Media Inquiries
All media inquiries for these seven Ironman Center events (Ford Ironman Arizona, Ford Ironman Coeur D'Alene, Ford Ironman Lake Placid, Ford Ironman Florida, Ford Ironman Wisconsin, Ironman 70.3 California, Ironman 70.3 Florida) should be directed to Helen Manning at 905-415-8484 or via e-mail at helen@ironman.com.
Media Credentials
All requests for Media Credentials should go to Helen Manning at 905-415-8484 or via e-mail at helen@ironman.com. No media credentials will be issued without a letter of assignment from a credible news organization. NO exceptions.
Course access via boats and motorcycles are limited at all Ironman events.
MEDIA ACCESS TO COURSES AT THESE EVENTS WILL BE SEVERELY LIMITED due to continued safety concerns.
Please e-mail helen@ironman.com for further details or if you feel you require course access to cover the event.
SPECIAL NOTE: DOCUMENTARIES
Access to Ironman events for documentary purposes will be severely limited. Any documentary plans should be made at least one year in advance of actually shooting date. Also note that no complementary entries will be given for documentary purposes.
Ironman controls all television rights to Ironman events and will charge a rights’ fee to any documentary filmmaker as deemed applicable.
Using footage for non-news related purposes is prohibited without written consent from the World Triathlon Corporation.
Ironman reserves the right to deny any request, at any time for documentary rights at any event.
SPECIAL NOTE: COMMERCIAL USAGE
Commercial usage of photography or video from Ironman events is strictly prohibited without written consent from World Triathlon Corporation.
Improper usage of photography or video for commercial purposes will result in a ban on media accreditation at future Ironman events and may lead to legal action. If you have any usage questions, please call beforehand.
Press Conferences
Pre-race: Typically Ironman hosts a pre-race press conference two days before any of the full Ironman events (usually at 11 a.m.). The pre-race press conference features the top pros competing as well as interesting age groupers (amateurs) competing. Call for more details in regard to the pre-race press conference for your event. There will be no pre-race press conference for the Ironman 70.3 California or the Ironman 70.3 Florida.
Post-race: Top finishers and other athletes will be available for interviewing in the Media Tent or a designated area (behind the finish line) following their finishing the race. We ask that you please be patient with post-race interviews, as many athletes will need a break due to the strenuous nature of Ironman competition. Athletes will be made available as soon as they are ready and able following the event.
Media Room
Each event will have a media room or tent (depending on the event/venue), which will have phone lines, computers and various information available on athletes competing, as well as on the event itself. The room is available to all media before, during and after the race. Ironman will offer live race day coverage for all events at www.ironman.com.
Ironman.com coverage allows you the opportunity to follow your athletes throughout the entire day and is accessible from the media room/tent.
Contact Information
For more information or inquiries, please contact Helen Manning at 905-415-8484 or via e-mail at helen@ironman.com.
General Ironman Information
What is Ironman?
Ironman is one of the most grueling events in the world of sport, and also one of the most inspiring. Ironman features a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike and a complete marathon (26.2 miles) all in succession. Athletes have 17 hours to complete the event (from the 7 a.m. start until midnight).
Ironman History
While stationed near San Diego in the mid-1970s, John Collins and wife, Judy, participated in multi-sport workouts designed to break up the monotony of constant run training.
During an awards banquet in 1977 for a Hawaii running race, a lively discussion about the creation of a major endurance event in Hawaii occurred. To challenge athletes who had already seen success at a local biathlon (swim/run), the first-annual Hawaiian IRON MAN Triathlon was born.
As the conversation continued, Collins began playing with the idea of combining the three toughest endurance races on the island into one race. He decided to issue a challenge. He proposed tying the 2.4-mile Waikiki Roughwater Swim with 112-miles of the Around-Oahu Bike Race (originally a two-day event and 114 miles), followed by a 26.2 mile run on the same course as the Honolulu Marathon.
The event was unveiled at the Waikiki Swim Club Awards Banquet in late 1977. “The gun will go off about 7 a.m., the clock will keep running and whoever finishes first we’ll call the Ironman,” Collins recalls.
On February 18, 1978, 15 competitors, including Collins, came to the shores of Waikiki to take on the Ironman challenge. Prior to racing, each received three sheets of paper listing a few rules and a course description.
Handwritten on the last page was this exhortation: “Swim 2.4 miles! Bike 112 miles! Run 26.2 miles! Brag for the rest of your life!”
Who would have predicted this exchange of bravado would be the foundation for what is now the world’s most recognized endurance event and the global benchmark for testing one’s personal limits?
Judy Collins, who originally planned to participate in the inaugural event, was forced to withdraw just days before. John Collins and 11 others finished the entire course. Gordon Haller, a taxi cab driver and fitness enthusiast, crossed the finish line first in 11 hours, 46 minutes and 58 seconds to become the “original” Ironman. Collins finished the race in a little over 17 hours.
Having lost only $25 on that first race, Collins agreed to organize a second event in 1979. Unfortunately, bad weather postponed the race for a day, and more than half the race-field dropped out; this left only 15 to race for the second straight year. Among the remaining 15 athletes was Lyn Lemaire, a cyclist from Boston, Mass. The first female finisher maintained second place for much of the race before finishing fifth overall. The winning time of 11:15:46 posted by Californian Tom Warren, improved upon Haller’s first-year mark, and Warren became a minor celebrity when he and the race received exposure in Sports Illustrated.
This larger-than life depiction of the race in Sports Illustrated generated what Collins remembers as a “shoe box full of hundreds of letters from athletes around the world who wanted to do the race.” ABC Sports called Collins asking his permission to film the 1980 event. Collins agreed as long as ABC brought its own crew and the filming bore him no expense.
Ironically, Collins transferred out of Hawaii just as his baby hit the big time in 1980. He turned the event over to the owners of a local health club. No money changed hands, but Collins did receive assurance that he or his family could race for free any year that they wanted, and that “they would save a few racing spots for the ‘ordinary man,’ because these were the type of individuals who created the race.”
In 1981, the race was moved from Oahu to the harsh, barren and less congested lava fields of Kona on Hawaii’s Big Island.
Along the Kona Coast, black lava rock dominates the panorama. Against this backdrop, athletes would cover 140.6 miles by sea, bike and foot while battling “ho’ o mumuku” crosswinds of 45 mph, 95 degree temperatures and a scorching sun. The new Ironman became the benchmark against which all extreme sporting challenges would be measured.
ABC’s broadcasts on “Wide World of Sports” in 1980 and 1981 continued to generate interest from athletes, but Ironman’s signature moment would come the following year.
With the men’s championship title already claimed, ABC’s cameras zeroed in on the women’s leader. A college student from San Diego, Julie Moss’ lifeguarding background helped her stay among the early women’s leaders. After a strong bike, she found herself with a big lead in the run. Her energy levels started to dip in the last five miles, however, and another San Diego competitor, Kathleen McCartney, began to cut into Moss’ lead.
Moss managed to hang on, sometimes appearing like a punch-drunk fighter as she moved toward the finish line. But with a little more than 20 yards to go, her legs gave out and she fell to the ground. She attempted to get up, but her legs wouldn’t hold her. Rather than give up, she crawled. Race officials and spectators gathered around her, visibly concerned for her well being, as well as amazed by her courage. Although McCartney passed her, Moss won the hearts of those on-hand and millions who later saw her determined effort on television. ABC’s Jim McKay, among the most experienced sports broadcasters in history, called it the most inspiring sports moment he had ever witnessed.
Instantly, competing in the Ironman became such a hot ticket that organizers instituted a qualifying system to keep the race field manageable.
By any measure, Ironman presents the ultimate test of body, mind and spirit for professional and amateur athletes. And as Ironman has emerged into the mainstream sports light, the Ironman experience continually transcends pure sport. It centers on the dedication, courage and perseverance exhibited by athletes who demonstrate the Ironman mantra that “ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.™”
The Races
Here is a brief breakdown of the Ironman Center races:
Ironman 70.3 California- March 27, 2010
Ironman 70.3 California is the kick-off event to the US Ironman season. Taking place in Oceanside and on neighboring military base Camp Pendleton, the Ironman 70.3 California features close to 1,800 athletes from around the world. They will be competing for 20 qualifying spots for the Ford Ironman Triathlon World Championship, 100 qualifying spots for the Foster Grant Ironman 70.3 World Championship as well as a $30,000 pro prize purse.
Ironman 70.3 California is a great event to start to the season and the event typically features one of the top fields in triathlon, we don’t expect anything less in 2010.
Ironman 70.3 Florida- Sunday, May 16, 2010
Celebrating its seventh year in 2010, the Ironman 70.3 Florida at Walt Disney World® Resort brings a unique, festive, family atmosphere for everyone to enjoy. Ironman 70.3 Florida offers qualifying slots to the 2010 Foster Grant Ironman 70.3 World Championships held in Clearwater, Florida as well as slots to other North America Ironman events.
Ford Ironman Coeur d'Alene-Sunday, June 27, 2010
The city of Coeur d’Alene has adopted this event and has truly made it their own. In 2007 North America Sports introduced a new bike course for the event, and it received rave reviews from the athletes.
Ford Ironman Coeur d’Alene will feature about 2,200 athletes from around the world competing for 72 qualifying spots for the 2010 Ford Ironman Triathlon World Championship.
Ford Ironman Lake Placid-Sunday, July 25, 2010
Entering its twelfth year in 2010, Ford Ironman Lake Placid is the second oldest Ironman in continental North America (behind Subaru Ironman Canada) and is one of the most popular triathlon events in the sport. The 2010 event, once again, sold out for general entry in a matter of minutes.
The unique course features the transition zone and finish line area located on the Olympic Speedskating Oval. Ford Ironman Lake Placid offers a beautiful swim in Mirror Lake, a challenging bike course through the Adirondacks, as well as, an equally as challenging marathon course.
Ford Ironman Wisconsin-Sunday, September 13, 2009
Ford Ironman Wisconsin has quickly become a favorite on the Ironman schedule. The event, which enters its eighth year in 2009, also sold out in a matter of minutes.
Taking place in the city of Madison and neighboring Dane County, Ford Ironman Wisconsin features upward of 50,000 spectators lining the distinctive course through Wisconsin farm land and the downtown streets of Madison.
The crowd at Ford Ironman Wisconsin gives this event a celebratory atmosphere sure to get your adrenaline going. The finish line is the most recognizable of all the US Ironman events; it is located in front of the Wisconsin state capitol building in the heart of Madison. This scene provides a great backdrop for our finishers.
Ford Ironman Florida-Saturday, November 7, 2009
The Ford Ironman Florida is held in Panama City Beach, Florida each November. Ford Ironman Florida, which along with Ford Ironman Lake Placid, celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2008. The event is well known in the triathlon community as an age-group race and as a great race for first-time Ironman triathletes.
Utilizing the stunning beaches of Panama City Beach, Ford Ironman Florida offers a great opportunity for athletes to get "their feet wet" in Ironman events. 
Ford Ironman Arizona – November 22, 2009
Ford Ironman Arizona has enjoyed four very successful years and is becoming increasingly popular. Making a move to a fall date in 2008, Ford Ironman Arizona takes place in Tempe and the surrounding areas which is home to a large triathlon community. Ironman Arizona will close the US Ironman calendar for 2009.