From 1978 through 1980 the race was held on the island of
Oahu, the course combining that of three events already held there: the
Waikiki Roughwater Swim (2.4 mi./3.86 km), the Around-Oahu Bike Race (115 mi./185.07 km, originally a two-day event), and the
Honolulu Marathon. The bike stage was reduced by 3 miles to link it to the start of the marathon course. In 1981 the race was moved to the less urbanized
Big Island, keeping the distances the same: a
open water swim in Kailua-Kona Bay, a
bike ride across the Hawaiian lava desert to
Hāwī and back, and a
marathon (26 miles 385 yards, 42.195 km) run along the coast of the Big Island starting Ali'i Drive, up Palani Road to Queen Ka' ahumanu Highway, lead to the Natural Energy Laboratory Hawai'i Authority. Then following Queen Ka'ahumanu Highway back through Kona to Ali'i Drive. Since 1982, the race has been held in the fall each year, before which it was held in the spring, giving two races in 1982. Athletes with disabilities compete in the event in the physically challenged category, which was instituted in 1997, and are required to meet the same cutoff times as able bodied competitors. Australian
John Maclean was the first physically challenged athlete to complete the event under the cut-off time. Because of the
COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Ironman World Championship was initially postponed to February 2021 and then canceled with that year's qualifiers able to defer to race in 2021 or 2022. The 2021 Championship was postponed to May 2022 and held in
St. George, Utah due to travel restrictions. The 2022 Ironman World Championship was split with a men's and women's race and the Women's Championship on October 6 followed by the Men's Championship two days later. Also from 2022,
Vietnam's
automobile maker
VinFast was the first ever naming rights partner for
2022 Ironman World Championship and
2023 Ironman 70.3 World Championship. Since 2023 the men's and women's Ironman World Championships have been split and alternated between Nice, France, and Kona, Hawaii. In 2023, the men's event held on September 10 in Nice, France, and the women's on October 14 in Kona, Hawaii. The men's and women's Championships alternate between these venues until 2026. The women's course record is 8 hrs 24 mins 31 sec, set in 2023 by
Lucy Charles-Barclay (UK). ==Course records==