IRONMAN · IRONMAN 70.3 · Course speed

Fast times, ordinary course: why a race's median finish misleads

A race's median finish says as much about who races it as about the course.

By Blame the Course · · 2 min read

5thFrankfurt's median finish, of 39 IRONMAN races

20thFrankfurt's course, of the same 39

2ndCalifornia's course; its median finish is 21st

Fast times from fast company

A race's median finish is the first number most people look at to judge a course. It mixes two things: how fast the course is, and how fast the people who race it are. Frankfurt has the 5th-fastest median finish of all 39 IRONMAN races of 2024–26. Its course is exactly average: 20th of 39. The difference is the field, which is 6.5% faster than a typical IRONMAN field. Austria (9th by median, 26th by course) and Switzerland (15th and 34th) tell the same story.

Rank of the median finish (○) against the rank of the course itself (●), of 39 IRONMAN races

1st10th20th30th39th← fastestslowest →FrankfurtAustriaSwitzerlandLanzaroteCaliforniaChattanoogaMarylandFlorida
median finishcourse speed
1st = fastest. Course speed: the median of its latest race years against the median course, from the athletes who raced it and other courses.

Fast courses hidden by relaxed fields

It works the other way too. California has the 2nd-fastest course of all, but only the 21st-fastest median. Chattanooga, with its downriver swim, is the 6th-fastest course and 28th by median. Their fields are about 9% slower than typical. If you're after a fast course rather than fast company, the median finish points you the wrong way.

The same at 70.3

The 70.3 races show it even more. Oregon is the fastest course of all 122, yet only 57th by median finish. Kraichgau's median is 19th, on the 106th-fastest course.

How a course is measured without its field

The course speeds on this site come from the athletes who raced more than one course. If the same athletes are consistently 4% faster at one race than at their others, that race's course (and its usual weather) is about 4% faster, whoever else turns up. Each race year gets its own speed too, so a hot or windy year doesn't pass for a slow course.

To pick a fast course, look at the course speed. To pick a race where you'll place well, look at the field. They are different questions.

Measured from IRONMAN's public results. Course and day speeds come from the athletes who raced more than one course; "typical" is the median of the same measure across races of the distance. Figures as of 3 October 2026. Blame the Course is independent and not affiliated with IRONMAN.

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