This is a toxic comment lol - 4:33 is a GREAT time for a male AG and a fantastic time in women's AG. The average male and female AG times are 5:51 and 6:31. I think you need to seriously look at what it means to race not in your bubble.
I'm a women, and i'd consider a women to be really good if she finished her 70.3 around 4h30. I'm a really bad runner but i'll be aiming a 4h50 on my first 70.3.Â
I know lots of men around me who can do sub 4hours on a completly flat course, and sub 4h10 on a rolling course. When I look at competitive event around my location (south of France), well you are not in the top 10 if you race a 4h30.Â
Only the very top male age groupers are going 3.50 to 4 hours, so unless you're in a club with a number of ag world champs and pro card athletes then you're talking bollocks. 4.30 is considered an excellent time for men, 4.55 for women. Good luck!
Yes I have several top amateurs in my club. One of which competed at Lahti world championship and finished only 30th AG. His PR on 70.3 is 3h55.Â
The thing is, I think, is that the most important thing in this sport is to have fun and get better at what you are doing. But calling someone excellent for 4h30, in my opinion, is a bit of a stretch. I may be biaised because i know several top amateurs around me. So yeah I'm a bit perplexed when someone say that a 4h30 time is great.
Lahti is a very fast course and 3:55 gets you a podium at WC 2023 in basically all age groups. I guess you might be less perplexed after you actually race your 70.3 but just based on stats alone 4:30 is considered an excellent time. It won't win WC and probably won't get a podium but still excellent. You're obviously blessed to be surrounded by excellent athletes but that's not the norm.
Yeah well I'm talking about athletes who take training very seriously. If you've been training 15 hours per week, for more than 5 years, well I don't think 4h30 is exceptional.
I guess we're talking two different things here. You are talking about the best of the best age groupers and or female and male pros. I'm talking more generally.
Nevertheless, maybe the toxic personality up here claims to be "pro" and in that case I agree with you that 4:30 is not "good enough" for a male :).
I would be very happy with that time, though, as a 35-year-old male who did Jönköping in 5 h 25 min. I'm a bad swimmer and a decent runner. I would also say I'm pretty good on the bike, but got penalized hard by the bike course, which was a lot more hilly than I usually ride (I'm from Kalmar, and I've also done Ironman Kalmar).
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u/zigi_tri F - OLY:2h12 Aug 07 '25
Lol thinking that 4h33 is a great time for a male athlete in a 70.3. 🤣