 Tyler Butterfield highlighted his 2015 race season with a career‐best performance at the Ironman World Championship in Kailua‐Kona, Hawaii, proving the unwavering dedication of his “Kona‐committed” campaign, a season focused on reaching the start line at the world championship.
Butterfield’s fifth place finish rewarded his relentless hard work, the culmination of a season that began with a zero standing in the Kona Points Ranking (KPR), yet wherein he steadily worked through the rankings, garnering points at every turn, to ultimately earn his start in Kona and an opportunity to shine on triathlon’s world stage.
Butterfield’s road to Kona included stops at regional and world championship venues around the globe. In April, Butterfield scored third at the Ironman Brasilia 70.3 South American Championship.
In May, he competed at the Ironman 70.3 St. George North American Championship where, despite a mechanical issue which set him back five minutes, he continued on to finish thirteenth, off the podium but with an integral practice race under his belt. Butterfield then returned to Brazil for a fifth place finish at the South American Ironman Championship, clocking two personal bests at the full distance – a 2:48 marathon run and an 8:05 overall time, which included a five minute penalty.
Three weeks after his strong showing at Ironman Brazil, Butterfield claimed fifth at the Ironman 70.3 North American Championship in Mont‐Tremblant. Only two weeks later he toed his next start line, this time earning seventh at the sweltering Ironman Frankfurt European Championship in July.
Following a focused training block, Butterfield tested his form at the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Zell Am See and raced his way to eighth overall and the honor of finishing as the first North American. The discipline and talent that Butterfield exhibited throughout the year ultimately paid off with more than performance accolades; he secured his start in Kona, ultimately reaching 25th in the KPR heading into the Ironman World Championship.
In Kona, Butterfield’s standout performance belied how he was feeling throughout the race. The swim, normally not his strongest discipline, was the best he felt all day, he reported afterward, while both the bike and run presented non‐stop struggles.
“I had done so much hard motor pacing on the bike in training, short intense efforts that I thought would help me react to the constant surges that happen on the bike in Kona, but in reality I was hurting. I never found a rhythm, which can be discouraging when cycling is usually one of my strengths” said Butterfield. “That’s when it’s important to keep the mental battles at bay and the pressure on myself to a minimum. I simply did what I could to stay in the moment and stay in the mix.”
Butterfield indeed stayed in the mix with the main contenders, reaching T2 in ninth position. He again felt at odds with his body through the early miles of the run, however, his stomach rebelling against the critical nutrition he tried to ingest.
“Every time I tried to take in fuel, my stomach was bloated and upset,” said Butterfield. “But I knew my only choices were to run through or risk bonking and blowing up completely if I didn’t take in any nutrition. I just kept trucking along, one foot in front of the other, but I never felt good, and I certainly didn’t think I would move up through the field. At that point I wasn’t even confident I could hang onto a top 10.”
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