10:05
Natascha Badmann finished in 9:26:16, and Lori Bowden in 9:29:04. Fernanda Keller came across in 9:31:28, Beth Zinkand in 9:35:21. Zeiger ran 3:06:25 en route to a 9:40:23. That compares to Bowden's 3:04:20. these appear to be the two fastest run splits among the women, and Fernanda ran a very respectable 3:09, plus or minus.

This will be our last update today, everthing else we publish between now and tomorrow will be as news on Triathlonlive.com, or as remaining features on our Slowtwitch/Triathlonlive Kona 2000 coverage: specifically the remainder of the Bike Survey, and age-group coverage.

9:43
Beth Zinkand ran across in 4th place, and Joanna Zeiger came from absolute oblivian to gain 5th. She really had a hard time on the way back from Hawi on the bike, and it seemed she was completely out of it. But her running kicked in during the last half of the run, and she's a happy girl crossing the line.

9:27
Natascha wins it! I'm not sure of her time. She was asked about her smiling out on the course. "I felt so great I only could smile," she said. Such a gracious champion. And not far behind her is Lori. Really not far behind at all in 9:29:04. two minutes, maybe three.

9:25
It's not going to break any records, but Natascha's time -- if she wins -- will be just fine, considering the very difficult conditions. She's in her final mile now.

9:21
Natascha is at the top of Palani Road -- aka Pay 'n Save Hill -- and starts the descent into town with a mile-and-a-half to go. We don't know how far behind Lori Bowden is.

9:15
Some interesting notes:
• Fastest bike split: Normann Stadler, 4:35:15
• Fastest run split: Peter Reid: 2:48:11
• Fastest age-grouper: Tim Luchinske, M25-29: 8:50:38

9:10
Lori Bowden is now within 6-minutes of Natasha. It's probably too little too late, but it's not over yet. Also, Fernanda is justs a minute back of Lori.

8:44
Fernanda is just about to lose 2nd place, not to Beth Zinkand, but to the charging Lori Bowden, who is now 9-minutes behind Natascha. That would make Fernanda what place?

8:37
Natascha Badmann rode 15-minutes faster than Lori Bowden, and Bowden had the 2nd fastest ride of the day! She had a real problem 9-miles into the race, but as has so-often happened, emptying one's stomach and getting a fresh start on hydrating and eating can spruce one up. She's out on the course whooping it up and high-fiving with 9-miles to go. Nobody enjoys herself racing an Ironman more than Natascha.

8:32
DeBoom was struggling on the bike, and fell back after part of the group got away on the way to Hawi. He credits Spencer Smith for motoring up the pack after the turnaround. Leder crosses the line in 4th, followed a couple of minutes later by Hellriegel in 5th.

8:30
Meanwhile, there is another race still going on. Natascha seems to have found her legs, and retains 9-minutes worth of paddiing over Fernanda. Beth Zinkand has gotten a second-wind, though, and it just about ready to reel Fernanda in, and Lori has picked up her pace as well. She's only 2-minutes behind Fernanda.

8:28
Reid says that he was motivated by some comments that Dave Scott made, that it would become a runners race today and that Reid isn't that good of a runner.

8:27
Reid wins! He holds off DeBoom in 8:20:59. Stadler come in in 8:26, barely able to stand, but very happy!

8:04
Here is the question. Peter Reid is running at a pace that is very close to the men's marathon record, indeed, at 19-miles it looked like the first sub-2:40 run might be recorded here. Yet DeBoom has closed at a 30-seconds-per-mile pace. So, is Reid slowing from his torrid pace, or is DeBoom running sub-6s?

8:02
Check that. At mile 13, Keller now is only 8 minutes behind Natasha. Race is only halfway done -- and Natascha has only about a one-and-a-half mile lead on
Keller. Is this Natascha's day -- or Fernanda's?

8:00
Back to the women for a moment. The gap from Badmann to Keller is still 10-minutes, as of the 11-mile point. But at the run start, it was around 14-minutes. Keller is closing, but this is still Natascha's race to lose. 3rd and 4th are Zinkand and Lori Bowden. After that, as of 9 miles, it is Wendy Ingraham, Lori Lynn Leach, Joanna Zeiger, Lena Wahlquist, Nicole DeBoom and Mary Uhl.

7:56
It aint over yet, folks. Peter Reid entered the Natural Energy Lab with a 3:00 lead. He exits with a 1:56 lead over Tim DeBoom.

7:53
@17.5miles it was Reid, DeBoom, Stadler, Leder, Hellriegel , Mauch, Smith, Glah, and Kropko, in that order.

7:39
Peter Reid is just motoring. He's having a Mark Allen run, and I confess that I felt nobody capable of having that sort of run outside of Luc. Tim DeBoom continues to have a marvelous run of his own, exiting the Natural Energy Lab only 3-minutes down, to the second. Stadler remains clinging to third. The men have about 8.5 miles to go.

7:33
Fernanda Keller has just about cut the lead to single digits. How far behind Badmann was she at the beginning of the run? I have no idea. But she's made up a lot of ground, and there's stiill 17 more miles of the marathon to go. Don't forget Bowden, who's made up a little time herself. She's 15-minutes down on Badmann, but it just depends on how Badmann deals with the bad patch she's going through.

7:25
The top three are deep in the bowels of the Natural Energy Lab. DeBoom is struggling a bit, and Normann Stadler is still hanging onto third. Stop! This is Hawaii where anything can happen and does! Natascha Badmann is on Kuakini Highway, approaching Pay 'n Save Hill, where she has stopped, and is throwing up. Stay tuned -- is this Fernanda's year?

7:17
Sandvang is out! This is the second year in a row he was in the thick of it early in the run, just to fade as the run progressed. The run has clouded over. This is the first bit of mercy the course has shown to the racers today. This has just flat not been a cooperative weather day. First a bumpy swim, then a very bumpy ride, then a hot run. Will this very slightly cooler weather aid the front-runners, or energize one of their wilting chasers?

7:13
Bowden is in 4th, and closing on Zinkand.

7:12
At mile-15 Reid has 2:27 on DeBoom, and 2:53 on Stadler.

7:08
Stadler and DeBoom are together, briefly, about 2-minutes behind Reid.. Hellriegel and Smith are together, about 7-minutes behind Reid. Leder has found legs, and he always does, and trails this duo by 1-minute. Mauch is a minute further back, cna Sandvang a minute behind him. Meanwhile, Keller has started her charge. She'smoved into a solid second, and believe it or not, is actually taking time out of Badmann!

6:57
Melissa Spooner has dropped out. The fifth-ranked long-distance triathlete among women has had an up-and-down year. She won IM USA, but she had an uncharacteristically bad race at Wildflower, and a DNF at IM California. Zinkand is the fourth-ranked female, and she's showing why her ranking is earned.

6:50
Zinkand is in second, and if it wasn't for Natascha Badmann this would be a close women's race. She's about 12- or 13-minutes behind Badmann, but Fernanda's within a minute or two of her, Wendy Ingraham is another couple of minutes back, and Lori Bowden is just behind Wendy, perhaps preparing to gobble her up en route to higher placings. Udo Bolts bettered Steve Hegg into the bike-to-run by about 10-minutes. Don't know his split, but I have a sneaking suspicion Udo is going to return to Germany telling his Telekom teammates that these triathletes are pretty good on the bike after all.

6:45
Natascha continues to build her lead. Something very bad would have to happen to her in order for her to lose this race. But, then, that's happened, hasn't it? Keller is behind Zinkand. Keller in third place. I think we've seen that, two. If she gets any more bronze she could go into business selling sculpture supplies.

6:30
The runners are now through town and out onto the Queen K Highway. Peter Reid has made up the gap and has passed Stadler, who is himself by no means running slowly. Stadler still clung to a 1-minute lead approaching Pay 'n Save Hill, but Reid clawed up to the top and overtook Stadler on the way out of town. Tim DeBoom looks very much in control, and is about 1-minute back of Stadler, 1:30 back of Reid. Should Reid falter, DeBoom is ready to take advantage. So far, these are the only two runners who've been able to match Stadler. Thomas Hellriegel is clearly working hard, and Spencer Smith looks like a fighter coming out for round 14 of a tough 15-round fight, but they're both doing better than Mauch and Sandvang, next in line (4- to 5-minutes back). Then comes Glah, another distance back, and we're not quite sure where Niedrig and Leder are.

5:45
I hesistate to mentions this, as it would only be my karma that upon bragging on Spencer Smith he'll immediately start to falter in the run. But I'll tell this anecdote anyway. A couple of years ago my wife JulieAnne went on a tempo run with Spencer. They averaged right at 6-minute miles for 15-miles, finishing in just under 1:30. Spencer was wearing a heart-rate monitor, and it was impressive enough that his pulse was 135bpm at the end of the run. I waited one-minute and then peeked at his readout. 51-beats-per-minute.

5:41
So. Who among the men will emerge from the run? Stadler is a very good runner, but perhaps not what Reid is. Leder is the best of the bunch perhaps, but today, after a faltering last 10-miles of riding? DeBoom has shown his ability, but he was reportedly first pro in and and last pro out of the med tent last year, following his third place. Will he go again to that inner place of pain? Sandvang is the world's top-ranked long-course triathlete as of now. He has the resume, does he have the legs? Niedrig can run. But can he run in this heat? Mauch has been fourth here. Hellriegel has won this race. But I don't think he has the run that some of the others have. Personally, I think Spencer Smith is the most dangerous.

5:40
Speaking of those done for the day, Alec Rukosuev has been given his ticket back to transition for drafting and passing on the right.

5:33
It's hot outside. 95-degrees I heard. And wouldn't you know it, the wind has stopped in town. So, what was a bad wind out on the course, but might have been a cooling breeze on the run, has now become as still as the air in your oven, and right as the men dismount and head on foot into the pit. On a more cheerful note, we've just updated a little more of our Kona 2000 Bike Survey.

5:15
Into town Stadler continues to put pressure on the chasers. But, Hellriegel has tried to draw the gap closer, and he has. Hellriegel is only 2:40 down, less than previously. The bad news is, seven riders are now on his wheel, and they all look fresher than Thomas does. They include Tim DeBoom, Spencer Smith, Peter Reid, Peter Sandvang, Ken Glah, Christophe Mauch, and Andreas Niedrig. Noticably missing was Lothar Leder, who came through about 2:15 behind these chasers, looking haggard and pedalling with a cadence too slow. But we've all scene Leder struggle during the bike and then recover to shred people in the run. Legh has dropped out with back and bike problems, and did so around the bike turnaround. Same with Heather Fuhr, with reasons not apparent yet to us. She dropped a little further on. Natascha still leads, Beth Zinkand moved into second, with Wendy Ingraham third. Fourth place now belongs to Fernanda Keller, which is a fabulous ride for her. Lori Bowden has begun to fly. She's now fifth.

4:52
Stadler is flying. He's reached speeds of 45mph on the return trip. There are some descents one can pedal through, as is detailed on our course profile. Glah has, as predicted, used his big gears to gain an advantage on the descents, but it seems the pack motors him up elsewhere on the course. Now Hellriegel has taken a flyer, and is now about 3-minutes and change behind. Then there is a pack of 10 all biding their time.

4:22
Ken Glah has broken out! He's in sole position of 2nd place, chasing down Stadler, or at least limiting his losses to Stadler. Let's say something about the conditions. This is already going to go down in history as perhaps the worst wind conditions ever to beset Kona's Ironman bike riders. Some athletes have the ability to handle wind like this. I'm reminded of the duathlon worlds in Palm Springs back in '91 or '92. The winds were about like they are today, and New Mexico's Shane Cleveland rode a Hooker Elite with Scott 100k bars. These were handlebars that had no position other than an aero position (no drops, no pursuit bars). That is total commitment to your craft. He also had a disc wheel, and a Camelback. He never once, in 36-miles, got out of the aero position, riding heeled over -- at an angle -- into the sidewinds. It was one of the incredible rides I've ever seen, and the athlete who can brave these winds and stay aero is the one who'll prevail today.

4:20
In the Bolts/Hegg saga, Hegg had 5-minutes on Bolts at Kawaihai, but that the two were together at Hawi. Yet it seems that some distance later Hegg has rebuilt a lead of around 3-minutes.

4:08
Joanna Zeiger is biding her time. She is riding such an incredibly patient race. Natascha Badmann is shredding the field, yes, but Zeiger isn't that far behind. Wendy Ingraham is also well placed, in around third or fourth, in the vicinity of Beth Zinkand and Lori-Lynn Leach, last we heard. Julieanna Nievergelt is still hanging around, not bad for a masters-aged athlete. Lori Bowden is in 10th at the turnaround, but she's strongest in the second half of the race. Unless something is uncharacteristically wrong, look for Bowden to make a charge toward the front in the last 40-miles of this bike ride.

4:00
The men are 75-miles into the race. We've not mentioned Leder in awhile, but it appears he's safely in the pack. Also, Hellriegel has made it up to the pack. But the big news is Normann Stadler. Now that it's cross- and tailwinds the pack behind Stadler won't be able to get much of a pack advantage.

3:51
We're hearing that Beth Zinkand has made it up to perhaps as high as third. Also, Ralf Eggert, is in still in the lead group, and is Christophe Buquet from France. He was 9th in last year's race, and did it with a 2:53 run. He may have ridden himself well into the money. Meanwhile Stormin' Normann has increased his lead to almost 4-minutes!

3:40
The men have made the turn and now should have the wind to their backs. Will Glah's overdrive help him? Normann Stadler, Peter Reid, Mauch, Sandvang, Glah, Hellriegel, Bonney, Niedrig, Tim DeBoom, Spencer Smith are those we can spot. Just approaching the turnaround Natascha has 4-minutes on Lori-Lynn Leach.

3:22
Frank Heldoorn of the Netherlands has an interesting attachment to his bike, as previously mentioned. You'll see it here.

3:15
Stadler is using the power he's generated over several months hard, long training to slowly pull away from the men's pack. 10-seconds, then 20, now more than 30-seconds in front. Slowtwitch readers will remember his already-legendary ride up Palomar a few weeks ago and he's making Zack's predictions of a top finish for him look insightful. Meanwhile, Paula is calling for help from the support van. She's having bike problems. All the time the wind continues to blow. Even the vans on the course are having trouble with it.

3:00
Stadler is driving the pace for the men. Very, very windy, 30-miles-per-hour. The lighter athletes are getting blow around. Natascha has her head down and is riding with confidence. and Lori-Lynn Leach is within a minute, and is the only one with the ability to keep pace with Natascha right now. Lindquist has now fallen to more than 4:00 back, to eighth, in a severe meltdown.

2:50
Lucas Zgraggen and Olivier Bernhard, both from Switzerland, have made it to the front pack. Meanwhile, we've heard unconfirmed reports that Natascha Badmann has charged through the women's field and has broken into the lead! We're not sure of the whereabouts or condition of Lindquist. We're hearing that she's no longer in the top-5. Stay tuned.

2:35
While there's a little lull in the action, I'll mention that Udo Bolts exited the water rather haggard-looking in 1:13. He took a longish transition, and then started out. With the leaders all filing their fingernails and catching up on small talk, he may be able to cut his deficit. but 25-minutes? Never happen. Perhaps he'll get within 15-minutes, and that would be a stretch. Sez me.

2:23
Lori Bowden is about 8-minutes back. She's close to Joanne King is right about with her, and Nicole Leder is about a minute back. I kept seeing Jo King during the week leading up. I couldn't figure out whether what I was sensing was focus and concentration, or deer-in-the-headlights. She's being coached by Sian Welch, and Sian and Greg have both sort of taken her under their wing.

2:14
Just as I make my prediction, of course, Nicole DeBoom has started to make a run at Lindquist and is less than 30-seconds down. Bowden is working her way up through the field, and the flip-side fo that coin is Heather Fuhr, 11-minutes back of Lindquist and working her way through a pack of age-group racers 60-strong. That might not be the worst of scenarios, though, if she keeps her cool. As long as she's not popped by a marshall she may be conserving a lot of energy. Norton Davey, meanwhile, has made the swim cut-off, he's out just shy of 2:10. But the 82-year-old has a very difficult bike ride in front of him with these winds.

2:10
We're getting reports on the wind -- very strong. The women are standing up on their bikes just to get through it. I'm trying to remember when it was -- '96 I believe -- when it was windy like this on the way out.

2:03
The group continues to grow. Widoff, Mauch, Stadler, Leder, and I must assume Tony DeBoom as well, although that's just speculation. Must be at least a dozen in the group. That's what you get with Zack out of the race. But it's only an hour and a quarter into it, so who knows what'll happen, and how soon? Karen Smyers and I had a discussion about Barb Lindquist earlier in the week. Karen says that Barb wants to be conservative on the bike, and expects to get caught early. But she's still a minute and a quarter up on her next competiitor. I told Karen I didn't think Barb was going to get caught for 80-miles. I also said that i thought Paula would be the first rider to catch Barb. I'm probably incredibly wrong on both counts, but that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

2:00
Apparently the group has been joined by some additional athletes, including Smith, who's reattached, and an unconfirmed report that Andreas Niedrig has also bridged up along with Tim DeBoom. Niedrig has become the most famous triathlete in Germany, not because of anything athletic, but because of the publication of his book chronicalling his transition from heroin junky to Ironman competitor. Niedrig has a boatload of talent, and a vicious run. He's also got a new coach as of early this year -- The Man himself, Dave Scott.

1:50
Mauch, Glah, Reid, and Cordier are together in the front, Eggert has dropped ovv a bit -- mayb e 10-seconds. Glah's charge to the front causes me to speculate about the nature of the winds. He has a huge gear on his bike -- 55X11 on 700c wheels. You can pedal at 50mph with that. The winds appear not to be purely from the back, so I don't think the athletes are running out of gear. But if Glah gets his beloved tailwind back from Hawi he'll use that big meat to draw clear from the rest of the athletes.

1:40
Please pardon the format changes if you've been tuned in since the start. We're now switching over to race clock time, and we're an hour and forty into the race. Ken Glah has charged into second place, and it pleases me no end and surprises me not in the least. Glah was quite worried earlier in the week, because of his aforementioned leg infection from an ingrown hair. But Glah -- a notorious trainer -- can use more time off than he normally allows himself. His time off his legs obviously gave him some needed zip. Some days you just wake up with spring in your step, and some times you don't. Glah's got his groove back.

1:20
By the way, we're remiss in not mentioning that Joanna Zeiger had a spectacular swim, right in the Mueckel/Ingraham category. As a short course racer par excellence one might expect that. Zeiger was loose as a goose in the days prior to the race. Linquist, meanwhile was the 4th overall person out of the water. Not a record because of the bumpy water, but still a fabulous swim. Lori Bowden had a tough time in the water, and a tougher time on land. She had a lot of trouble with her pedal and helmet, costing her an extra 30-seconds to a minute. The top cyclists on the course right now are Yves Cordier from France and Ralf Eggert of Germany -- the latter one of Germany's best short racers. Just behind is Rukosuev, and Peter Reid has charged up to 4th, not far behind. In so doing he has ridden right through Spencer Smith. Texan James Bonney -- a swim and bike specialist -- was next in line. Spencer Smith is a good friend of the Slowtwitch crowd, and we're hoping for the best from him. But I'm concerned about Spencer, because of what I see in his bike set-up. He's riding a Sigma -- a more or less standard road bike -- set up with a slacker seat angle and longer cockpit than has been his customary position since before his last world championship victory. I asked him about this and he replied something about a set-up that favors a longer Hawaii bike ride. But I'm afraid that in a way hiis foray into bike racing may have exposed him to the more "expert" analysis of pure bike racers. Since his return to triathlon he has been less than his former overwhelming self on the bike. Out on the course, Cordier and Eggert remain in the lead, with Peter Sandvang from Denmark making a move into 3rd. Remember, he and Tim DeBoom charged to the front of the bike last year, near the end of the bike leg. Peter Reid remains in third, Christophe Mauch of Switzerland has made his way up to fifth. Zeiger still trails Lindquist, with Ingraham, Nicole Deboom, Julieanna Nievergelt, and Ute Mueckel rounding out the top half-dozen.

1:05
Paula and Suzanne Nielsen from Denmark came out together, about 54-minutes or so into the race. Not Paula's best swim, but not bad. Frank Heldoorn exited in about the same time, and took off with a piece of equipment attached to his bike that I'll talk about in a little while -- it's caused a bit of a stir. Natascha exited in 59+, not as good a swim as she might have been capable of, considering her 2-year foray into short-course racing. But it's plenty fast enough for this race. As of that time Lori Bowden had not yet exited.

1:00
Ute Mueckel and Wendy Ingraham both had good swims, coming out not far behind Barb Lindquist. Most of the other men were in good shape, Lothar Leder, Peter Reid, both out in good shape. Also of note was a 53+ swim by Norman Stadler, who iis my pick for most improved today. Look for him to perhaps break into the top-5. Thomas Hellreigel came out just behind Peter Kropko, the Hungarian who is usually a faster swimmer. Kropko fell into the same habit as many Europeans today: running their bikes out of transition. You don't have to do that in Hawaii, but in the heat of battle the Euros often forget and resort to instinct. Right where the exit chute got narrow the officials stopped him and told him to put his helmet on and mount. Right then Hellriegel went past and the two collided, sending Thomas to the mat -- literally -- he ended right on top of the timing chip mat. Both recovered quickly, though, and sped off. They've got some chasing to do, though.

0:56
Frenetic finish to the swim! John Weston was co-first out with Alec Rukosuev. I can only assume that Sanson didn't start, but perhaps I'm mistaken. Alec used to be a champion swimmer in Russia, but his swim has fallen off in the last couple of years as his ride and run have continued to improve. Barb Lindquist was in the next sub-group, with the DeBoom brothers, who came out in front of the rest of the challengers. Spencer Smith came out well, and an incredibly good swim was had by Kenny Glah, who exited with swimmers at least 2-minutes faster than has been customary. Kenny has been suffering from a leg infection that has kept him from doing anything but swimming the last week or so, and it's paid off, at least so far.

0:40
No change in the women's field, Barb is still -- as expected -- making things tough for the other ladies in the race. John Weston from Great Britain has taken the lead for the men. One must assume that Benjamin Sanson from France will be close to the front as well, although we have no confirmation of that.

0:15
Barb Lindquist is ripping the swim course, already having dropped the other women. Meanwhile, a program note (as they say on TV), we'll be updating our Kona Bike Survey throughout the day.

START
It's windy. It's only breezy here in town, just enough of a blow to keep the swim times down a bit -- although the women's record must be considered in jeapardy with Barb Lindquist in the field -- but the reports from the north part of the course are ominous. It's blowing hard out in Waikoloa, 25-miles out onto the bike course, and harder yet as you go toward Hawi.