We’ve looked at the swim and bike splits. But now, as the old adage goes, it’s the “run for dough” moment. These run splits often reflect the final finishing order — although there were, indeed, a couple of surprises.
Perhaps the biggest surprise is the continued prevalence of Nike’s AlphaFly. Despite Nike having very few triathlon sponsorships, it led the way in the top 10 run splits, worn by 5 athletes — none of whom feature the swoosh on their kits. ASICS was the only other brand worn by multiple athletes in the top 10, while HOKA, New Balance, and On each had one.
Philipp, the 2024 IRONMAN World Champion, had a well-balanced performance. But it was her fastest run of the day that allowed her to power away from Kat Matthews to take her first world title.
Matthews ran the first lap alongside Philipp, but could not match the pace as they began lap two. Despite cramping heavily towards the end, Matthews still delivered the second fastest run of the day as she took second place on the day.
Sodaro was considered by many to be a threat for the win if she came off the bike within ten minutes of the win. She was barely within that window starting the run. And although she matched pace with the leading duo to start the run, she soon settled into a pace that put her third for both run time and for the race.
Simpson was well down the order coming out of the water, 34th in the field, and didn’t make much inroads on the bike, moving to 32nd place. But the fourth fastest run of the day moved her up to 24th — and the only top 10 run split outside of the paying positions.
Fifth on the day, and a fifth fastest run for Bartlett. Her run pushed her past Marta Sanchez to claim that fifth place spot.
The IRONMAN Pro Series leader found herself in 13th place coming off the bike, with work to do to make in-roads into the top 10. That she did, using the sixth fastest run of the day to make it up to 9th place.
Lewis is known for her run prowess, so it is unsurprising to find her on this list. What may surprise some is that her 3:00:24 run split is her slowest marathon split since her 9th place finish at IRONMAN Texas earlier this year.
Slater started the run in eight place. The eighth fastest run of the day allowed her to move up a place, taking seventh and her first top 10 finish at the IRONMAN World Championships.
Pierré started the run in the podium places, but soon was passed by the hard-charging Sodaro. Pierré found herself somewhat solitary for the remainder of the race; not in touch with the leading trio, but well in front of fifth place Nikki Bartlett.
The final woman to earn a paycheck, Larralde had eight women she needed to pass on the run in order to make money. She moved up three places on lap one, two places on lap two, and two more on lap three. She made her final pass with four miles left to run to make the paying places.
