The quote of the day - so far - has to be Greg Welch's description of Chris McCormack's bike split. "He put himself in the middle of the bratwurst pack" is how Welchie described McCormack's ride, where he spent a lot of time riding with a group of six Germans.
Is Andreas Raelert biding his time and waiting for the time to go? It looks like it. He waited behind Chris McCormack for about a half mile before he tried to make the pass - probably hoping to get by the Australian in one move. McCormack isn't letting that happen, though - as soon as Raelert came up on him, he picked up the pace to stay just ahead.
Stride for stride - that's how the two leaders are running right now. A few seconds ago it looked like McCormack might be grabbing his side, but he's back to a full running stride again.
The two leaders are talking to each other - and just shook hands. I wonder if that was an agreement to wait to Alii Drive for a sprint!
Chris McCormack just flew through the aid station just passed 24 miles and managed to open a gap on Raelert. It didn't take long, though, for Raelert to catch up - the two are back running together again.
"Chris McCormack looks really tough," according to our spotters. This is turning into quite a mental battle. Andreas Raelert told us earlier this week that the biggest thing he learned last year was how mentally tough this race is. He said that when things got really tough, Craig Alexander was able to dig deeper - he felt that he hadn't prepared himself for the pain. Well, it sure looks like he's ready to deal with it today.
In July I spent a day with Chris McCormack - a long interview followed by a bike ride. The one thing that became abundantly clear? He really wants another Ironman World Championship. Both of these men will be ready to go hard for the win here - this is going to be incredible.
In the women's race, Mirinda Carfrae has a lead of 2 minutes on Julie Dibens a tthe turn at the energy lab.
Chris McCormack has surged again - he's opened up a gap on Andreas Raelert as they run down the Palani hill. He's about to take the hot corner - and he's flying.
Raelert appears to have cracked - he's losing time to the Australian.
McCormack's decisive move - now he's going hard to the line. He just got rid of the sponges that he had under his tri-suit - a look that wasn't his best when he finished in 2007. That tells me he's thinking and has his wits about him as he runs toward the line.
McCormack is onto Alii Drive! He's saluting the crowd now - it looks like he's going to win this race!
Women's Leaderboard @ run mile 18
Position Athlete Name Differential
1 Mirinda Carfrae
2 Julie Dibens 2:00
3 Caroline Steffen 4:03
Chris McCormack has become one of a very select few who can say that they've won two Ironman World Championship titles. He certainly was the man who took this race - he took the chance out on the bike and during the run, and it paid off with an impressive win.
Andreas Raelert hung on for second place - just seconds after he came across the line, Marino Vanhoenaker lived up to his pre-race prediction of finishing in the top-3.
In the women's race, Julie Dibens has started walking in the Energy Lab. She's 3:35 behind Mirinda Carfrae, with Caroline Steffen running 45 seconds behind in third.
1 8:10:37 4 McCormack, Chris Burraneer NSW AUS 51:36 1:43 4:31:51 1:58 2:43:31
2 8:12:17 1:40 3 Raelert, Andreas Drage GER 51:27 1:54 4:32:27 2:05 2:44:25
3 8:13:14 2:37 23 Vanhoenacker, Marino Jabbeke BEL 51:33 1:59 4:31:00 1:58 2:46:46
Craig Alexander just ran an incredible 2:41 marathon to finish fourth. He said that he wanted to get out defend his title with pride - he certainly did that, forcing the men ahead of him to pull out their best to finish ahead of him. This is one of the fastest days we've seen in Kona - certainly since Luc Van Lierde set the course record in 1996.
Raynard Tissink just finished in fifth place. His time was 8:20:11.
1 8:10:37 4 McCormack, Chris Burraneer NSW AUS 51:36 1:43 4:31:51 1:58 2:43:31
2 8:12:17 1:40 3 Raelert, Andreas Drage GER 51:27 1:54 4:32:27 2:05 2:44:25
3 8:13:14 2:37 23 Vanhoenacker, Marino Jabbeke BEL 51:33 1:59 4:31:00 1:58 2:46:46
4 8:16:53 6:16 1 Alexander, Craig Sydney NSW AUS 51:32 1:49 4:39:35 2:00 2:41:59
5 8:20:11 9:34 24 Tissink, Raynard Port Eliza ZAF 52:25 1:56 4:30:48 2:20 2:52:44
6 8:21:00 10:23 6 Bracht, Timo Eberbach GER 53:52 1:59 4:29:42 2:10 2:53:18
7 8:22:02 11:26 14 Llanos, Eneko Vitoria-Ga ESP 51:38 2:01 4:39:23 2:00 2:47:03
Check out Pete Jacobs' marathon here today! Here's the last three men from the top 10: 8 8:22:59 12:23 7 Bockel, Dirk Munsbach LUX 51:12 2:03 4:35:48 1:56 2:52:02
9 8:23:26 12:50 8 Jacobs, Pete Sydney NSW AUS 51:15 2:02 4:47:05 2:01 2:41:06
10 8:24:04 13:28 10 Al-Sultan, Faris Al-Ain ABU ARE 51:25 1:54 4:32:40 2:39 2:55:28
The top women through 17 miles: 1 8:00:07 102 Carfrae, Mirinda Brisbane QLD AUS
2 8:02:13 2:06 130 Dibens, Julie Boulder CO USA
3 8:04:21 4:14 150 Steffen, Caroline Mooloolaba QLD AUS
4 8:13:49 13:42 123 Van Vlerken, Yvonne Schwarzach AUT
5 8:14:24 14:17 107 Joyce, Rachel London GBR
6 8:14:50 14:43 103 Berasategui, Virginia Bilbao ESP
Julie Dibens has really struggled through the last few miles - she's now been passed by Caroline Steffen, six minutes behind Carfrae.
The quote of the day - so far - has to be Greg Welch's description of Chris McCormack's bike split. "He put himself in the middle of the bratwurst pack" is how Welchie described McCormack's ride, where he spent a lot of time riding with a group of six Germans.
That's an awesome view. 138 miles of racing, separated by seconds! #imkonaby tritweeter via twitter 10/10/2010 12:24:12 AM
Looks like Macca and Raelert are training mates, running next to each other :-) #imkonaby krisrackham via twitter 10/10/2010 12:25:06 AM
Think they've got enough breath to talk smack? #imkonaby mchristian via twitter 10/10/2010 12:26:18 AM
All's I got to say is: the Dec broadcast of #IMKona '10 is gonna be spectacular.by LARunr via twitter 10/10/2010 12:26:33 AM
McCormack & Raelert look like they are heading for a cup of Kona coffee and didn't just get off a 112 mile bike ride. #IMKonaby JulieSteelman via twitter 10/10/2010 12:32:05 AM
If you're watching @IronmanTri thinking U could never do it, YES YOU COULD. The leaders are not the only racers who will FINISH #IMKona.:)by WriteOnRideOn via twitter 10/10/2010 12:32:26 AM
This is a million times better than any old lousy super bowl or world series. #imkonaby TheAgeGrouper via twitter 10/10/2010 12:33:33 AM
Love seeing how many short course pros are following along just as excited as the rest of us. Great coverage today! #IMKonaby Siehndel via twitter 10/10/2010 12:35:46 AM
When you love ironman even as a spectator you must have endurance to follow the live stream for 8 hours xD #imkonaby Ruxxoe via twitter 10/10/2010 12:37:11 AM
Women's Leaderboard @ run mile 18
Oh my! Oh my! Oh my!!! #IMKONAby MamacitaTri via twitter 10/10/2010 12:40:58 AM
Congrats MACCA!!! #IMKONAby mbeniek via twitter 10/10/2010 12:42:28 AM
Love seeing the leader females pick off men on the course #imkonaby kierstenhenry via twitter 10/10/2010 12:54:31 AM
The HDMI cable I bought yesterday was a GREAT investment! Watched all the #IMKona coverage on our big TV (through streaming laptop).by SteveinaSpeedo via twitter 10/10/2010 1:01:29 AM
#IMKONA competitors are inspirational. Talk about overcoming challenges.by maliachu via twitter 10/10/2010 1:01:50 AM
Now time to cheer for the other champions to cross the finish line all the way through midnight. You.are.an.IRONMAN! #IMKONAby sonnybau via twitter 10/10/2010 1:03:07 AM