When is the 2026 IRONMAN World Championship in Kona?

Saturday 10 October 2026. It returns to a single race day with men and women racing together for the first time since 2019, with a field of nearly 3,000 athletes. Entry is by qualification only, and deferrals and transfers are not permitted.

What time does the Kona race start?

IRONMAN has not published 2026 start times. As at the end of August the official schedule page still shows the 2025 race, and IRONMAN's own race-week page says 2026 information will follow closer to the event. Do not plan from the 2025 times: that was a women's-only race, and 2026 is a combined single-day event, so the wave structure will be different.

How much climbing is the Kona bike course?

IRONMAN's own 2026 bike course map states 5,814 ft, which is 1,772 m, across 180.2 km. That is worth knowing because the figure most widely repeated online is around 1,318 m, from third-party course modelling. Where a modelled figure and IRONMAN's published map disagree, we publish the map. The run map gives 1,009 ft, or 307 m.

Is the Kona swim wetsuit legal?

Almost certainly not, though IRONMAN itself publishes no water temperature for the race — the field is blank on its own course page. Kailua Bay typically runs around 26 °C, and the age-group wetsuit limit is 24.5 °C. Above that you may only swim in a designated non-competitive wave, which forfeits age-group awards. At a World Championship that makes a wetsuit a non-option in practice.

How hot does it get at Kona?

IRONMAN publishes a high of 30 °C and a low of 24 °C. It publishes no humidity figure at all; third-party climatology puts the mean around 69% with a range of 57–81%. The air temperature understates the problem: it is the combination of heat, humidity and the radiant load off the lava fields that makes the Queen K punishing.

What is the average finish time at Kona?

No official figure exists — IRONMAN publishes none. The only usable public number we found is a median of 11:26:00 across 8,000+ finishers from 2018 to 2025, with a DNF rate of 3.7%, from third-party analysis. Treat it as indicative rather than authoritative, and note it describes a qualified championship field, not a typical Ironman field.

What is the Energy Lab?

The Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawai'i Authority, a research facility the run course descends into at roughly mile 16 of the marathon and exits about three miles later. It was added to the course in 1990. It is a sunken, completely unshaded bowl with no spectators, reached about 132 miles into the day, and you have to climb back out of it to rejoin the Queen K. Its reputation is not folklore: it is the hottest, loneliest part of the course arriving at the moment athletes are least able to cope with it.

Race guide

Kona 2026: IRONMAN World Championship

Saturday 10 October 2026, and the first single race day with men and women together since 2019. Nearly 3,000 athletes, by qualification only. This page separates what IRONMAN publishes from what everyone repeats — and on the biggest number, the two disagree.

The climbing figure most sites publish is wrong

IRONMAN's own 2026 bike course map states 5,814 ft — 1,772 m of total elevation gain across the 180.2 km. The figure repeated across most triathlon sites is around 1,318 m, which comes from third-party course modelling rather than from IRONMAN.

That is a difference of about 450 m, which is not a rounding disagreement — it is the difference between a rolling course and a genuinely hilly one, and it changes how you should plan the ride. Where a modelled number and IRONMAN's published course map disagree, we publish the map and say so.

The reason this happens is structural: ironman.com does not publish elevation gain on its race course pages at all. Those pages carry a terrain word and three temperatures. The elevation totals exist only inside the course-map PDFs, which most people never open.

Published course data

Everything IRONMAN states, and everything it does not. Nothing in the right-hand column is inferred.

Published course data
	Figure	Source
Date	Saturday 10 October 2026	IRONMAN — official
Format	Single race day, men and women together	IRONMAN — official
Field size	Nearly 3,000 athletes	IRONMAN — official
Bike elevation	1772 m (5,814 ft) over 180.2 km	IRONMAN 2026 bike course map — official
Run elevation	307 m (1,009 ft) over 42.2 km	IRONMAN 2026 run course map — official
Air temperature	24–30 °C (75–86 °F)	IRONMAN — official
Humidity	about 69% (57–81%)	Third-party climatology — IRONMAN publishes none
Water temperature	Not published — the field is blank on IRONMAN's own page	Typically around 26 °C per third-party analysis
Start times	Not published for 2026	The official schedule page still shows the 2025 race
Average finish	No official figure exists	See the note below

Retrieved 29 August 2026. Where a cell says not published, that is exactly what it means — we have not substituted a plausible number.

Three things that decide the day

1. The Hawi crosswinds

The bike runs from Kailua-Kona out to the Hawi turnaround and back on the Queen Ka'ahumanu Highway. IRONMAN's own description points at exposed terrain and strong crosswinds rather than at the climbing. That matters for pacing, because a crosswind makes speed useless as feedback: you can be riding well over target power and moving slowly, or soft-pedalling at 40 km/h. Ride the number, not the road.

2. Heat you cannot train around

30 °C with humidity around 69% is a different problem from 30 °C in dry heat, because evaporative cooling stops working when the air is already wet. Add the radiant load reflecting off black lava fields with no shade for most of the course. Cooling at every aid station is not a comfort measure here, it is part of the pacing plan.

3. The Energy Lab

The run descends into the Natural Energy Laboratory at roughly mile 16 and climbs back out about three miles later — around 132 miles into the day. It is a sunken, unshaded bowl with no spectators, added to the course in 1990. Its reputation is earned: it is the hottest and loneliest stretch, and it arrives exactly when an athlete has the least left to meet it with.

What IRONMAN has not published

This section exists because the gaps are genuinely useful to know about, and because other sites fill them with numbers that have no source.

2026 start times. Not released. The official schedule page still shows 2025, and IRONMAN's race-week page says so explicitly. Reusing the 2025 times would be a mistake: 2025 was a women's-only race and 2026 is combined, so the wave structure changes.
Water temperature. The average water temperature field on IRONMAN's own Kona course page is blank. Third-party analysis puts Kailua Bay around 26 °C, which would sit above the 24.5 °C age-group wetsuit threshold.
Average finish time. No official figure exists. The best public number is a median of 11:26:00 across 8,000+ finishers from 2018 to 2025, with a 3.7% DNF rate — third-party, and describing a qualified championship field rather than a typical Ironman one.
Total slot count. IRONMAN's qualification pages give per-race examples but publish no total 2026 slot count and no total number of qualifying races.

How you get here from 2026

Slots are no longer allocated per age group. Each age-group winner earns an automatic qualifying slot, rolling to second and then third if declined. Everything left goes into a performance pool, ranked by age-graded time against the Kona Standard and offered by first-to-accept roll-down. Men and women have separate pools, sized to their share of starters.

The consequence is that no finish time guarantees a slot, because the cut is set by whoever else raced that day. IRONMAN states plainly that the Kona Standard is a benchmark and not a cutoff time.

IRONMAN also notes that a minimum of one slot is provisionally allocated to each age group based on the start list, that final allocation is determined on race day from the number of official starters, and that deferrals and transfers are not permitted.

Frequently asked questions

When is the 2026 IRONMAN World Championship in Kona?: Saturday 10 October 2026. It returns to a single race day with men and women racing together for the first time since 2019, with a field of nearly 3,000 athletes. Entry is by qualification only, and deferrals and transfers are not permitted.
What time does the Kona race start?: IRONMAN has not published 2026 start times. As at the end of August the official schedule page still shows the 2025 race, and IRONMAN's own race-week page says 2026 information will follow closer to the event. Do not plan from the 2025 times: that was a women's-only race, and 2026 is a combined single-day event, so the wave structure will be different.
How much climbing is the Kona bike course?: IRONMAN's own 2026 bike course map states 5,814 ft, which is 1,772 m, across 180.2 km. That is worth knowing because the figure most widely repeated online is around 1,318 m, from third-party course modelling. Where a modelled figure and IRONMAN's published map disagree, we publish the map. The run map gives 1,009 ft, or 307 m.
Is the Kona swim wetsuit legal?: Almost certainly not, though IRONMAN itself publishes no water temperature for the race — the field is blank on its own course page. Kailua Bay typically runs around 26 °C, and the age-group wetsuit limit is 24.5 °C. Above that you may only swim in a designated non-competitive wave, which forfeits age-group awards. At a World Championship that makes a wetsuit a non-option in practice.
How hot does it get at Kona?: IRONMAN publishes a high of 30 °C and a low of 24 °C. It publishes no humidity figure at all; third-party climatology puts the mean around 69% with a range of 57–81%. The air temperature understates the problem: it is the combination of heat, humidity and the radiant load off the lava fields that makes the Queen K punishing.
What is the average finish time at Kona?: No official figure exists — IRONMAN publishes none. The only usable public number we found is a median of 11:26:00 across 8,000+ finishers from 2018 to 2025, with a DNF rate of 3.7%, from third-party analysis. Treat it as indicative rather than authoritative, and note it describes a qualified championship field, not a typical Ironman field.
What is the Energy Lab?: The Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawai'i Authority, a research facility the run course descends into at roughly mile 16 of the marathon and exits about three miles later. It was added to the course in 1990. It is a sunken, completely unshaded bowl with no spectators, reached about 132 miles into the day, and you have to climb back out of it to rejoin the Queen K. Its reputation is not folklore: it is the hottest, loneliest part of the course arriving at the moment athletes are least able to cope with it.

Sources

Official means IRONMAN published it. Aggregated analysis means a third party modelled it from course geometry and finisher data and states its sample. Where the two conflict on elevation, we publish IRONMAN's.

[1]IRONMAN World Championship: courseOfficial
IRONMAN · ironman.com · data year 2026 · retrieved 2026-08-29
Source for the air temperatures, the Hawi crosswinds and the Energy Lab. Its average water temperature field is blank.
[2]2026 IRONMAN World Championship bike course mapOfficial
IRONMAN · ironman.com · data year 2026 · retrieved 2026-08-29
States "Total Elevation Gain: 5814 ft / 1772 m" for the 180.2 km bike.
[3]2026 IRONMAN World Championship run course mapOfficial
IRONMAN · ironman.com · data year 2026 · retrieved 2026-08-29
States "Total Elevation Gain: 1009 ft / 307 m" and labels the Natural Energy Laboratory HOST Park.
[4]IRONMAN World Championship: FAQsOfficial
IRONMAN · ironman.com · data year 2026 · retrieved 2026-08-29
Source for the field size of nearly 3,000 athletes and the rules on provisional slot allocation, deferrals and transfers.
[5]Age Group Slot Allocation: how it worksOfficial
IRONMAN · ironman.com · data year 2026 · retrieved 2026-08-29
Automatic qualifying slots, the Kona Standard performance pool and the first-to-accept roll-down process.
[6]IRONMAN World Championship Kona course analysisAggregated analysis
Keiro Labs · keirolabs.com · data year 2025 · retrieved 2026-08-29
Source for the humidity range, the typical water temperature and the median finish time, from 8,000+ finishers 2018-2025. Its modelled elevation (1,318 m bike) disagrees with IRONMAN's official 1,772 m; we publish IRONMAN's.
[7]The characters of Kona: the Energy LabSecondary
Triathlete · triathlete.com · retrieved 2026-08-29
Source for the Energy Lab being added to the course in 1990 and for its position at roughly mile 16 of the marathon.

All outbound links here are marked nofollow. They are references so you can check our figures, not endorsements. Where a source is labelled Secondary it states a number without saying where it came from, and we have flagged it rather than presenting it as established.

Plan for Kona

Kona Qualifying Calculator

Age-grade a time with IRONMAN's own standards.

Heat Pace Calculator

What 30 °C and high humidity actually cost.

Ironman Nutrition Calculator

Sodium and fluid targets for a hot race.

Course Comparison

Kona against 20 other races, with sources.

Guides that explain this calculator

Ironman Pacing Strategy: Complete Guide to Swimming, Biking, and Running 140.6

Master your Ironman pacing strategy with this definitive guide covering power metrics, pace calculators, nutrition tactics, and race execution plans.

Ironman Marathon Pacing Strategy: Run the 26.2 Without Hitting the Wall

Master Ironman marathon pacing with proven strategies to avoid bonking, fuel smarter, and finish strong after the bike.

Ironman Nutrition Strategy: 60-90g Carbs Per Hour

Master Ironman fueling with our guide to the 60-90g carbs/hour rule. Learn gut training, multiple transportable carbs, and race-day execution.

Why Ironman Athletes Bonk: Glycogen Depletion Explained Clearly

Understand why Ironman athletes bonk with our guide to glycogen depletion. Learn the science, warning signs, and proven prevention strategies.

Trust and methodology

How this page should be used

Model last reviewed

August 8, 2026

Maintained by

M Imtinan Farooq

Age-group triathlete and data engineer

Status

Planning estimate, not a race guarantee

Formula summary

Finish time = 3.8 km swim + T1 + 180 km bike + T2 + 42.2 km run, from entered paces.

Key assumptions

Marathon pace assumes a bike ridden at a sustainable intensity factor.

Limitations

Carbohydrate intake, heat, and bike restraint change full-distance results more than fitness alone.

Sources

Full formulas, constants, and limitation notes are published on the methodology page. Use the official athlete guide for your own race when it comes to rules, cut-off times, venue policies, and safety instructions - those override anything here.