ECHO Development
Jenny Marshall
2026 IRONMAN World Championship - Kona
2026 IRONMAN World Championship - Kona: Race Execution Plan
Read This First
This is a guide, not a script. It is not meant to be memorized.
It is here to give you a few clear decisions you can come back to when the day gets loud. And it will get loud.
Conditions on the day will shape what good execution looks like. The guardrails in this plan do not move. Everything else can.
Race Purpose
This is your first Kona.
Success on Saturday is a good, strong swim and bike that give you access to your weapon: the run.
Your day will be defined by how much access you allow yourself to that weapon. Everything before T2 is about protecting it. We are pacing this day for the run we know you can have.
You have the evidence. At Lake Placid you rode 5:48 over 7,080 feet of climbing at 160 W normalized, then ran 3:14:52. That is what an IRONMAN bike is for. You rode it, and then you ran like that.
Since then you have stacked rides of 100-plus miles and long runs that held together. You did the heat work. You are ready to do this.
Focus on Jenny and only Jenny.
The 30,000-Foot Approach
- Swim assertive. Claim your space.
- Put the blinders on for the bike.
- Live in your power range. Climbs have a hard ceiling.
- Ride for effort, not speed.
- Fuel on a timer. Cool at every aid station.
- Arrive at the right turn back onto the Queen K strong.
- Use Mile 90 to Mile 1 as a cooling pocket.
- Control the opening miles of the run. Build, build, build.
- At mile 20, if you feel good, go.
You do not need to win anything on the swim or bike. You need to deliver your run to the marathon.
Your Control System
On Saturday, the numbers lead.
Your perceived effort is going to be off. Everyone's is. It is Kona. The swim and the start of the bike are electric. Everyone around you is fast. There will be a lot of ego out there and big packs. Early on the bike, you will feel like you are going backwards. It will be unlike anything you have experienced.
None of that can be trusted as information about your effort. The numbers can.
Put the horse blinders on. Head on a swivel for safety. Eyes on your own race.
Bike
- Live at 165-180 W. This is the whole job on the flats and rollers. The entire range is good execution.
- Climbs: up to 215-225 W. Never above. That is a ceiling, not a target.
- Above 180 W on the flat, again and again, is where Kona does its damage. Packs surging, people passing, wind making you feel slow. All of it pushes riders over. If you see it, come back into your range.
Run
- Heart rate 150-152. This is where the run lives.
- Above about 156, heat and humidity may be adding to it. Start paying close attention to how you feel.
- About 158-159 is the ceiling. Respect it, right up until mile 20. If you are feeling good at mile 20, the ceiling comes off.
Wind, grade, and passing rules move bike speed. Heat, Palani, and turns move run pace. None of that is a verdict. Your range is.
The Field
This is a World Championship. All-women wave, fast women everywhere, and faster athletes coming through from other waves.
Being passed, seeing packs roll by, feeling slow: that is what Kona looks like for almost everyone sticking to their own plan. It is not information about your day.
You will also see people you know and have trained with. Do not let thoughts of anyone else creep into your head and shape your race. Their day is theirs. Yours is yours.
Heat
Heat accumulates. What you feel now may be very different in 5-10 minutes. Do not wait until you feel hot to cool.
Cool at every aid station, on the bike and on the run:
- Water on your head.
- Ice in your bra when it is there.
- Wipe down your arms. Get the hot sweat off and replace it with cool water.
On the bike, ice will be limited. Water over the body is the best tool you have. Grab a bottle at the aid station and pour it into your helmet and over your body. That is time well spent.
Heat and the gut go together. Keep yourself cool and you give your stomach the best chance to stay quiet.
Race Week
Your taper and travel are in a good place. Keep it simple.
- Focus on hydration and staying cool. Avoid heat stress in training this week.
- Do not over-saturate with fluid. Drinking too much can flush electrolytes like magnesium. A magnesium (Epsom salt) bath is the cheapest way to top up. Pumpkin seeds are a good food source.
- Full carbohydrate load Thursday and Friday to top off your stores.
Fueling
You have trained this. Use your products and your timing.
- Bike: 90-110 g of carbohydrate per hour.
- Run: 50-60 g per hour.
The biggest fueling risk at Kona is not your plan. It is the chaos around you pulling your attention away from it. Set an alarm on your bike computer every 20-30 minutes as a fueling reminder. When it goes off, eat or drink. No negotiation.
Fluid: drink enough that you pee at least twice on the bike. That is your check.
Caffeine
Caffeine is a buoy. Treat it like one.
Do not take it early. The swim and the early bike bring plenty of stimulus on their own. You will not need it there.
Hold it until your perceived effort starts creeping up. That is when caffeine earns its place. It takes about 20-25 minutes to kick in, so take it a little ahead of when you expect to want the lift.
Same rule on the run. Hold it until the effort starts to climb.
Swim
Be in the swim staging chute by 7:15 AM for your 7:40 wave. Transition is open 4:30 to 6:10 AM, entry only.
Non-wetsuit, warm water, clockwise, buoys on your right. You are comfortable here.
Line up toward the front, about 30-50 yards off the pier. You belong near the pointy end of this wave.
You are an assertive swimmer. Do not lose that at the start. Assert yourself and claim your space. Then settle into your rhythm, use feet when they are useful, and sight for yourself.
The return may feel quick or it may not. Either way, keep the effort the same. Build into the finish and stay clear of the pier rocks.
Exit composed and ready to ride.
Bike - 30,000-Foot Approach
The bike is not a test. It is the delivery system for your run.
Official 2026 profile: 112 miles, 5,814 feet of gain, one loop to Hawi and back.
Ride for effort, not speed. You already learned this on the Queen K. On a headwind day, 200-plus watts felt slow. The wind made the speed look bad. Riding for speed into that wind would have meant riding way over your range. In Kona, the wind decides the speed. Your range decides the effort.
Packs: it is near impossible to ride fully legal at Kona without sitting on your brakes all day. Ride as legally as you can, and do not let other people's illegality define your race. When in Rome. Just do not let the trains around you pull you out of your numbers.
Rollers: spin. No spiky, out-of-the-saddle surges. Standing up to change position is fine.
Crosswinds: you already know this one. Stay relaxed. Pressure off the front end, butt back, keep pedaling.
Rust-Shaking Protocol (Available, Not Required)
You know this one from race week. It is here if you need it. If the legs come out of the water ready, skip it.
Flat early bike legs do not mean the race is gone. After a controlled taper, assume rust first, not fatigue.
Use this only when your race output feels unusually hard and your RPE is way out of proportion. Town is for riding clean, so wait until you are safely on the Queen K.
- Assume rust. Do not force your race watts just because they are on the plan. Forcing them when RPE is already spiked usually makes things worse.
- Shake it loose. Do several ~30-second sharp, purposeful accelerations. Not all-out sprints. Full, controlled recovery between them. Think "AED for the legs." You can include a few lower-cadence jolts. Recover and reassess. Repeat a small round if needed. These pops are the one planned exception to the no-surge rule, and only if you choose to use this.
- Reassess. If the legs come in, return progressively to your 165-180 W range. Do not try to repay the opening minutes by over-riding.
- Under-ride if still flat. If the legs stay flat after the pops, ride below your range for a stretch and let the effort come to life.
Unusually high HR, real breathlessness, pain, or dizziness are not rust. Respect those.
Cue: Flat early is not flat all day. Find the bike before you race the bike.
Town: Palani, Kuakini, Kona Commons, and the Turnaround
This section is chaos. Eyes up, ride clean. The Palani descents are no-pass zones. Brake before the turn and hold your line.
The field will be excited. Let it be.
Queen K North: Airport to Waikoloa
This is where the real riding starts. Get aero, settle into 165-180 W, and start the fueling timer and cooling rhythm.
This is where it will feel like you are going backwards. Packs will roll by. Let them. Six bike lengths, finish passes in 25 seconds or drop back. Then back to your range.
Waikoloa to Kawaihae
Ride the effort, not the speed. A headwind is just a hill you cannot see. Your range does not change because the speed did.
Stay relaxed in the crosswinds. Pressure off the front end, butt back, keep pedaling.
Akoni Pule to Hawi
Gradual climbing, rollers, and wind. Spin. Climbs can go up to 215-225 W, never above.
Use the aid stations on the way up to top off. Have your intake aboard before the turnaround.
Hawi Turnaround and Personal Needs
Handle the turn, grab only what you planned at personal needs (mile 60.1), and leave calmly.
Hawi is a feeding checkpoint, not a signal to go.
Hawi Descent and Kawaihae Return
This is a handling section. Stay relaxed, pressure off the front end, and ride the speed you can control.
The Kawaihae climb comes when the hard part feels done. Ride it steady inside your climbing ceiling. No attack.
Queen K South
This is where we want to be feeling good. Everything before this spot is about getting to this spot ready to ride. We do NOT want to be feeling vulnerable when you take the right back onto the Queen K, around mile 80-84. You will see all kinds of people all around you who do. That is not this section. It is what they have earned from the sections before this section. Keep it boring. The wind on the way home has nothing to do with the wind on the way out.
Physically, mentally, fueled, and cool: arrive here in a spot you can build from. A lot of people will be in a tough spot over the final 30-odd miles of the bike and into the marathon. You do not need to be one of them.
Keep eating, keep drinking, keep cooling. Every bit of this protects your run.
Back to Town and T2
The final miles are still the bike. Stay alert through the turns and the second Palani descent. Do not chase a split.
The Mile 90 to Mile 1 Pocket
This is our cooling pocket. We want to make sure that everything we do during this stretch of the race is about keeping ourselves cool. We want to make sure that we come into T2 and leave T2 in a state of relative coolness, which will put us in a good position to manage the heat and humidity on the run. That may look like reduced output. That may look like a lot of water on your head and torso. It may look like both.
T2
Arrive with:
- Legs that can run
- Energy aboard and a quiet stomach
- Body temperature under control
- Clear thinking
- Confidence in the run you are about to use
Run - 30,000-Foot Approach
This is your weapon. Everything up to now was about giving you access to it.
Official 2026 profile: 26.2 miles, 1,009 feet of gain.
Build, build, build. Give the run space to grow and keep the gut under control.
Heart rate leads: 150-152. Above about 156, pay close attention. About 158-159 is the ceiling until mile 20.
T2, Palani, Kuakini, Onto Ali'i
Off the bike, the run can come out hot. The opening miles are part of the cooling process. Keep cooling and start fueling right away.
Ali'i Out and Back
Control your heart rate through the first 4-5 miles, to the Ali'i turnaround. The crowds will be loud. Let them lift your mood, not your heart rate.
The goal is to reach that turnaround knowing with certainty that you can get faster and choose to raise your heart rate from there.
Work every station. Water on the head, ice in the bra, wipe down the arms.
Kuakini and Palani
Palani costs something. Shorten your stride and keep your heart rate inside the ceiling. Walking part of it is good racing if running it would spike you. Start running again at the top.
Queen K North
Exposed, quiet, and long. Keep your horizon short: the next station, the next cooling, the next fueling.
Heat accumulates. Stay ahead of it.
The Energy Lab
Make it ordinary. It is a road with turns, heat, and stations.
Personal needs is at mile 16.9. Take only what you planned.
Leaving the Energy Lab
This is where your plan opens up. Leaving the Natural Energy Lab and pushing the pace is yours to do.
Three Moments to Rehearse
You have already seen these. Here are the short versions. Read them this week, picture them, and know what you will do.
Energy Leaking Before Race Day (Race Week)
The moment: Middle of race week. Early swim at Dig Me Beach, an hour in the expo, Ali'i packed, pros riding past, friends texting to meet at the pier. Group rides, photo spots, shakeout runs. It is hot, it is midday, and you have not sat down since 7 AM. Your plan says easy spin and feet up.
What it sounds like: "I might never be back here. I don't want to miss anything." "Everyone else is out training. Maybe I should add a little." "I feel great. A bit more won't hurt." Each one feels harmless. Added together, they spend energy the week was meant to store.
Anchor: "Saturday gets my best energy. This week is for arriving fresh."
What you do:
- Each morning, name your one or two must-dos for the day.
- Before saying yes to anything extra, ask: "Does this help me race?" If not, skip it or shorten it.
- Set a time limit for the expo, the pier, and social stops. When time is up, leave.
- Get off your feet. Drive instead of walking Ali'i in the midday heat.
- Train exactly as written. Feeling good is the taper working, not a sign to add more.
- Build real downtime into each afternoon: shade, feet up, fluids. Keep your normal bedtime.
Re-entry: Walk away from the pier while the crowd is still growing. Feel the small pang of missing out and let it be there. Feet up. The excitement will still be there on race morning, and you will meet it with energy to spare.
You can enjoy this week and still protect it. Every calm choice now is energy you will have on the Queen K. Saying no is part of the plan.
Everyone Flying Past Me Early (Bike)
The moment: Out of the water, through transition, onto the bike. Within minutes riders start flying by. Some out of the saddle, some already breathing hard. Up Palani and onto the Queen K it keeps happening. Your numbers are right where the plan says, and you feel like you are going backwards.
What it sounds like: "I'm losing the race already." "They're getting away and I'll never see them again." "My plan is too conservative for this field." Thoughts like these pull everyone's eyes off their own race. In Kona, everyone feels them.
Anchor: "Let them go. I'm racing my plan."
What you do:
- Before you leave transition, commit to 165-180 W for the opening part of the bike.
- When someone passes, let it happen. Eyes back to your computer or a spot on the road ahead. Blinders on.
- Check your numbers. If you are above your range, ease back into it, even if more riders go by.
- If the pull to press harder shows up, wait five minutes before changing anything. Then check the plan. The answer will almost always be to hold.
- Start fueling and hydration on schedule. The early bike is when it is easiest to forget.
- When you are passed, drop back out of the draft zone promptly and stay legal.
- Keep your focus short: the next aid station, then the next.
Re-entry: Picture yourself settled on the Queen K, steady inside your range, fueling on time. Riders still pass now and then, and you let them. Some may come back to you later. Either way, you are riding your race and saving the legs you need for the marathon.
Being passed early costs you nothing. Your plan was built for this course and this day. Your only job is your numbers and your fuel.
Cramping Begins Mid-Race (Hamstring, Calf, etc.)
The moment: The unmistakable twitch. An early warning in your calf, hamstring, or quad. Not a full cramp yet, but threatening. You still have miles to go.
What it sounds like: "This could shut me down." "If this locks up, I'm done." The panic response is immediate and tightens everything even more.
Anchor: "This is a signal, not a sentence. I still have time to respond, if I do it calmly."
What you do:
- Back off effort. Not dramatically, just enough to reduce tension.
- Breathe deeper, especially through the cramp-prone area.
- Adjust form. Hamstring: shorten stride. Calf: heel contact and soft turnover. Quad: upright torso and stable core.
- Take in targeted electrolytes, if available.
- Keep moving. A gentle pace is better than standing still.
Re-entry: The tightness softens. It may not vanish. You are still running, still riding, still racing. You adjusted. You did not panic.
A cramp is feedback, not failure. Listen. Adapt. Hold formation.
If a cramp comes with chest pain, confusion, severe dizziness, or anything that feels wrong in a different way, it is not a cramp to manage. Stop and get race medical.
If Things Go Sideways
Notice it. Stabilize. Fix the one thing. Reassess.
A slow swim, a penalty, a mechanical, a bad station: solve it and go back to your plan. Never try to win back lost time.
Chest pain, collapsing or blacking out, confusion, severe or unusual shortness of breath, severe dizziness, or being unable to stay upright: stop and get race medical. That is not something to push through. In the swim, signal for help and hold on to support.
Quick-Reference Race Card
- Guide, not a script. The numbers lead.
- Your perceived effort will be off. Blinders on.
- Focus on Jenny and only Jenny.
- Swim: front, 30-50 yards off the pier. Claim your space.
- Bike: live at 165-180 W.
- Climbs: up to 215-225 W. Never above.
- Ride for effort, not speed.
- Rollers: spin. No spiky surges.
- Crosswinds: pressure off the front end, butt back, keep pedaling.
- Fuel alarm every 20-30 min. Bike 90-110 g/h.
- Pee at least twice on the bike.
- Caffeine is a buoy. Hold it until effort creeps up.
- Cool at every aid station. Water in the helmet and over the body.
- Arrive at the right turn back onto the Queen K strong.
- Mile 90 to Mile 1 Pocket.
- Run HR 150-152. Watch closely above 156. Ceiling 158-159 until mile 20.
- Control the first 4-5 miles to the Ali'i turnaround.
- Run fuel 50-60 g/h.
- Build, build, build.
- Leaving the Energy Lab: push.
- Mile 20 feeling good: the ceiling comes off. Go.
Finish
You have a weapon. Saturday is about giving yourself access to it.
Swim assertive. Ride your numbers. Stay cool. Then run.
When you make the final turn onto Ali'i, stop calculating. Look up and take it.
Believe in the work.
Believe in your run.
Now go execute.