CORE proudly supports athletes preparing for the most intense and challenging races on the planet and there is no better example of this than Kona. The race day conditions this year were, as always, brutally hot with temps topping out at 29ºC/84ºF and 72% humidity.
Most of the competition came properly prepared for the conditions with a record-breaking 16 athletes finishing under the eight-hour mark. However, some struggled more than others to mitigate the heat stress and were forced to drop their pace. A few even blew up. We saw athletes slipping ice into their helmets and suits and fully dunking their heads into ice water at the aid stations.
Ultimately, the 3 athletes who kept their cool and took the podium all had one thing in common: they all used CORE in their preparation and/or race day kit.
Patrick Lange took first after giving a phenomenal performance and breaking the course record at 7:35:53. It comes as no surprise that Patrick used CORE in his lead-up to Kona. After all, winning an event like this requires a comprehensive understanding of how one's thermoregulatory system handles several hours of intense performance under heat stress.
7 minutes and 45 seconds behind Patrick was Magnus Ditlev, a seasoned user of CORE, followed by our very own official CORE athlete, Rudy von Berg.
We congratulate Patrick, Magnus, Rudy and all the athletes who competed in Kona! CORE exists to bring the best thermal monitoring solutions to athletes who are looking to improve their performance and it is always an honor to play a role in such an iconic race like Kona.
Imagery: @santarastudios and Florian Bögge
