Ironman World Championship 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 from Keauhou to Keahole Point and back to Kailua-Kona, finishing on Alii Drive. Since 1982, the race has been held in the fall each year, before which it was held in the spring, giving two races
IAAF World Half Marathon Championships IAAF World Road Running Championships. Aside from the name change, the significant difference was the distance of the race, changing from a half marathon to a 20 kilometres road race. The 20 km race featured only at the 2006 edition, and the half marathon distance returned for the 2007 World Road Running Championships. On 29 November 2007, the IAAF announced that the name of the competition would revert to its original title of the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships, beginning with the 2008 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 12 October 2008. This competition should