Chasing Despite deeper pro fi elds and constant advancements in bike 2:40 and run technol ogy, the best Ironman athletes in the world are still chasing after the elusive run record on the Big Island—a record that has stood for 23 years (and counting).

BY KIM McDONALD JEFF CLARK

46 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013 47 foundation serious challenger, except Marino Vanhoenacker, who had earned an [open marathon] eight-minute advantage over the fi eld with an all-or-nothing solo potential in Kona.” According to six-time Ironman breakaway. Jacobs quickly chipped away at his advantage o– the bike, Asked why no world champ , the and the Australian took the lead for good at mile 15 in the run. one has run faster key to effi cient running tech- Realizing he had a big lead once past Vanhoenacker, Jacobs dialed than he and Allen nique is a strong core—and he back his pace to avoid cramping and risking the win. “I walked did back in 1989, doesn’t mean a six-pack. through the ice stations of most aid stations and slowed down to Scott said he drink,” he said. “I knew I had a four- to fi ve-minute lead out of the doesn’t have a good Energy Lab over Andreas, whom I outran last year when I felt worse, answer. What’s so that gave me confi dence to relax and focus on making it home in especially puzzling one piece. I couldn’t have gone much faster. I had worked very hard to him is that many on the bike, and I was a little fl at on the run.” of the athletes who show up in Kona year after year are The Perfect Storm faster runners than Why no one has been able to run faster than Allen or Scott did in he and Allen ever Kona in 1989 is one of ’s enduring mysteries, especially were, at least over considering all of the improvements that have been made over the shorter distances. past two decades to footwear, nutrition and training, not to men- Some have run tion the increasing quality and depth of the men’s fi eld that arrives 1:09 or better o– on the Big Island each year. Even more puzzling is that the record the bike in half- was set on a hillier course than today’s. Many of the top competi- Ironman races, and tors in 1989 remember it back then as more di¢ cult than today’s if you double their because they had to run south from T2, which was located at the old half-marathon Kona Surf Hotel, now the Sheraton Keauhou, up the hill at the end times from those of Ali’i Drive, then down a steep windy road and back up from an races and add 15 area known as “the Pit.” minutes (which Scott fi gures should give a As a college water “It was a much tougher course back then,” said 1994 Ironman good approximation of what they should polo player, Dave World Champion , who fi nished third that year. What’s run in an Ironman), they have the potential Scott trained like more, the o¢ cial 1989 run times included the bike-to-run transi- to run a 2:33 marathon, he said. “But none a “madman” in the tion times, so the actual marathon times were even faster than the of these guys has gone under 2:40 at Kona,” weight room to stay records show. How much faster? Dave Scott said Pat Feeney, a physi- says Scott. competitive with cist friend from his hometown of Davis, Calif., calculated that Allen “For the men, I think it’s a combina- the bigger, stronger spent 1:13 in transition and Scott 1:15, so the actual marathon times tion of things,” Scott added. “When I’ve players in the pool. would have been 2:38 for Allen and 2:39 for Scott. In many respects, watched the bike leg, a lot of the men I think When he continued the 1989 Kona marathon record remains triathlon’s “Beamonesque” are seemingly sitting in. I never get the idea the same strength moment—a singular athletic achievement that took place on a per- they sense they can actually win this race regimen as a triath- fect day, like Bob Beamon’s 1968 Olympic long jump, which broke but they’re there to play the game on the lete, he began to the world record at the time by 2 feet and remained untouched for bike. And the irony is that when they get o– see the benefi ts for inning an Ironman World Championship fi ve minutes in a time of 8:18 with the third fastest run of the day, the next 22 years. the bike, within the fi rst two miles there are his new sport—not isn’t easy, but the basic ingredients are fairly while Great Britain’s won the women’s race by more Paul Huddle, one of the top pro fi nishers in 1989, remembers the some guys who can’t even run a 6:30 mile, only for improving simple: Arrive on the Big Island in early Oc- than a minute with the third fastest marathon split among women. weather that day as unusually cool and windless, which set up all of which is slow, and they’re already o– the his swim and bike, tober ready to swim fast enough to stay with They came into the race with widely di– erent expectations for the athletes for fast runs. “Maybe a slightly easier ride allowed for a back. And there’s a disparity. You may see but also for main- the front pack over the fi rst 2.4 miles. Have how they would perform in the marathon. Jacobs, the runner-up in faster run split that day,” he speculated. “’89 was a spectacularly easy six or seven guys come in together on the taining his running the leg strength and endurance necessary 2011 (who has run 2:42 and 2:41 in Hawaii, the third fastest ever), ride. I recall light rain, but barely any wind to speak of in Hawi and a bike, yet two miles on the run there may be form off the bike at to bike 112 miles with the very best riders in the sport against fi erce arrived in Kona the week before the race intent on breaking Allen’s tail wind on the return trip and cooler than normal temperatures.” a gap of 50 seconds or even more. And I al- Ironman Hawaii. “I’ve winds that blow from every direction. And most importantly, come record. “This has been the best running build-up I’ve ever had for But perhaps the most important factor responsible for the fast ways ask the question, ‘Why aren’t they able found that [strength physically and mentally prepared to run a fast marathon in the sear- any race,” he confi ded to me days before the race. “If I run really well, times that day, many experts agree, was the rare alignment of two to hang on at the outset of the run? Have training] has been ing heat of the lava fi elds, where the race is typically won or lost. it won’t be a surprise.” When he crossed the fi nish line the year be- extremely talented athletes pushing themselves to the limit to win they just mentally given up? Or is it that paramount,” he says. No one in the race’s history better met those criteria than fore, Jacobs revealed his goal to the man he revered: “I said to Mark, in a shoulder-to-shoulder battle over the entire marathon course. “I they just don’t have the tools?’ I wonder if That message, and Dave Scott. Their pursuit of Ironman perfection came to a head in ‘I want your run record.’” think it was the athletes, quite frankly,” said Welch. “Mark and Dave the top pros are doing enough supplemental though, still hasn’t the famous 1989 Iron War (pictured above). You know the story: They But strong winds on the bike and extreme heat thwarted that plan were two of the greatest athletes who ever set foot on the planet in strength training so they can get o– the bike gained much traction raced side-by-side until Allen dropped Scott less than two miles from and took their toll on the entire fi eld of fast runners, which included triathlon or in any sport.” and not feel like their legs are completely among triathletes, the fi nish to win his fi rst of six Ironman world titles. When the clock , his brother Michael, Chris McCormack and Craig “I don’t think everyone appreciates how good Mark and Dave beaten up.” especially long- stopped Allen had split 2:40:04 and Scott 2:41:03—still, 23 years later, Alexander. The battle on the run course never materialized. Mc- were,” added Huddle. “Both of these guys were incredible all- Besides a lack of strength, Scott thinks course athletes who the fi rst and second fastest marathons ever run in Ironman Hawaii. Cormack pulled out of the race before the turnaround on the bike, arounders—swim, bike and run. In my opinion, Dave always ran way the way the pro men’s fi eld now rides to need it most. Scott As history predicted, a fast run was the key to winning this brutal and defending champion Alexander was never a factor, fi nishing above his basic running ability in Kona, and Mark was one of the only avoid drafting penalties, in an accordion- says when he asks th

race in 2012. Australian won the men’s race by more than 12 . Jacobs had the ride of his life and came out of T2 ahead of every SCHWARTZ; NICKLOIS SALAZAR really great runners in our sport at the time who came close to his like procession that requires them to slow pros as well as age

3:30 3:22 The History of 1983 Twin sisters Sylviane and 1989 Mark Allen runs 2:40:04 1990 runs 3:04:14, - - 1978 1981 Joe Kasbohm, a 19-year-old 1991, 1992, 1995 Mark Allen continues his streak of Men's Women's Patricia Puntous both run 3:22 and Dave Scott 2:41:03 during the fastest time run by a woman the Kona Run - - wins the fi rst Ironman college student, runs 2:59:18, fast marathons in Kona, running 2:42 in each of those times times marathons to fi nish fi rst and their famous Iron War, the fast- in Kona, to beat Paula Newby- A look back at how the run - - with a 3:30 marathon. the fi rst sub-3:00 marathon. three years. records have fallen 2:40 2:52 second. est two times ever run in Kona. Fraser for her second Kona win.

48 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013 49 groupers who show To Scott, the key down and accelerate constantly over 112 right ratio of energy expenditure on each side up in Boulder to train to running a fast mar- miles, also negatively a–ects their run. “It’s that gives you the best outcome?” That may with him what kind athon off a 112-mile really fatiguing and also burns glycogen at a be one reason why the men’s marathon record of strength training Ironman bike leg is much higher rate,” he said. “We didn’t have has not been touched for 23 years, while the they’ve been do- being strong enough as much of this back when I raced. In fact, women have been able to steadily chip away at ing, it’s usually not to remain stable in going back to 1989, we were allowed to fan their run records. enough by his stan- the “stance phase,” out on the road, so if you got to a hill and “Often the run consists of just doing dards to give them the split second you were stronger than someone else, you’d what it takes to win,” said triathlon running any real benefit. during which you’re just slide to the left and climb that hill. … expert Bobby McGee about the men’s times. “I hear that quite balanced on one leg But when I watch those guys accordion “Great riders from the recent past know that often,” he says. “They with your other leg back and forth I just think it’s debilitating a solid run that keeps them just far enough just do a little fluffy extended behind you. and that may be one of the reasons they’re ahead to demoralize the competition is all stuff. And I say, ‘Why If triathletes aren’t not able to run well.” that is required after a mythical ride, and bother? That’s like strong enough in this Others think the speeds at which the top this is often only a low 2:50. The girls are going to the pool position, their knees men now have to ride are contributing factors. not strong enough to ruin themselves on the and swimming easy rotate toward the “I wonder how fast Greg Bennett or Macca bike and conversely have relatively more left breaststroke all of center of their bodies or Jacobs would run if they weren’t pushed to for the run.” the time.’” and their arms pull ride 4:25 to 4:30?” asks Huddle. “It’s always a McGee and Welch also think that the ag- What did Scott back, Scott says, question of giving up five minutes on the bike gressive aerodynamic positions of today’s do in the weight “so what everyone’s to gain 10 minutes on the run. But what is the tri bikes restrict and negatively impact the room back in the day eye notices is a lot that helped him run of upper body move- One of the speediest in 1989 what still ment. You see this in runners on the Ironman remains the second the marathon when circuit, German Andreas fastest marathon it comes down to Raelert ran the fastest marathon in the top 10 in Kona of all time? the last six or seven men in Kona (2:47:24) in Lots of traditional miles. And you don’t October, but finished sec- Olympic lifting that even have to have ond, five minutes behind focused on improv- a discerning eye or Pete Jacobs. ing his leg strength: know much about squats, staggered biomechanics. You squats, Romanian can just see that deadlifts. “I was do- guy has a lot more ing what I called split movement in his Cyclists during the 1989 leg rockers, a lunge upper body. And Hawaii Ironman, the year motion, at different consequently if you of Iron War, were allowed to fan out across the speeds,” he says. “I look down at his road, unlike today’s Iron- did a lot of hamstring lower legs, the legs man pros who ride in an and glute stuff.” To will start spiraling a accordion-like procession strengthen his abs little bit.” to avoid drafting penalties. and core, he did In addition to knee-ups in the pool being stable in the running muscles. “Just recently, I worked with a pro whose running Jacobs said he went from a three-hour-plus marathon runner in and used gymnas- stance phase, Scott was steadily declining until we changed her fit to a far less aggres- Ironman races to a 2:41 marathoner in the heat and humidity of Kona tics rings to do core says building a stron- sive position,” McGee said. “Her running dramatically returned and largely by focusing on perfecting his run technique to become more exercises similar to ger core with weight she podiumed soon after that. … From footage, it is clear that neither e¢cient. “I work really hard on that,” he said. “I think about it every those now done on training allows you Mark nor Dave were very aero on that ride that day, both being quite single day in training.” the suspension train- to run tall and delays upright and without those crazy hip angles the guys get into today. When he prepared for his first Ironman in as an age grou- ing system TRX. the body posture Their riding posture clearly impacted their running far less.” per in 2002, a friend advised him to run by bending more at the knee, “All those core droop that comes so that he would squat down before pushing o– with every stride. But muscles help stabi- with fatigue. “Even if when another friend remarked, “‘You’re a bit of a heel striker, Pete,’ lize your spine and, you drop your head On the Horizon like it was a bad thing,” he picked up a copy of Christopher McDou- if they’re not strong, one degree, it brings Ask the man who has the best chance of breaking the Kona marathon re- gall’s Born to Run and changed his stride, becoming a forefoot striker

you start to get your chest down and WARTZ cord what it takes to go sub-2:40 o– the bike in Kona, and he’ll sum it up with a slight forward lean. “It opened my eyes to improving my run- sloppy in your pedal ends up loading your with one word: e¢ciency. “I always say that to run well in Kona you need ning, what technique is and how the body was made to run,” he said. stroke and you can quads, and that’s the really good e¢ciency because the heat raises your heart rate that extra “It all clicked and when I ran 2:41, I went, ‘Wow, this works.’ What certainly see it on the opposite of what you bit,” said Jacobs. “If it’s in cool conditions a guy might be able to hold a I’m doing with technique works; I’m on the right track.” run when people’s want,” says Scott. 2:45 marathon pace comfortably at 80 percent of his max heart rate. But Jacobs said he notices that many of his competitors in Kona, par- hips drop,” Scott “You want to be able you put him up to 85 percent heart rate in the heat, because his e¢ciency ticularly the strong cyclists with bigger glutes and quads, su–er more

adds. to run tall.” KURT SCH LOIS HOY; is blown out, that extra 5 percent blows his run time to a 2:55.” in the run because of their poor running technique. “Once you start

3:30 3:22 1998 Defending Ironman 2010 In winning her first Kona title, Carfrae shatters 2011 For the fourth year in a row, the wom- How fast can they go? - - 1996 1999 In winning her fifth Kona title, 2008 and Sandra 2009 Champion her own record with a 2:53:32; Caitlin Snow runs en’s record falls as a foot race between Dave Scott predicts the - - runs 2:41:48 to win shatters Fuhr’s run record with a 2:59:16, the Wallenhorst break Bowden’s record with breaks Wellington’s runs 3:04:02, breaking 2:56:04, the fastest time for an American woman; Pete Carfrae and Wellington leads them to break men could run 2:31-2:32 - - the race. first sub-3:00 marathon by a woman. a 2:57:44 and 2:58:36 respectively. record with a 2:56:51. 2:40 2:52 Baker’s record. Jacobs runs 2:41:06, the third fastest ever run in Kona. it in 2:52:09 and 2:52:41, respectively. and the women, 2:43-2:44.

50 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013 51 to get hot,” he said, “you bend at the hips a after that. In 2011—while Cave Train to run little bit and once you do that you lose 10 to ran a 3:06 to reach the podium 15 seconds a kilometer.” in third place—Carfrae set the like the best Those who have competed at the top level course record with a 2:52:09 in Kona believe it’s only a matter of time marathon, but only took 32 until another cooler, cloudy day combines seconds from Chrissie Welling- with a steady paced bike in Kona for Jacobs, ton, who won her fourth world title. It was the Raelert brothers or another super run- the fourth consecutive year the women’s run ner to dip under the 2:40 mark. “I do think course record was broken. Paul Huddle’s strength as a young pro in the Most top-end Ironman coaches agree that it’s likely the record will fall sometime soon If the men are able to ride the Kona bike early days of triathlon was the run, but he never the stronger you become on the bike, the bet- simply because of the number of good run- course more like the women, without the realized how important the bike and swim were ter able you’ll be to run to your potential in an ners these days and the chances of two or accordion-like procession that saps their to a good marathon in Kona until he asked his Ironman. “Just because an individual athlete three pushing each other all the way, similar legs from unnecessary accelerations; if they housemate, Mark Allen, why he was so religious has shown brilliance in one or all of the disci- to how Mark and Dave ran that day,” said have more head-to-head run battles like about making every morning swim workout. “He plines at another distance or as a single-sport Ken Glah, the fourth-place fi nisher in 1989. the ones involving Carfrae and Wellington; said if his swimming was as fi t as possible, it athlete, it’s no guarantee of success in Kona,” Once that mental and if someone can would have minimal impact on the rest of his Huddle says. “How many sub-2:20 marathon- barrier is broken, fi nally break the race,” Huddle recalls. “It didn’t get me to swim ers have come to Kona and gone fi ve hours? expect to see a slew mental barrier of much more, but I thought about that concept as I can name fi ve off the top of my head.” of faster times. running faster than it applied to my marathon at Ironman. Since cy- So bike more and run off the bike regularly “If [Javier] Gomez Fastest Kona 2:40, the men could cling was my weakness to begin with, I started in your training. “If you don’t have a strong or [Alistair and Run Splits be on their way to think that maybe I was focused too heavily running background, consider double runs as Jonathan] Brown- to a succession of on my strength, which was running. If I were to a safer way to boost running volume,” says lee can make it to marathon records in run a better marathon, maybe cycling was the Huddle. “One hour after a long ride is as long Kona from short Ironman Hawaii. answer. I hadn’t come close to what I felt was [a brick workout] as I’d suggest.” Long runs course with success Some take excep- my potential in the marathon of an Ironman and, and higher intensity runs should be done as Raelert, Crowie top 5 MEN tion to the idea that since I’d already been focused on running since fresh to avoid injury or necessitating a long and Macca have 1 2:40:04 Mark Allen (USA), 1989 the women have that was what I knew, I decided to become a recovery, but they are an irreplaceable com- Women’s run course done before them, 2 2:41:03 Dave Scott (USA), 1989 been able to break cyclist. I reasoned that if 112 miles didn’t impact ponent of high-level Ironman run training. recordholder Mirinda 3 Carfrae bridged up to I believe we could 2:41:06 Pete Jacobs (AUS), 2010 their marathon me, perhaps I could maximize my running abili- And how long should your longest run be? Leanda Cave before the see run splits in the 4 2:41:48 Luc Van Lierde (BEL), 1996 records year after ties. I was right. I doubled my cycling volume Running expert Bobby McGee says anything Energy Lab on the run of 2:35 to 2:37 range on 5 2:41:57 Olivier Bernhard (SUI) 1999 year because they and my marathon time became competitive. On over two or two-and-a-half hours is counter- the 2012 world champi- the absolute ideal are putting less ef- top of that, my bike split also improved.” productive. What you want to focus on, he onship, but Cave proved stronger on the day and day and race,” said fort into the bike. says, is quality and leg strength. McGee has ran away from her for Torbjørn Sindballe, “The women have his athletes do one long run every two weeks the win. who was third in top 5 WOMEN to ride just as hard,” and in between an intermediate distance run Kona in 2007 and maintains Cave’s with a quality fi nish. “Fast fi nish long runs or ing point of the women’s race. “I had no idea o– the bike at in 2011, “I 1 2:52:09 Mirinda Carfrae (AUS), 2011 extensively studied coach (and Carfrae’s runs with strides toward the end are super that Rinny was coming up, I really didn’t,” thought she would go 2:46 or 2:47 in Kona, 2 2:52:41 Chrissie Wellington (GBR), 2011 the impact of heat former coach) Siri ways to reduce recovery time and teach Cave said. “I had no idea she was that close,” and that’s what we were shooting for before 3 2:53:32 Mirinda Carfrae (AUS), 2010 and humidity on Lindley. “There’s athletes to fi nish strong,” he says. He also adding that she was so focused she also she got into that [bike] accident two weeks 4 2:56:04 Caitlin Snow (USA), 2010 running ability. a huge handful of advocates running workouts that build your didn’t see or hear her coach yelling at her on before the race” last year. “So I think the 5 2:56:51 Mirinda Carfrae (AUS), 2009 “The current best girls who can ride, so functional strength and mechanical effi - the side of the road to pick it up. women collectively are getting faster and Olympic athletes we’re racing basically ciency: springing up a steep hill for 30 to 45 Lindley said she modifi ed Cave’s run faster,” he said. are close to a minute the same way the seconds at a time; hill interval workouts with training slightly over the past year so she Lindley, who coached Carfrae to her three faster on a 10K in a triathlon than any of the men are.” She also believes a marathon PR is 10 1.5- to 3-minute repeats up a moderate could access that extra gear late in the Kona marathon records, agrees and believes guys on the Ironman circuit have ever been. possible after a hard 112-mile bike, and the hill focusing on good form; and the bread- marathon. “What I knew was likely to hap- there’s no reason why Cave can’t have an- And in a full marathon that could turn into training she put Cave through last year to run and-butter race-pace intervals off the bike. pen was that someone like Rinny or a Caitlin other breakthrough day and eventually run much more.” Welch agrees that “a 2:36 to faster than she’s ever run in Kona is proof. “I’d keep them short, fresh and plentiful,” says Snow would run up on her,” said Lindley. “So 2:52 or faster herself. “Anything is possible,” 2:38 is probably the best someone is going to With Wellington taking a hiatus from the McGee, “like 200-meter to 1-mile reps at what we had to focus on was giving her the she said. “People put limits on themselves end up doing one day, with the women going sport, Cave’s goal in 2012 was to avoid being race pace, fresh and off the bike.” tools to be able to handle that mentally, and, because something seems impossible. But 2:50 to 2:51.” But Scott is more optimistic, passed in the run by her main rival, 2010 McGee also has his Ironman athletes do their most importantly, physically.” the way I’ve always been is anything’s pos- predicting that the men will eventually run Ironman world champion Carfrae. Cave ran long run sessions with fewer calories until they After winning the Ironman World Cham- sible and we’ll do everything we can to make 2:31 to 2:32 and the women 2:43 to 2:44. with , who would end up can manage more than two hours on water and pionship 70.3 in mid-September, Cave it happen.” fi fth, for much of the early miles of the run electrolytes alone. Why? “Reducing the need headed straight to the Big Island more than Like Scott, Lindley believes the barriers to until she broke away and passed Ste– en at to feed reduces the mechanical stresses on the a month before the race. It gave her the running a fast marathon in Kona are as much making it happen mile 23 for the win. “I didn’t feel good when gut and makes for a higher likelihood of a clean extra edge to tackle the extreme heat and mental as physical. The key is believing you No one doubts the men’s marathon record will I started the run to be quite honest,” Cave run, especially in the heat,” he says. humidity on race day. “Training in Kona can do it. eventually be broken. The women have al- said. “I felt pretty average.” But at around He also trains his athletes to walk fast and the fi ve weeks before allowed me to realize “I knew Leanda could be one of those girls ready provided a blueprint of how to do it, and 14 miles she began feeling stronger. When long, building them up to “some really nasty, how much I needed to eat and drink,” she who could lay it down on the bike, but my the formula closely matches elements men- Carfrae caught up to her a mile before the gnarly four- to six-hour hikes. The muscle said. “I think all those things you discover goal was recognizing her potential to run tioned by the sport’s historians and pundits. entrance of the Energy Lab, a lonely stretch endurance and fat-burning skills gained here when you’re out in those conditions training faster as well,” added Lindley. “She had a Lori Bowden set the record in 1999 with of the run, Cave was focused. Over the are hugely benefi cial to the age grouper,” [helped my race] as opposed to coming in breakthrough in Ironman Arizona last year a 2:59:16 split, which stood for almost a next fi ve minutes, Carfrae ran up on Cave’s McGee says. “The walk/run method is a total from a cooler climate and going, ‘OK, good where she ran under three hours. I thought decade. In 2008 Wellington dropped the shoulder and remained about half a step no-brainer. … We have fi ve years of anec- luck on race day.’” to myself and told her, and she agreed with record by 90 seconds, then Carfrae lopped behind. Then Cave surprised everyone by dotal proof that this is the way to go fast, and Scott, who coached four-time Ironman me, that there’s no reason why we can’t do almost three minutes o– the following year pulling away from the women’s marathon I’d hazard a guess that even sub-three-hour world champion Wellington for four years, that in Kona. So it’s just believing that it’s IT and another two and a half minutes the year record holder, which proved to be the defi n- JEFF CLARK; AARON HERSH [marathon] runners could benefi t from this. ” said after Wellington ran a 2:44 marathon possible and not being afraid to go for it.”

52 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013 53