KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii -- Craig Alexander ran away with the Ironman World Championship on Saturday, setting a course record to win the event for the third time.

The 38-year-old Australian, also the 2008 and 2009 winner, finished in 8 hours, 03 minutes, 56 seconds in the 140.6-mile race that includes a 2.4-mile ocean swim, 112-mile bike ride through lava fields and marathon run in and around Kona village.

"I wish I could tell you how it feels," Alexander said. "It's unbelievable I wish everyone in the world could feel what I felt in the that mile. It's the finish I've been dreaming of."