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VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Falkor//Falkor Events//EN
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DTSTART:20261010T162500Z
DTEND:20261011T095900Z
SUMMARY:IRONMAN World Championship 2026 -- Kailua-Kona\, HI
DESCRIPTION:The IRONMAN World Championship is the most iconic single-day endurance event in America -- a 140.6-mile race (2.4-mile swim\, 112-mile bike\, 26.2-mile run) held under the crushing Hawaii sun on the Big Island of Kailua-Kona each October. In 2026\, for the first time since 2022\, both the men's and women's races return to Kona on the same day -- reuniting the world's elite triathletes on the course the sport was built around. Nearly 3\,000 athletes will earn their Kona slot through qualifying events held globally throughout the year. The waitlist to qualify typically represents 2-5 years of dedicated training.\n\nThe energy along Ali'i Drive in Kona on race day is something endurance athletes describe as indescribable. The lava fields under mid-day heat\, the headwinds on the Queen Ka'ahumanu Highway\, and then the nightfall run back into town. The finish line on Ali'i Drive stays open until midnight. When an athlete crosses within 17 hours\, they earn the famous IRONMAN finisher's medal and the words: "You are an IRONMAN." For spectators\, Ali'i Drive during the swim start and the run finish are the same real estate -- this is where the race begins and ends\, and where the most emotional moments in American sports happen every October.\n\nIRONMAN Kona is for anyone who has ever looked at an endurance athlete and felt a pull they could not explain. You do not have to be a triathlete or even a runner to feel something watching a 64-year-old attorney who trains at 4am complete a 140.6-mile race under the Hawaiian sun. The event is free to spectate along much of the course. For those who want to race: qualification is through the IRONMAN circuit -- race a qualifying event and earn a Kona slot\, a process that typically takes 2-5 years of dedicated training.\n\nKailua-Kona is a small town on the west coast of the Big Island. Hotels book out 12-18 months in advance for Kona week -- plan early. The athlete registration and pre-race expo at Pier 7 are open to spectators the week before the race. Ali'i Drive is the center of the universe during race week. Park away from the drive and walk in. The race is broadcast live on YouTube and NBC Sports -- the finish line camera stays live until midnight for the most dramatic sports television of the year.\n\nThe IRONMAN World Championship earns its place on Falkor's Nation's Best list as the benchmark event in endurance culture -- the thing people train toward for years before they ever line up for a local triathlon. To know this race exists\, that 3\,000 humans willingly swim through open ocean and then bike into a lava desert and then run a marathon in October heat\, and that the finish line stays open until midnight for them to cross\, is to understand something true about what humans choose to attempt. 2026 returns both races to Kona for the first time in four years. Race information and qualifying schedule at ironman.com. October 10\, 2026.
LOCATION:Ali'i Drive\, Kailua-Kona\, HI 96740
URL:https://www.falkorevents.com/eventcal/event/5862/details/
UID:event-5862@falkorevents.com
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