Iron Distance Minimum Times

Think you have what it takes to complete an Ironman or Half Ironman distance triathlon? This page will help you answer that question. You can see that you don't have to be fast to finish, but, aiming for minimumm times can lead to a DNF should something not go your way on race day (which is often the rule rather than the exception).

Training for my first Half Ironman the goal was always just to finish. Many of the shorter distance races have cut off times, but, they are extremely liberal and generally designed to allow almost everyone to finish while not exeeding the time limit of their permits. For example, the athlete guide for the Chicago Triathlon states "...cut-off times accommodate 99.8% of the previous participants’ swim times...". Conversely, Iron distance cutoffs are more of a weed out and I always used them as a benchmark in my training with a fudge factor built in, in case a segment did not go particularly well, which happens often and did to me. Check the results for any race and you will see quite a few DNFs due to failure to reach a cutoff.

Below are typical cutoffs and paces needed to make them for Iron distance races. There is some variation among races, but, I think these are common and fairly closely approximate any race of these distances. I am also assuming some farily long transition times, but, if you are struggling to make it through the events, good chance you will need a breather in transition.

Half Iron (70.3 Miles) Minimum Times To Finish

Full Iron (140.6 Miles) Minimum Times To Finish (17 Hours After Swim Start)