holds an Annual Kona Auction bidding off a select number of slots to next year’s world championship. The minimum bidding price is $10,000 and all the proceeds go to the efforts of the IRONMAN Foundation.
• After recently winning the 2018 Ironman 70.3 World Championship last week in South Africa, Germany’s most famous triathlete Jan Frodeno announced on instagram that he will be out for the rest of the season, and will miss the 2018 Ironman World Championships in Kona next month due to a stress fracture in his hip.
• Cameron Condie ranked 22nd in age group M55-59 and 573rd overall at the Ironman South Africa 2018. Here you can find a race analysis and statistics.

Ironman South Africa, and a slot to Kona- Iain McGregor

Standard Bank Ironman African Champs – Port Elizabeth, 10 April 2016

Typical slot allocation and average qualification times at Ironman South Africa. View average qualifying times based on previous slot allocations at this race. Defaults to most recent slot allocation. Times for each place are averaged from the ten most recent races excluding those where signifcant course changes affected results.

I am not too sure when the dream to race Ironman started, but I recall during my early high school years picking up a triathlon magazine and reading of the Iron War between Mark Allen and Dave Scott. But I was a cricketer and I pursued my career in cricket and stayed fit in the off season by playing hockey and doing track and field. I continued to follow the sport of triathlon, and kept an eye on the big names like Allen, Tinley, Scott, Welch, McCormack, Reid and Alexander. The only name I am yet to see up there is Chuck Norris…
2015 was the realisation of my dream to compete in an Ironman when I completed the African Championship race in PE. My training was not too focused as I put together sessions from various programmes and trained when I could. A calf niggle for 6 weeks prior to the race left me uncertain of completing the race. But I came home in a very sore and tired 10h34. But that was just the start! I wanted more! There was more to my dream of racing an Ironman that I had never shared with anyone! I wanted to race on those lava fields like I had seen in the magazines so many years ago. I wanted a Kona slot.
A cycling accident in May 2015 left me with a fractured hand and a torn labrum in my left hip when a motorist did not see me and pulled out into the road in front of me. Once my hand had healed and I could use crutches, I had hip surgery in September 2015 and I told the surgeon he was under some pressure, as I wanted to race Ironman again. I spoke to a number of athletes with regards to coaches and what I wanted from them, and there was almost always the same reply of who to contact – Dinamic Coaching.
I first met with Neil and Diana at the beginning of December 2015. I presented them with my challenges of not having run since May, not being allowed to run until the middle of December and only being allowed to do short runs. After my meeting with them, I knew that their method of coaching was what I wanted. I remember the look on their faces when I told them my goal was to qualify to go to Kona. It was a look of “well, maybe he means in 2017?” But they said they would get me ready and after my initial tests, we set about reaching the goal.
My programme was designed around my running limitations, my work schedule and created just for me, based on my test data. On some of the long rides, my mind would start to wonder why I was doing what I was doing, but I kept telling myself that Diana has worked this out to get me race ready. I did all my sessions on my own, except for the odd Friday canal swim. I could feel every week I was getting stronger and faster. I knew the hard work was paying off when I was doing 182km training rides quicker than my bike time in Ironman last year, and at a much lower intensity. I started to want Saturday mornings to come around quicker so I could do my long rides and check my progress. And then, DISASTER.
3 weeks before Ironman, 190km into my 6,5 hour ride, a motorist turned across a solid, double white line in front of me, again, saying they did not see me. I braked as hard as I could but the next thing I was flying in the air and hit the tar with my head and right shoulder. My smashed Polar V800 showed my speed went from 35km/hr to 0km/hr in less than 3 seconds. I had my first ride in an ambulance and was in ER at Durbanville Mediclinic. Miraculously, nothing was broken or torn, but severe whiplash, tissue bruising and roasties were what I had to deal with. I thought that that was the end of Ironman 2016 as I lay in the hospital and the nurse wiped away the tears when I told her nobody would understand what I have sacrificed to race Ironman.
Unable to train for 2 weeks, I went to see Neil and Diana for a bike lactate test 10 days before Ironman. The numbers were up from the initial test, and I gained a lot of motivation that I could still race Ironman. “Just stick to your numbers” was the advice from the Dinamic team. A few more sessions with the physio and chiropractor, and before I knew it, I was in PE and registered to race. A few warm up sessions and my body and mind started to get into gear. I was lucky enough to attend a brunch hosted by Ironman All World Athlete (AWA) and the Queen of Kona, Paula Newby-Fraser on the Saturday before race day. Her talk centred around “don’t be greedy” – i.e. do what you do in training, don’t get caught up in the race and push your body too hard. As I sat quietly the night before doing some mental preparation for the race, I focused on these 2 pieces of advice I had been given.
The morning of race day produced another breath taking sunrise. The swim was not the easiest conditions, but I felt comfortable and I finished strong. I looked at my time and although it was slower than what I had wanted, I did not panic, as I looked ahead of me and there were not masses of athletes out the water already. A steady, practiced transition and onto the bike. This was the leg of the race that I had confidence going into. But there were so many athletes flying past me. The disc wheels making their distinctive sound as they hurried past. I kept looking at my watch, thinking I am going too slow. Why are people going past me so fast? But I kept repeating to myself – “stick to your numbers” and “don’t be greedy”. I knew it was going to be a hot day and proper nutrition and hydration would be critical. I stuck to the plan that I had used throughout my training and tried to keep my body as cool as possible. At 135km at the turn around point on the last lap of the bike, I noticed I had caught up to a lot of the guys who had flown past me earlier on the first lap. I carried on riding to my numbers and I started to really look forward to finishing the bike off strong as I continued to pass more and more cyclists.
I came out of transition 2 and I felt great as I started the run. There was some apprehension though as I had not done any long continuous runs. I looked at my watch and realised I was going too fast and needed to back off a bit and “not be greedy”. Towards the 25km mark, I started to feel tired and my legs were getting sore. But I had a friend (and Ironman 2015 finisher) back home suffering from cancer, and I kept telling myself that this was nothing close to the battle that Craig was fighting. And I just kept on pushing. The last lap of the run was probably one of the most enjoyable 10km runs I have had. The psychological advantage of passing people who had gone out too hard is incredibly powerful, as well as racing for a greater cause – and in my case it was for Craig. I had not looked at my overall time during the race, until the last 2km of the run as I had just been going according to “my numbers”.
Running down that red carpet and seeing my time and my name on the screen, is one of the proudest moments I have ever had, considering where I had been lying 3 weeks prior to the race. When Neil and Diana came over to me at the finish and asked me about the race, I told them that they had given me the best advice ever and I had stuck to it, along with “don’t be greedy” from the Queen of Kona. It was that advice, along with the personalised and structured training plan from Diana that got me an automatic qualification to race Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii on 8 October 2016.
My Ironman African Championship 2016 race and my Kona World Championships Qualification is dedicated to my friend Craig Jacobs who lost his battle to cancer in the early hours on race day. It was his fighting spirit that carried me through the toughest parts of the race. In the recovery area, it was the news of his passing that sank me to my knees.

• The Ironman 70.3 Hawaii is set to race today on the Kohala Coast. (Rick Winters/West Hawaii Today)
• Local triathlete David Wild is giddy to get going at Honu. (Rick Winters/West Hawaii Today)

KOHALA COAST — For David Wild, the eve of Ironman 70.3 Hawaii feels like the first day of school.

Appropriate, for the Konawaena math teacher and standout Kealakekua triathlete.

“It’s always an exciting time,” Wild said. “You can feel the energy the closer you get to the race venue. I’m all giddy and stoked to put it all out there.”

The race — also known as Honu — starts at 6:30 a.m. today and consists of a 1.2-mile open ocean swim at Hapuna Beach State Park, a 56-mile out-and-back bike on the northern half of the Ironman World Championship course to Hawi, and wraps up with a 13.1-mile, two-loop run, finishing at the Fairmont Orchid’s Honu Pointe.

Ironman South Africa 2018 Kona Slots 2019

Wild has had resounding success at his backyard half-Ironman event since his debut in 2015, garnering top local finisher honors the past three years. He said the 70.3-mile trek — which will include close to 1,600 athletes from around the globe — is equal parts scenic and brutal.

“It’s not for the faint of heart,” Wild said. “I think it’s one of the hardest half-Ironman races out there — at least top four or five. The fact that the bike is on a part of the Ironman (World Championship) course, combined with the gnarly, unpredictable predictions and a super hot run makes it so Big Island. It’s raw and you really have to want to do it.”

In the race’s 15-year existence, some of the biggest names in the sport have claimed the top overall crown on the Kohala Coast. Ironman World Champions Craig Alexander, Chris McCormack, Tim DeBoom and Pete Jacobs all have finished first, while well-known cyclist Lance Armstrong also claimed the title back in 2012.

But in 2015, the race decided to shift the focus to its age-group athletes, eliminating a pro field.

The heated competition has remained and is expected to be at an all-time high this weekend with a slew of slots to the 70.3 World Championship and the Ironman World Championship up for grabs.

There will be 30 slots available to the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa in September, and a total of 48 to October’s Ironman World Championship in Kona. Of the 48 slots, 24 are reserved exclusively for Hawaii residents who finish as the top Aloha State athlete in their age group.

Wild is in the competitive 30-34 age group, and as much as he’s excited to see his Hawaii tri brethren, it’s game on once the opening horn sounds.

“It will have some more gravity to it this year, that’s for sure,” Wild said. “When I finish, there’s always a feeling that I could have improved. I want to walk away this year feeling like I did everything I could.”

Wild has earned his slot in the 70.3 world championships before, racing as recently as last year in the Chattanooga, Tennessee edition of the event. But qualifying for Kona would be a bucket-list accomplishment for Wild, who is still seeking to lock up his first spot on the starting line in Kona.

“That’s the dream, man,” Wild said. “If I can do it, it’d be awesome.”

Just keep swimming

As it did last year, the event will utilize a rolling swim start within the age groups, with a buzzer every five seconds signaling the athletes — who self-seeded based on perceived finishing time — to enter the water.

It’s meant to increase safety, reduce anxiety and allow athletes to swim at their own pace. It also opens up the bike segment of the race, reducing drafting and — again — making it safer.

“It was a calm start instead of this mass blunder of arms and legs everywhere,” Wild said. “You jump in line and find your rhythm.”

One more thing it does is force the finish-line crowd to hold the applause. With athletes self-seeding in the swim — coupled with the age groups starting at different times — the first athlete that hits Honu Pointe isn’t necessarily the top overall finisher (which is usually celebrated by breaking through a banner and with lei).

For athletes, catching glimpses of their competition at various points on the course is no longer a foolproof way to measure leads. Some on-the-fly math is required, and luckily for Wild, he’s a math whiz.

“Trying to figure out where you are can be really difficult,” Wild said with a laugh. “But doing the math in my head helps pass the time.”

The air up there

While some of the talk has been about “swim, bike and run” leading up to the race, the main conversation-starter has been the conditions and air pollution concerns connected to the Kilauea lava eruptions on the southeast part of the island.

The race, however, has a bright green light to go.

2018 Kona Hyundai

“We are looking forward to a great race with clear blue skies,” Ironman spokesman Dan Berglund said earlier this week. “We are aware and have been continuously monitoring the volcano activity on the east side of the island of Hawaii and subsequent potential impacts to the west side of the island.”

Ironman has supplied information to out-of-town athletes via social media and its website that the areas impacted by the volcanic activity are limited to lower Puna and are not near the race site.

Ross Birch, executive director of the Island of Hawaii Visitors Bureau, said athletes will be traveling north during the race, away from potential air quality hazards. However, he said there were no air quality monitors north of Kona, and that it would be helpful if there were.

“It’s a day-by-day situation,” he said. “The volcano is like that as well. We don’t have a long forecast of what the tradewinds might do, and we don’t know where the vog might end up going. Who knows how long the ash plumes will continue as well?”

Wild, who trains in Kona, said the effects have been minimal during his preparations

“I feel lucky I don’t have asthma and I’m not super sensitive to it,” Wild said. “There’s nothing telling me not to train, but that might just be because I’m stubborn.”

Wind could be a helpful factor in keeping the vog at bay, but it would be both a blessing and a curse. The bike portion of the race has a reputation for being very tough when there are gusty conditions up north.

Ironman South Africa 2018 Kona Slots 2019

Ironman South Africa 2018 Kona Slots 2020

“If there is wind, you have to stay focused,” Wild said. “It puts you on edge, but you have to be calm and in control.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report