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The Kona Pro Ranking (or KPR for short) is the system used to determine which Professional triathletes qualify for the Ironman World Championships in Kona.

My 2016 KPR Observer makes understanding and following the KPR rankings easy. It consists of an Initial Information Package about the KPR and ongoing updates via EMail during the season.

The Initial Information Package (delivered right after the release planned for November 20th) contains:

• a description of how the KPR works in qualifying Pros for Kona
• base predictions of the men’s and women’s cutoff
• graphs and descriptions of the current KPR standings

During the season, there will be at least six EMail Updates (and probably ten) about the KPR Standings, who is already in, who is close to qualifying, how many slots are still open and updated estimates of where the cutoffs will occur.

Fraser Cartmell, Kona Pro qualifier in 2015, subscribed to last year’s KPR Observer:

Thanks for the support along the way on my Kona ’15 journey and your help discussing the KPR – it was appreciated!

If you want to qualify as a Pro, coach a Pro athlete, write about professional Ironman racing or are otherwise interested in the KPR, this is must-read information!

Here’s what Matthew Rose of Dynamo Multisport, coach to Kona 2015 Pro qualifier Haley Chura, says about my work:

I view your work as ‘Enterprise type’ quality research, it’s the best in the triathlon business. I wish I could actually pay you on par with the value you provide!

The time you’ll save with the KPR Observer is easily worth the price of 39$ for the full season.

Order today at https://gum.co/2016KPR or click on the button below:

Get 2016 KPR Observer

Here is a list of resources for Kona 2015:

• Kona Rating Report (150+ pages with tons of information about the Pro field, order using this link or click ‘Get Kona Report’ in the sidebar)
  
• my „always up-to-date“ Kona 2015 Pro Startlist
• Heatmaps showing the strengths of each of the Kona Pros, my predictions and odds for winning and podium finishers (male and female).
• Kona 2015 Profiles on Mirinda Carfrae, Sebastian Kienle, Julia Gajer, Tim Van Berkel, Meredith Kessler, Matt Hanson, Beth Gerdes, Luke McKenzie, Frederik Van Lierde, Tine Deckers, Cait Snow, David McNamee, Lucy Gossage, Nils Frommhold, Mareen Hufe, Fraser Cartmell, Susie Cheetham, Jan Frodeno and Daniela Ryf.
• The Kona preview I have written for Triathlete Magazine (October 2015) is now available on the web (Women, Men)

If you think you know who is going to do well in Kona, submit your picks on IM Predictions for a chance to win a BIG prize!

Here are some more posts from my friends and Triathlon Media:

• On Witsup.com Stef Hanson posts a number of videos on key Kona women Pros with the tag “Wahine Warriors” (“Wahine” is Hawaiian for woman). So far there are videos on Angela Naeth, Heather Wurtele, Meredith Kessler, Michelle Vesterby, Lucy Gossage, Beth Gerdes, Leanda Cave, Cait Snow, Liz Blatchford, Mary Beth Ellis, Sarah Piampiano, Caroline Steffen, Jodie Swallow, Rachel Joyce, Daniela Ryf and Mirinda Carfrae.
  You can also read about “The Missing 15” – the women ranked #36 to #50 in the KPR that are not given the chance by Ironman to race in Kona (post written by Sara Gross and Jordan Blanco).
• first off the bike’s Phil Wrochna has released a number of posts about the race: “Kona Contenders” (Women’s Edition and Men’s Edition), “Kona Threats” (Women’s Edition and Men’s Edition) and “Dark Horses” (Women’s Edition and Men’s Edition). They also have “The 2015 Kona Book” with their opinion of the chances for each of the Pros.
• Tim Heming has posted his Kona predictions for 220 Triathlon (Men’s Top 10 and Women’s Top 10).
• Linsey Corbin (who unfortunately can’t race Kona this year) has posted an ongoing series of videos on Kona tips.
• Tim Berkel has a series of videos “Who is Tim Van Berkel?” about him and his training for Kona.
• Breakfast with Bob, a series of interviews hosted by legend Bob Babbit, will start on Monday, October 5th (you can see the interviews on the Babbitville YouTube Channel).
• Slowtwitch has been posting Tim Carlson’s Kona Previews for years – here’s this year’s look at the Women and Men.
• Ironman has published two “Kona Crystal Ball” articles by Matt Lieto (for the men) and Michael Lovato (for the women).
• For the German language fans, there are a good number of video interviews done by tri2b and Tri-Mag.

I’ll add to this list as soon as my friends and I release more information closer to the race!

On April 29th, TriEqual, the organization dedicated to fairness, development and equality in triathlon proposed the “Fair Starts Protocol” with standardized start gaps to help ensure a clean race for all triathletes. You can learn more on how to support the cause of fair starts and #50WomenToKona on the TriEqual website.

Elements of the “Fair Starts Protocol” are based on my analysis of how the start times impact the mixing of the women’s pro field with MPRO and agegroup fields. Here’s an overview of my longer analysis posts:

• Changing the gap between Pro Women and Age Group Men in Kona
• 70.3 Oceanside: Analyzing gap between MPRO and WPRO
• Start Gap at 70.3 New Orleans

The discussion of these races clearly shows the need for a 10 minute gap between MPRO and WPRO and a 25 minute gap to the agegroup men in Ironman races with strong agegroup fields.

I hope that the “Fair Starts Protocol” is adopted on a wide basis, at minimum for big Ironman and 70.3 races such as the world championships and regional championships. I will continue to analyze the adopted start protocols and their impact on how clean the WPRO race was.

The Pro qualifying for Kona 2015 is getting into its final, decisive weeks. To learn more about how the KPR works, check out the short video below on the KPR. To follow the KPR and the athletes qualifying for Kona at the end of the qualifying cycle, you purchase the KPR Observer for the reduced end-of-season price of 19$ at https://gum.co/2015KPR.

The Kona Pro Ranking (or KPR for short) is the system used to determine which Professional triathletes qualify for the Ironman World Championships in Kona.

My 2015 KPR Observer makes understanding and following the KPR rankings easy. It consists of an Initial Information Package about the KPR and ongoing updates via EMail during the season.

Here’s a ten minute video with an overview of the KPR and the information you’ll receive in the KPR Observer:

The Initial Information Package(delivered at the time of purchase) contains:

• a description of how the KPR works in qualifying Pros for Kona
• base predictions of the men’s and women’s cutoff
• graphs and descriptions of the current KPR standings

During the season, there will be at least six EMail Updates (and probably ten) about the KPR Standings, who is already in, who is close to qualifying, how many slots are still open and updated estimates of where the cutoffs will occur. (Some more details can be found in the post on “KPR Observer Preview“.)

If you want to qualify as a Pro, coach a Pro athlete, write about professional Ironman racing or are otherwise interested in the KPR, this is must-read information and will help you gain a much deeper insight into the KPR at a fraction of the time if you had to do it yourself!

You can order the 2015 KPR Observer at https://gum.co/2015KPR (or click on the picture above) for 29$.

I have just released my 2014 TriRating Report, an “end-of-year” report looking back at the 2014 Ironman-distance races and my analysis of the results.

The Report has more than 50 pages, including:

• Top 10 Ratings (overall and individually for swim, bike and run)
• Top 10 Performances (by “clock time” and by my normalized times)
• 2014 Money List
• a first look forward to Kona 2015

and a ton of race results and all rated athletes!

A lot of people have asked how they can pay me back in some way for the information I’ve been putting out. In order to enable that, I’m releasing this report through Gumroad. The report continues to be free (you can just enter “0” as the amount), but if you like the report and want to show me your appreciation for my work, you can donate an amount of your choice. Regardless of whether you donate or not, feel free to share with others and enjoy!

2014 Ironman Season Trivia

Here are some Trivia questions on the 2014 season:

1. Who had the fastest IM-distance debuts?
   a.Male
   b.Female
2. Who had the fastest Ironman-distance times of 2014?
   a.Men
   b.Women
3. In 2014 we’ve seen 5 sub-8h finishes (for the men) and 23 sub-9h finishes (for the women). Which race had the most of these?
4. Who posted the fastest marathon times in an Ironman in 2014?
   a. Men
   b. Women
5. Which races in 2014 had the closest and widest margin between the male and female winners (Pros only)?
   a. Closest Race (race, margin, male and female winners)
   b. Race with the widest margin (race, margin, male and female winners)
6. Which country had the most Pro IM wins in 2014?
7. Which IM-distance races in 2014 had the closest margin between the winner and runner-up (Pros only)?
   a. Closest Men’s Race (race, margin, name of 1st and 2nd finisher)
   b. Closest Women’s Race (race, margin, name of 1st and 2nd finisher)
8. Who had the slowest swim when winning an IM in 2014?
   a. Male
   b. Female
9. Who overcame the biggest deficit after the bike to win an IM in 2014?
   a. Male
   b. Female
10. Who were the top US finishers in the last three years in Kona (2012/13/14)?
    a. Male
    b. Female
11. Which athletes won two Ironman races in 2014?
12. Which of the Kona Pros had the most Professional IM-distance career finishes before Kona?
    a. Male
    b. Female

All answers can be found in the Rating Report!