IRONSTAR 226 in Sochi. The main thing you should know about this triathlon startup

IRONSTAR 226 in Sochi. The main thing you should know about this triathlon startup

And yes, 226 kilometers – that’s 3 in swimming, 180 on a bike and the finale in the form of a marathon.

This Saturday, October 12, can be considered the official day of the end of the triathlon season in Russia. The past year turned out to be very busy, because during this time there were many large-scale starts in different cities of the country: in Sochi, Kazan, Moscow and Moscow region. Among them there were both outdoor and Indoor races. There was also a new, until this fall unexplored location in Kaliningrad.

Yesterday, the most anticipated and final start in the southern city – IRONSTAR 226 SOCHI 2019 – took place and the season closing ceremony took place. As part of the competition, participants were able to test their strength not only on the real “iron” distance of 226 kilometers, but also on the Olympic distance. We tell you how it was.

What does 226 km include?

The 226 km distance is also called the full or classic distance. Only truly “iron” athletes dare to do it, because the course includes 3.86 km of swimming, 180 km of cycling and 42.195 km of running. In addition to the 226-kilometer event, athletes in Sochi were able to test themselves on a less demanding course – the Olympic distance. It includes a 1.5km swim, 40km bike ride and 10km run. Such a kilometerage is usually considered standard – it is included in the Olympic Games program.

The starting line of the Sochi track was located on the territory of the Imeretinsky hotel complex. Athletes had an opportunity not only to test themselves, but also to run along the picturesque embankment, drive along the closed highway towards Krasnaya Polyana, as well as to see Fisht Stadium and the Formula 1 track.

New category – “Elite”

This year the “Elite” category appeared at all Ironstar races. It allows triathletes to start in the first wave, i.e. before the others, and fight for the best time on the distance. Perhaps it is thanks to this innovation and the allocation of the strongest participants to a special group that the average time of all stages has improved – the results are really amazing.

Time limits and winners

The main thing on a long distance triathlon is not to give up and to work until victory. However, time limits for all stages of the race were still set. Each athlete had to meet the total time limit of 16 hours, which included 2 hours and 15 minutes for swimming, 7 hours and 45 minutes for cycling and 6 hours for running. This amount of time was plenty for the participants.

All athletes were divided into categories depending on their gender and age, as well as the chosen distance. At the end of the competition, the winners and runners-up in each segment were revealed. The main leaders of the large-scale triathlon race among men were Evgeny Rulevsky (08:50:06), Sergey Zelenov (08:52:43) and Andrey Lyatsky (08:58:51). Among women, Maria Gosteva (09:29:36), Tatiana Filippovich (10:39:47) and Elena Tarasova (11:15:02) were the first to cross the finish line.

You can find your result and read the results of other triathletes on the Russia Running website.

In addition, Indoor starts will be organized throughout the year, so that you will not have time to lose shape before the main races. In the meantime, check out photos and videos from the IRONSTAR 226 SOCHI 2019 finish yesterday on Ironstar’s official Instagram account.