General Discussion Triathlon Talk » Qualifying for Kona at IMWI Rss Feed  
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2005-05-09 1:50 PM

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Subject: Qualifying for Kona at IMWI
I tried to search on past threads for this, but I was unable to find any. I'm planning on racing in IM Wisconsin and was looking into to what it would take to qualify to for IM Hawaii. I read about in on the IM NA site, but it's way over my head. If anyone with any brain power could explain it in English, that'd be great.

http://www.ironmannorthamerica.com/konaslots.html

Thanks,

Derek


2005-05-09 1:56 PM
in reply to: #154943

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Subject: RE: Qualifying for Kona at IMWI

My take: Short answer, if you win your age group and send in an app you are in.

There is one slot per age group initially.  [edit - looking at past slot allocation, not so sure this is true, since there seem to be slots in every age group (except 80+ perhaps), and more than 1 slot is awarded in many groups, so not sure how many slots there are initially].   There are ways more slots can open up:

(1) If a male age group does not have an applicant, the slot for that age group will move to the next largest male age group, so that age group might get more than one slot, in which case if you are second and you apply you are in.

(2) If no one registers in an age group, slots are moved to the next largest group

(3) If applicant for a slot DNFs, and there are no other applicants, that slot moves to another group

Chris



Edited by ChrisM 2005-05-09 2:01 PM
2005-05-09 2:04 PM
in reply to: #154943

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Master
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Subject: RE: Qualifying for Kona at IMWI
Another way to get an idea would be to check last years results, as they note who got a Kona slot.  Looking at my age group (M30-34) there were 10 people that got spots, the slowest being 10:18.
2005-05-09 2:33 PM
in reply to: #154943

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Expert
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Texarkana, TX
Subject: RE: Qualifying for Kona at IMWI
It's pretty simple, really. There are 80 Kona Slots to be awarded. They are distributed among the age groups according to the same ratios as the entrants in the age groups. Therefore, the age group with the most entrants gets the most slots. They will announce at the pre-race meeting, which occurs the day before the race, how many slots each age group has. Then, in order to automatically qualify, you have to finish in that spot or higher. So let's say that there are 8 slots for your age group. If you finish eigth or better, you are in. Then, they have the "rolldown", where all the slots are assigned. That means that if any of the people who finish in the top 8 do not wish to go to Kona, then the 9th finisher gets first dibs, and so on down the line.Then, all that's left for you to do is go out and race fast, fast, fast.
2005-05-09 2:40 PM
in reply to: #154943

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Subject: RE: Qualifying for Kona at IMWI
Thanks for the replies, but now I'm a little cofused. I was on vacation three years ago in Hawaii and watched the IronMan in Kona. I didn't travel there to just to watch it, but it was amazing. Watching that race inspired me to do my first triathlon and it's been downhill ever since. Anyway, I saw a lot of people finishing the race late in the evening and some not even finishing the bike before the cutoff. I realize it's a tremendous accomplishment to finish, but how did these people qualify? I saw quite a few racers around my age group (25-29) finishing in around 14-15 hours. It's hard to believe they were able to finish around 10 hours in a qualifier and finished in 15+ in Kona. Am I wrong?
2005-05-09 2:43 PM
in reply to: #154943

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Expert
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Subject: RE: Qualifying for Kona at IMWI

There are also lottery spots awarded - 250 or so of the racers in Kona did not qualify.  Also, some may have relaxed on their training a little leading up to that race, having already given all they had to qualify. 

Plus, I've heard that Kona is kind of a hard race, too. 



2005-05-09 2:48 PM
in reply to: #154943

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Subject: RE: Qualifying for Kona at IMWI
14 hours is actually kind of good from what I hear from the course in Kona. It's been mentioned as one of the most difficult IMs if not the most difficult
2005-05-09 3:20 PM
in reply to: #154980

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Subject: RE: Qualifying for Kona at IMWI
That's understandable. I couldn't imagine running a marathon in the heat the day I was watching, much less an Ironman. Does anyone know how the lottery works? Do you just signup the day after your qualifier? Thanks again for everyone's help.

Derek
2005-05-09 3:32 PM
in reply to: #155000

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Subject: RE: Qualifying for Kona at IMWI
Exact details are on their website, but the lottery closes early in the year of the race.  The lottery selections for 2005 were just made a couple weeks ago.  You pay a fee to enter the lottery and have to complete a half-IM or longer a couple months prior to Kona (I think it needs to be USAT sanctioned if in the U.S.).
2005-05-09 6:35 PM
in reply to: #154943

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Subject: RE: Qualifying for Kona at IMWI

Qualifying for Kona in your age group is a "tall task".  It can be done, but, most pay a big price to put in the sort of work needed to get there.

2005-05-09 6:36 PM
in reply to: #154970

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Elite
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Subject: RE: Qualifying for Kona at IMWI

Tiger Phil - 2005-05-09 1:33 PM , they have the "rolldown", where all the slots are assigned. That means that if any of the people who finish in the top 8 do not wish to go to Kona, then the 9th finisher gets first dibs, and so on down the line.

Don't forget that rolldowns also include those people who qualify outside their age group...their slot gets rolled down too.

For example, for the 30-34 age group slot, if one of the top 8 in the age group wins the race, that race winner qualifies by winning the race and not by winning the age group, consequently, their age group slot gets rolled down.



2005-05-09 7:24 PM
in reply to: #154943

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Elite
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Subject: RE: Qualifying for Kona at IMWI
You can also qualify by "winning" (I use the term loosely here) a TV reality show and marrying a gorgeous, though irritating, blonde girl. 
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General Discussion Triathlon Talk » Qualifying for Kona at IMWI Rss Feed