How to Race an Ironman

How to Race or finish and Ironman. Race plan, execution & tips for how to complete an Ironman. From swim, bike and run tips to nutrition & fuelling strategy. Aimed more at beginners but much of this would apply to anyone no matter how fast they are (except elites!) I hope some of this is useful to you and helps you to complete your Ironman.

[@leewalters2794]

Spot-on, Arun. All very sensible. Bike for show, run for dough, as they say. Nutrition and pacing are so important. Not so much in Copenhagen, but when I did Austria in 2019, I saw a guy out of the saddle in the first few k - I told him to sit down as it was a long day. And you see so many people walking long stretches of the marathon. It is very difficult, and I didn't manage it, but try and make your first two k your slowest not your fastest. Have a realistic run pace and stick to it no matter how easy it feels - it should feel easy, you've got to do it for 42k. If you have anything left in the final 5-10k, then go for it. I ran the whole marathon, but I'm a strongish runner and had done up to 32k runs in training. But run-walk is a good strategy for many. No shame in walking, but you want it to be part of your plan.

[@ArunsTravels]

Thanks Lee. I did a few 32K runs in training (and did a marathon in July as part of Long Course Weekend) but I don’t think I could have run the whole Marathon at Copenhagen (or at least I would have been slower.) Interestingly my coach advises everyone to run/walk regardless of how fast they are, even top ages groupers and Kona qualifiers.

[@leewalters2794]

@@ArunsTravels Interesting. I walked the aid stations as much as I needed to to get what I wanted, but otherwise ran and ran right at the top end of what I could have hoped for and ran a negative split. But whatever works for you, works!

[@ArunsTravels]

@@leewalters2794 yeah I guess whatever works best for you is the right way to do it.