Ironman World Championship

Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona
On The Big Island Of Hawaii

IRONMAN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2021
IN KAILUA KONA, HAWAII
CANCELED

2.4 mile swim / 112 mile bike / 26.2 mile run

IRONMAN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2022
IN KAILUA KONA, HAWAII

October 6 & 8, 2022
in Kailua Kona, Hawaii

The two-day event will see professional women race on Thursday, October 6, 2022
and professional men race on Saturday, October 8, 2022,
and age groupers distributed between the two days.

2.4 mile swim / 112 mile bike / 26.2 mile run

IRONMAN 70.3 SERIES 2022
IN KAILUA KONA, HAWAII

June 4, 2022
in Kailua Kona, Hawaii
on the Kohala Coast, Big Island, Hawaii

Just down the road, minutes away from
Aloha Vacation Cottages in South Kohala
is the next IronMan 70.3.

For your accommodations book early, Inquire now!

Athletes will be exploring the Big Island’s breathtaking Kohala Coast while they challenge themselves -and each other- on stamina, inner strength and indurance.

Swim: 1.2 mi.: The day will begin with a swim at Hapuna Beach State Park, a half-mile long, white sandy bay — considered one of the world’s most beautiful beaches.

Bike: 56 mi.: The bike course follows the Pacific Ocean along the Queen Ka’ahumanu highway which is rich in Hawaiian history and culture. Triathletes who ride this road say there is a power in this land that challenges them not only to their physical best but also requires inner fitness – the willingness to be open to the conditions the island extends on race day.

Run: 13.1 mi.: The run takes place among the grounds of the The Fairmont Orchid, Hawaii. Athletes will run passed Hawaiian petroglyph fields, fishponds and tide pools, along rugged coastline, through crusty lava fields hundreds of years old and across world-class golf course greens.

From start to finish, racers are surrounded by the aloha of the island, represented by hundreds of experienced and enthusiastic volunteers. The race offers age-group qualifying slots for the Ford Ironman World Championship as well as the Foster Grant Ironman World Championship 70.3 presented by Ford. An award of a different kind comes from offering oneself up to the challenge of racing on the Big Island, and of taking advantage of its beauty to recuperate from the adventure.

Photos from Ironman World Championship on the Big Island


Ironman World Championship Results

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History of Hawaii Ironman Triathlon

Every October, on the Saturday closest to the full moon, around 1,800 of the world’s fittest people tackle one of the toughest endurance events, the Hawaii Ironman triathlon.

The Ironman is a day-long event. It starts with a four-kilometre swim, followed by a 180-kilometre bike race, topped off with a 42-kilometre marathon run. Although anyone can enter most Ironman races, competitors at Hawaii Ironman Triathlon world championship have qualified at another event or won a lottery slot.

Surviving the hot, windy and desolate lava fields in Hawaii’s Kona region is as much an extreme mental test as a physical one. Triathlon’s roots can be traced back to 1974, Mission Bay, Southern California where a group of friends began training together. Amongst them were runners, swimmers and cyclists and before long training sessions turned into informal races. Directed and conceived by Jack Johnstone and Don Shanahan the first Mission Bay Triathlon was held on September 25th 1974 and welcomed 46 athletes. Triathlon’s foundations had been set!

In Hawaii, 1978, an argument arose regarding which of the three disciplines required the greatest endurance. At that time Hawaii hosted The Waikiki Rough Water Swim (2.4 miles), The Oahu Bike Race (112 miles) and The Honolulu Marathon (26.2 miles). Originally events in themselves, they were rolled into one to become the ‘Hawaii Ironman Triathlon.’

The event attracted 15 athletes and of them only 12 crossed the finish line. By 1982 the Hawaii Ironman gained extensive coverage on ABC World Wide Sport and participation levels had increased to 580 competitors. Last year over 3000 athletes completed the grueling challenge. The fastest women finish the course in just under nine hours and the fastest men finishing in little over 8 hours.

WHAT:
A 2.4-mile ocean swim, 112-mile bike race and 26.2-mile run. Competitors have 17 hours to finish. Cutoff times are also applied to the swim (2:20 after start of race) and the bike (10:30 after the start of race.)

WHERE:

Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. The swim segment begins and ends at the pier in Kailua. The bike race travels north on the Kona Coast to the small village of Hawi, and then returns along the same route to the new transition area at the King Kamahamaha Hotel. The marathon course travels through Kailua and onto the same highway used for the bike race. Contestants run back into Kailua-Kona, coming down Alii Drive to the cheers of more than 25,000 people at the finish line.

WHO:

Up to 2,000 competitors, ages 18-80, compete from 50-plus countries and all 50 states. Upwards of 50,000 competitors attempt to qualify at Ironman qualifying races worldwide. Another 4,000 enter the race lottery, which awards 150 slots to U.S. citizens and 50 slots to international athletes. In recognition of their athletic accomplishment, age group champions automatically qualified for the next year’s race.

We recommend to our guests who’d like to experience this ultimate endurance test ‘live’ to either leave their cottage early in the morning around 5 am in order to find a parking lot in Kailua-Kona and a good position in Alii Drive for watching the most spectacular scene when thousands of participants jump in the Pacific Ocean at 7 am sharp for their 2.4 mile swim…or if they are not early birds but still would like to get a glimpse of the participants and feel the heat of the competition (and Hawaii!), drive their car about 5 miles from our cottages to the junction of Hwy 19 and Hwy 270 to cheer the triathlon bikers on their way to Hawi. The Hawaii Triathlon World Championship on the Big Island of Hawaii is a once in a life time experience you don’t want to miss.

Here are photos taken by some of our guests at a Hawaii Ironman event
in Kailua Kona, Big Island.: