IRONMAN Virtual Club Kicks off the New Year with You Vs. You Campaign along with a Series of Virtual Races Designed to Prepare Athletes for the year ahead

January 9, 2021

- You vs. You campaign encourages athletes to set their goals and chase their dreams with precision and purpose in 2021 - First eight weeks of VR racing are designed to help athletes hit reset and set their goals for a year of competition ahead as they continue to prove #AnywhereIsPossible

TAMPA, Fla. – Following the culmination of its inaugural year that saw the platform grow to over 126,000 members, the IRONMAN^® Virtual Club™ has kicked off 2021 with the IRONMAN VR You vs. You campaign designed to encourages athletes to set their goals and chase their dreams with precision and purpose in 2021. Following this theme, athletes have access to IRONMAN U Certified Coach curated workouts, training resources, challenges, and virtual races, all designed to help them train, compete, earn, and be rewarded as they set their goals towards a successful year of racing.

You vs. You celebrates IRONMAN’s mantra Anything is Possible^® drawing inspiration from athletes of all levels and abilities as they accomplish their goals. You vs. You encourages the global IRONMAN community to stay connected and hit the ground running in 2021 in preparation for a year of accomplishments. Athletes can expect to see You vs. You present throughout the IRONMAN social and digital media channels, across the IRONMAN VC platform and in the limited-edition IRONMAN VR merchandise.

“We are excited to offer athletes a prime opportunity to prepare and accomplish their goals this coming year through the IRONMAN Virtual Club platform,” says Earl Walton, Global Director of Training and Coaching for IRONMAN. “We know our athletes are eager to get back to training and participate in racing both physical and virtually and believe the You vs. You campaign will motivate athletes to set their goals early and get them across their finish lines, proving Anywhere Is Possible. We realize how important it is that our athletes are able to prepare with precision and purpose through the emerging connected fitness world and we are excited to bring athletes all the tools that the IRONMAN Virtual Club has to offer throughout that journey”

Kicking off the Year

Starting this week, the IRONMAN Virtual Club has launched the first eight IRONMAN VR races of the season offering athletes the opportunity to prepare for the year ahead. In addition, athletes will have the opportunity to compete against their peers on the select virtual IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3^® racecourses powered by ROUVY, the Official Virtual Cycling partner.

Athletes will also be able to commemorate their participation and celebrate their accomplishments during the first VR races of year with 2021 IRONMAN VR merchandise, medals and finishers bundles available only at the IRONMAN Store. Limited edition IRONMAN VR merchandise and medals are available for purchase by visiting here.

Wrapping up the Holidays

Throughout the month of December, the IRONMAN VC platform offered a month-long challenge and a series of 21 daily workouts with Tis the Season to TRI specifically design to cap the first year of virtual racing while rewarding all its participants. Athletes undertook two virtual month-long challenges, a 150km and 300km distance, both designed to give athletes the flexibility to complete the prescribed distance goals over the entirety of the holiday season on their time.
Facts & Figures 

• In total, over 11,000 participants participated in the two IRONMAN Tis the Season to TRI Challenges
• Over 1,100 athletes participated in the 21 daily workouts
• 4 athletes completed all 21 daily workouts and completed the 150km challenge
• Athletes represented all 50 states and 123 countries, regions, and territories
• Over 2,200 IRONMAN TriClub members registered for the IRONMAN VR Tis the Season Challenges this December

IRONMAN VR World Tour All-Terrain Series

Beginning in March, the IRONMAN Virtual Club will pick up the pace. The return of the IRONMAN VR World Tour will see a new All-Terrain Series format taking athletes on a tour of some of the best events in the IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 race catalog ranging from beginner to intermediate to difficult virtual races. Athletes can expect more information to come in the coming months on the new IRONMAN VR World Tour: All-Terrain Series.

IRONMAN Foundation – IRONAID COVID-19 Support Fund

Last year, with the support of IRONMAN Foundation^® Ambassadors, TEAM IMF Athletes, and partners, the IRONMAN Foundation^® provided over $675,000 in grant funding to more than 450 local, regional, national, and global nonprofit initiatives throughout Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series^®, IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 race communities. In 2021, the IRONMAN Foundation will continue its mission to create positive, tangible change in race communities around the world, despite the devastating impact of COVID-19. The fifth round of IRONAID^TM COVID-19 Support Fund grants as well as the new 2021 IRONAID COVID-19 Support Fund grant program will be announced in late January 2021. For more information about the IRONMAN Foundation, visit www.ironmanfoundation.org.

For additional details on the IRONMAN VC platform, visit www.ironmanvirtualclub.com/. Questions about the IRONMAN Virtual Racing Series can be directed to ironmanvr@ironman.com.

For more information on the IRONMAN brand and global event series, visit www.ironman.com. Media related inquiries may be directed to press@ironman.com.

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About IRONMAN Virtual Club

Reaching over 126,000 members across more than 180 nations, the IRONMAN^® Virtual Club™(VC™) brings the global IRONMAN^® community together virtually week-after-week. Launching in April of 2020, the platform gives athletes access to IRONMAN U Certified Coach curated workouts, training resources, and challenges that prepare them to compete alongside tens of thousands of athletes in the IRONMAN Virtual Racing™ (VR™) Series. Athletes have the opportunity to train, compete, earn, and be rewarded as they set their goals towards a successful year of racing. In addition, through the Race Honorably campaign, IRONMAN’s goal is to provide an exceptional virtual racing experience with credible results that requires athletes to do their part by entering accurate data. Additional details can be found on the IRONMAN VC platform at www.ironmanvirtualclub.com/.

About The IRONMAN Group

The IRONMAN Group operates a global portfolio of events that includes the IRONMAN^® Triathlon Series, the IRONMAN^® 70.3^® Triathlon Series, the IRONMAN^® Virtual Racing™ (VR™) Series, 5150™ Triathlon Series, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series^®, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Virtual Running™ Series, IRONKIDS^®, ITU World Triathlon Series, premier running events including the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon™ and The Sun-Herald City2Surf^®, Ultra-Trail^® World Tour events including Tarawera Ultra and Ultra-Trail Australia™, mountain bike races including the Absa Cape Epic^®, road cycling events, and other multisport races. The IRONMAN Group is the largest operator of mass participation sports in the world and provides more than a million participants annually the benefits of endurance sports through the company’s vast offerings. Since the inception of the iconic IRONMAN^® brand and its first event in 1978, athletes have proven that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE^® by crossing finish lines around the world. Beginning as a single race, The IRONMAN Group has grown to become a global sensation with hundreds of events across 55+ countries. The IRONMAN Group is owned by Advance, a private, family-owned business. For more information, visit www.ironman.com.

About Advance

Advance is a private, family-held business that owns and invests in companies across media, entertainment, technology, communications, education and other promising growth sectors. Our mission is to build the value of our companies over the long-term by fostering growth and innovation. Advance’s portfolio includes Condé Nast, Advance Local, Stage Entertainment, The IRONMAN Group, American City Business Journals, Leaders Group, Turnitin, 1010data and Pop. Together these operating companies employ more than 17,000 people in 29 countries. Advance is also among the largest shareholders in Charter Communications, Discovery and Reddit. For more information visit www.advance.com.