On March 15th, 2026, A2 athlete Kinley Bollinger from Wyoming completed Ironman Puerto Rico 70.3 first overall, with a time of 4:40:39! We are so proud to support her and be a part of the journey that got her here. But we know this is just the beginning.
Below is a summarized recap of Kinley's experience at IM Puerto Rico 70.3, where she posted the full recap on her Instagram. Thanks, Kinley, for allowing us to share your experience with the A2 community!
Pre-race
Kinley is the kind of athlete who doesn't let a race weekend get in the way of actually experiencing a place. Rather than playing it safe in the days leading up to the race, she and her partner, Dan, spent the week fully immersed in Puerto Rican culture. They explored the island's historic forts, hiking through El Yunque rainforest, and kayaking through bioluminescent bays at night. Can you imagine doing a training swim in a Puerto Rican lagoon with sea turtles, sharks, puffer fish, and manatees? Yeah, me neither, but it sounds awesome! Despite skipping bike rides for safety reasons, Kinley made the most of her training by finding a local track, where she loved running alongside residents going about their own workouts.
Swim
Especially in a tropical location, weather conditions can always be a mix-up, and the start of the race for Kinley was no exception. It was rainy, cold, and muddy during the pre-race walk from transition to the swim start. But the energy never wavered because her family was there cheering her on, and a live local band kept the atmosphere electric.
Jumping into the bay swim, Kinley said, "...I felt pretty solid. My stroke felt good, and I wasn’t getting hit all that much. I made it to the turn buoys without issue and then under the bridge. There, the big waves and current started..." If any of you have done an open water swim in an ocean or bay, you know it can be quite dangerous out there with larger waves and strong currents. But since Kinley swam the bay in the days before, she smoothly rode the current back to the beach and started a painstakingly long run into T1.
Also, a cool hack that Kinley did while in T1 was that she repurposed an old apple juice bottle to be a 'fresh water shower' after the salty swim. So smart!!
Swim time: 34:34 (1:48/100m; 15th woman)
Bike
Kinley settled into the bike leg quickly, finding a strong rhythm early on. Despite soaked roads from overnight rain and a stiff headwind on the return into town, she described the course as one of the most enjoyable rides she's had in a race, largely because of the beautiful scenery. A rainbow stretching across the sky on her first lap didn't hurt either.
With the bike course being a series of out-and-backs, the course got kind of congested towards the second half. But that didn't stop her from putting down the power. Kinley says, "I really should have learned to say 'on your left' in Spanish", since she was passing a lot of riders while trying to stay out of the draft zone. (It's 'a tu izquierda' by the way ;)
A lot of you ask about nutrition and hydration strategies for the bike portion of a race, and Kinley's is a great example of how it's done. "My nutrition strategy on the bike was my Blank’s custom mix with 100g of carbs and 800mg of sodium. I took two of those bottles for a total of a little over 80g of carbs per hour, as well as extra plain water from aid stations. This helped give me necessary fluids as well as balance out my electrolyte intake." - Kinley Bollinger
Coming into T2 with one of the most impressive bike efforts we've seen, Kinley was ready to put in the work to get the win out on the run.
Bike and T2: (Bike time: 2:22:07; 23.64 mph; 1st female, 5th fastest female in history of the race, including pros)!!!!
Run
Kinley learned she was leading the race as she left T2, but there was a slight catch. A competitor was physically ahead of her on the course. She tracked her down within the first mile, made the pass, and the two exchanged smiles and thumbs up as she went by — a classy moment that says a lot about the culture of the sport.
But the run was anything but easy. Despite a relatively flat bike course, the run played out as a series of hill repeats in full sun exposure. True to form, Kinley preferred the climbs over the descents and noted she'd take hills over headwind any day, though Puerto Rico made sure she had plenty of both.
Kinley's nutrition on the run consisted of, "...1.5 75g custom Blank’s gels over the 1.5 ish hours I was running (~75g per hour) and some salt pills for electrolytes, roughly based upon how much water I was getting in." But what gave her a larger energy boost was seeing her family cheering her on from the sidelines, as well as random spectators yelling her name as she ran past. Powering through the last part of the run, she saw the tape waiting for her. Vamos Kinley!!!
Run: (1:37:04; 7:25 per mile, 2nd fastest female)
Results
4:40:39
1st overall female
25th overall with males
Fastest Age group woman in the history of the race (since 2012)
Kinley is a huge contributor to the A2 community, and you can find her on Instagram and Facebook @kinleybtriathlete. If you have any specific questions for her or us, you can ask them on the A2 FB Community Forum.
Thanks so much, Kinley, for letting us share your story! You rock!! And congrats again!