TRI247
Search
shop
SUPERTRI E TICKETS DISCOUNT & VIP COMPETITION
SUPERTRI E TICKETS DISCOUNT & VIP COMPETITION

The Road To St George: Mark Allen on the IRONMAN WC course

May 7 in St George will provide an epic course and an epic challenge

Last updated -
SHOP
Watch Potter, Brownlee & Beaugrand LIVE

The countdown to the delayed 2021 IRONMAN World Championship is well and truly on, and Mark Allen is back again to analyse the course in his latest ‘Road To St George’ feature. The six-times Kona king assesses the challenges the rugged Utah terrain will present for the world’s greatest triathletes as they lock horns in an epic showdown.

Well, the news is final and official – IRONMAN announced the race course for the IRONMAN World Championship in St George in May.

We knew it was going to be challenging, but just how challenging is it? Let me break it down for you.

Elevation pitch

On the bike, there’s going to be more than 7300 feet of climbing total on 112 miles of biking – that’s a lot, over 1500 feet more than you have in Kona. On the run there’s about 1400 feet of elevation gain – which is almost 500 feet more than you have on the marathon in Kona.

Definitely hilly, definitely challenging. Snow Canyon comes at about mile 90 on the bike – one of the main climbs in the St George area. So at the point when you’re thinking: ‘okay, I’m almost home’, you still have one of the biggest climbs to go.

Fortunately there is a long downhill after that, you can kind of recover before the marathon, but let me put the marathon in perspective for you.

The marathon has a little bit more climbing than they had in the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in St George, about 50 metres/150 feet more of climbing.

But think of it this way – those folks who did St George at 70.3 World Championship – can you imagine telling them ‘okay you’re done with the 13.3, now go run another 13 miles’ – even if it’s on flat. Very challenging.

Advertisement

The keys to staying the course

So what’s it going to take to win, what’s it going to take to have a big race?

First of all, you’re going to have to have a huge aerobic cardiovascular system built. Because one of the only ways you’re going to make it through that course without going into complete depletion of glycogen, is to be able to manage the climbs with a lot of room to spare in your physiology.

You can’t be completely anaerobic going up the climbs. It’s going to take a lot of strength, especially on the marathon, because all of the downhills that are associated with those uphills – they’re going to pound your legs. And the more pounding there is the more muscle breakdown there is, the slower you’re going to go at the end of it.

A very challenging course, is it impossible? Absolutely not. But the preparation will have to be very diligent for every age-grouper and especially for the pros.

How does this course stack up to other ones? It’s right up there with all the great climbing Ironman bike courses like Nice, UK, Wales. Wales has a little bit more, Nice has just slightly more, but it’s right up there with them as far as elevation gain.

How about the run? It’s right up there with the hilliest of runs. Wales has actually I think the hilliest run course of any Ironman-distance race. But St George is going to be just behind it in terms of elevation gain – which means again elevation loss, which means pounding on the legs.

It’s going to be so exciting to watch and I think what will ultimately separate the people who do great from those who blow up is one word – patience.

May 7th, I can’t wait…

13th April 2024 - London
Watch Potter, Brownlee & Beaugrand as these triathlon superstars take on the world in the build up to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
LIMITED TICKETS - DON'T MISS OUT!
Mark Allen
Written by
Mark Allen
Mark Allen has to be in any conversation about the greatest triathlete of all time. A six-time IRONMAN World Champion, he won every other title that mattered in the sport and dominated like few others
Discover more
Kyle Smith
Watt it takes to win at supertri E – a data dive into how deep the PROs have to dig
Arena Games Triathlon Finals Singapore - Beth Potter bike
The evolution of Esports in triathlon – How supertri brought virtual racing to the mainstream
Beth Potter Arena Games Triathlon Finals Singapore
Lightning fast splits and record breaking performances – relive some of the top moments from women’s supertri E racing
Lionel Sanders Arena Games Montreal game face on bike photo credit SLT
Countdown to supertri E – a look back at some of the most epic moments in men’s triathlon E racing
Challenge Barcelona 2023 - Photo Credit: Jose Luis Hourcade
Brownlee brothers on the costly race day swim mistakes to avoid – plus their own mishaps
latest News
Lucy Charles-Barclay comes home second at the Miami T100.
Lucy Charles-Barclay ‘hungry’ for redemption at the second stop of the T100 Triathlon World Tour
Georgia Taylor-Brown WTCS Yokohama 2023 finish
World Triathlon Indoor Cup Lievin: Start time, preview, format and how to watch live
Kat Matthews PTO Tour US Open 2023
Kat Matthews shares details of race against time to recover from Miami T100 injury
Mixed Team Relay France podium WTCS Sunderland 2023 photo credit: World Triathlon / Petko Beier
World Triathlon confirm initial nine teams to qualify for Paris Olympic Games Mixed Relay
Ruth Astle St George finish line 2022 photo credit Tom Pennington Getty Images for IRONMAN
British IRONMAN Champion on committing to professional triathlon and chasing a T100 Tour wildcard
triathlon on your terms
Never miss out with our triathlon alerts & digest. Get a dose of adventure & inspiration with Boundless.
Invalid email address
The SBRX Group

Proudly elevating endurance sports through content, products & services

SBRX
RUN247
Share to...